Body pulled from lake in Austin over the weekend renews speculation about serial killer

Another body has been pulled from a body of water in Austin, sparking more online speculation that a serial killer is stalking the streets of the Texas capital.

Despite a flurry of conspiracy theories proliferating on social media over recent months, the Austin Police Department has denied that any of a string of drownings in Lady Bird Lake was a homicide.

First responders recovered the latest body from Lake Austin late Sunday evening near Plaza on the Lake and N. Capital of Texas Highway, Austin ABC affiliate KVUE reports. Police didn’t say at the time whether the person died from an accidental drowning or a homicide, KVUE reports.

APD officials were unavailable for immediate comment on the Current’s inquiry about the case.

The discovery comes a little over a month after a deceased woman was pulled from Austin’s Lady Bird Lake. Lake Austin and Lady Bird Lake are located about 10 miles apart and connected via the Colorado River.

Even though police said they’re not investigating the prior death as a homicide, the discovery of the two bodies in close succession renewed online chatter about possible foul play by a “Rainey Street Killer.”

The serial-killer theory surfaced last spring after four bodies were recovered from Lady Bird Lake within weeks of each other. The speculation grabbed international headlines, even prompting a feature on the TV show Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

Word of the latest death at Austin Lake also comes about a week after a viral Reddit post in which an Austin bartender claimed without proof to have spoken with the “Rainey Street Killer.”

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This article appears in Mar 20 – Apr 2, 2024.