April 22nd, 2010
Crime Stoppers gets involved in Buda fire case

STAFF REPORT

Hays County Crime Stoppers is assisting the Hays County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) in the case of a Buda man engulfed by flames in his own garage last weekend.

Crime Stoppers is offering up to $1,000 in cash for information that helps law enforcement solve the matter, which is being investigated as a homicide.

The Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office said the man who perished is Steven Wayne Woelfel, 55, of 1132 Live Oak Loop, the scene of the fire.

Evidence collected at the fire scene has led investigators to believe that the fire was actually set in an attempt to cover up the murder of Woelfel.

At about 10:50 a.m. on April 17, the Buda Fire Department (BFD) responded to a reported structure fire at 1132 Live Oak Loop, located in the Hays Country Oaks subdivision just northwest of Buda.  Arriving fire units found the detached garage at that location to be fully engulfed. Once the fire was extinguished, Woelfel’s body was discovered in the remains of the fire.

The case is being investigated by the HCSO Criminal Investigations Division and the Texas Rangers.

Authorities ask that anyone with information that could help the HCSO solve the homicide call Crime Stoppers at (800) 324-TIPS. All calls are totally confidential and all callers will remain anonymous. Callers will not have to give their names or testify in court.