Austin man charged in 2012 murder
Earl Fansler
Austin police have identified a man they say killed another man in Northeast Austin last April.
A spokesperson for the Austin Police Department said that 47-year-old Earl Fansler has been charged with first degree murder in the strangling death of 44-year-old Phillip Yates.
According to an Austin Police Department spokesperson, officers discovered the body of 45-year-old Phillip Yates in his home along Chimney Creek Circle in Northeast Austin on April 8, 2012.
An autopsy was performed, but the Medical Examiner’s Office requested more information before they ruled an official cause of death.
According to court documents, detectives were able to tie Fansler to the crime via fingerprints lifted from the scene and DNA evidence found on Yates’ clothes and car.
Fansler is in custody and is being held on $300,000 bond.
This is counted as the first murder of 2013.