Family of Sonya Wallace still looking for answers after 1999 murder

Sonya Wallace's family wants answers

In this "Missing in Texas," FOX 7 Austin's Libbi Farrow sits down with Linda Gonzalez, the mother of 15-year-old Sonya Wallace, murdered in 1999 after she left her Rockdale home to mail a letter at the post office just four blocks away.

ROCKDALE, Texas - The 1999 murder of Sonya Wallace remains unsolved to this day, and her family wants answers, as does authorities with the Williamson County Sheriff's Office.

On Feb. 19, 1999, 15-year-old Sonya Wallace left her Rockdale home to mail a letter at the post office just four blocks away. Her family didn't expect her to take too long, but she never came home.

Her mother Linda Gonzalez didn't know who Sonya was mailing the letter to, assuming it was a friend.

"…she had a lot of friends, and were writing to her from where we used to live in Georgetown. So I don't know. I assumed it was one of them," she said.

The next day, her family reported her missing. Gonzalez says she regrets not being home that day. "I was at work and it was supposed to be all…I regret that, you know, going to it. I do," she said. "I regret it."

Little did she know that her daughter would be found dead almost a month later.

On March 14, 1999, Sonya's body was found on Williamson County Road 490, down at the southern tip of the county close to Elgin, says WCSO Det. Mark McKinney.

Sonya was found severely decomposed and the cause of death was ruled a homicide.

"Her body was found over the side of a bridge in a small body of water, little creek running through there. And it was badly decomposed," Det. McKinney said.

Detectives believe Sonya's vast group of friends know a thing or two about what happened to her.

"She hung out with a wide variety of people. Like you said, she was very friendly," said Det. McKinney. "Everyone liked her far as we can tell. And she had friends, I think, everywhere, pretty much anywhere she went. I think when she met you, you instantly became her friend and pretty much got along with her."

Sonya Wallace's mother asking for help in solving her murder

Linda Gonzales is asking for help in solving the 1999 murder of her 15-year-old daughter Sonya Wallace in Rockdale.

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Thankfully, police were able to collect pieces of evidence, and they are being tested with today's technology as many advancements in technology and criminology have been made between 1999 and 2023.

"So we're actually in the process of doing that now. That is a very time, time-consuming process," said Det. McKinney. "The DNA testing takes some time, but there have been a lot of different things sent off that we have. We're using the modern technology from today that has greatly improved over the years to retest some of those items and test any items that haven't been tested for potential DNA evidence."

And while Sonya's mother waits, she has one wish: "I want to know before I die."

Anyone with information regarding the murder of Sonya Wallace is asked to call the Williamson County Sheriff's Office at 512 943-5204, or Williamson County Crime Stoppers at 800-253-7867 which has a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest.