Harlingen police say DNA confirms body in murder case is missing woman

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Anthony Eliff III (Courtesy: Cameron County Sheriff’s Office)

An arrest has been made in the murder of a Corpus Christi woman who went missing in Harlingen nearly three years ago.

Anthony Eliff III, of Harlingen, is charged with killing Elyn Loera, 32, said Harlingen police Commander J.L. Garcia, of the Criminal Investigations Division.

Lorea went missing in October 2019 after telling her mother she was traveling to Harlingen to visit her boyfriend, Anthony Eliff III.

Human remains found Feb. 10, 2020 in a brushy lot west of Business 77 in San Benito have been confirmed to belong to Loera, Garcia said.

The remains had been sent off for DNA testing at the University of North Texas and the results indicated they are that of the missing woman, according to Harlingen police. “It was conclusive,” Garcia said.

Garcia said although authorities don’t have a cause of death because the remains were badly decomposed, they do have enough information to charge Eliff with Loera’s murder.

Eliff III was arrested at a Cameron County jail about three weeks ago and charged with Loera’s murder. He was already jailed on a separate murder charge for killing a Harlingen man.