'Ten Most Wanted' Fugitive wanted for murder in Austin arrested

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Booking photo of Robert Van Wisse

Van Wisse was arrested on Thursday, January 26, 2017 in Laredo, Texas. Robert Van Wisse was being sought for his alleged involvement in the 1983 attack and murder of Laurie Stout. 

APD responded to a call just before 8:30 a.m. on September 20, 1983 to a deceased person call and found the body of Stout in an office building. Stout's death was later ruled a homicide by the medical examiner.

Stout had been working a late night shift cleaning the building when she was murdered. Stout was 22 at the time of her death. She was a daughter, sister, wife and mother to a 19-month-old baby daughter.

Van Wisse, who was a student enrolled at UT-Austin at the time, was in the building registering for a course on the night of the murder. Investigators determined Van Wisse was one of the last persons seen in the building before the murder. Officials believe Van Wisse left the Austin area when he learned he might be a suspect.

A an arrest warrant was issued for Van Wisse in October 1996 after he was charged with murder.

Another warrant was issued a year later. On December 13, 2016, at a joint press conference in Austin, Texas, Robert Van Wisse was announced as the 511th addition to the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list.

On January 26, 2017, Van Wisse surrendered to law enforcement officers on the Task Force in Laredo, Texas.

At this time, no further information is available. 

Read Austin murder suspect added to FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list