OLNEY, TEXAS: The small town of Olney was shocked when a high school teacher was murdered, and her killer turned out to be a troubled teenager.
Julius Mullins was found guilty of killing Manuela Allen and is currently serving his sentence in prison. While the investigation concluded relatively quickly, many questions remain unanswered, particularly regarding Julius' motives for taking Manuela's life.
In an upcoming gripping episode titled 'The Footprint at the Lake', NBC's 'Dateline' will strive to unravel some of these mysteries. The episode will feature an exclusive interview with Julius, offering a glimpse into his perspective. It is set to air on the channel on Friday, October 13, at 9 pm.
Why did Julius Mullins kill Manuela Allen?
It is quite a mystery why Julius was compelled to brutally end Manuela's life when she had been absolutely kind to him.
It was just any other July night in the Allen household when Julius entered and stabbed Manuela, stole her car to drive away, and left her remains at Lake Cooper.
Not just the Allen family but the whole neighborhood could not think of a reason why Julius would choose Manuela as his target. Their only connection was that Manuela's daughter Melanie used to date him sometime before the murder.
The then-19-year-old Julius laid out his reasons for murdering Manuela in the context of his heartbreak over his relationship with Melanie.
Where is Julius Mullins now?
After confessing to killing Manuela in May 2020, almost a whole year after the high school teacher's death, Julius was declared guilty in the 90th District Court under two counts: murder and abuse of the corpse.
The murder charges landed him 55 years of imprisonment at the age of 19, along with a hefty fine of $10,000, according to Times Record News. In addition to the murder charge, he was sentenced to 20 years for corpse tampering and pleaded guilty to burglary, resulting in an additional 20 years of imprisonment. These sentences will run concurrently, meaning he will serve 55 years behind bars. Julius will be eligible for parole in 2047. He is presently incarcerated at the Young County Jail.
