Carla Walker case: solved 46 years later.

A common statement among the loved ones of the victims of crimes that become cold cases is that they thought the cases would never be solved. But in recent years it appears that this is less and less the fate for many of these cases where the trail of information had long run cold because new advances are capable of digging up clues which had evaded detection and leading investigators right to the truth even in cases that go back multiple decades.

One of Texas's oldest cold cases was solved in 2020. For 46 years the shocking death of Carla Jan Walker was left unsolved. February 16th, 1974 was a day of celebration and joy that took a shocking and tragic turn. 17 year old Carla Walker, a popular cheerleader, was getting ready for the Valentine's Day dance at her high school in Fort Worth, Texas. Described by many to be an outgoing spitfire, her family was excited to see her off with her date, her boyfriend Rodney.

Rodney McCoy was a year older than Carla. And as he was the football team's quarterback, the two of them made the perfect high school couple. They apparently had a great time at the school dance where they met up with friends. Though the dance was supervised, the couple reportedly managed to sneak a few sips from a flask and each smoked what was reported to be a small amount of pot. Though they were having fun, the couple left the dance early to get food with their friends at a local eatery. Carla and Rodney eventually left their friends in search of some alone time and went to the well-known hangout for local teens, a bowling alley.

However, instead of going inside, the two decided to sit in the back of their vehicle in the mostly empty parking lot. As teens do, they were talking and laughing in the back seat before the couple started kissing. Because of the angle at which Carla was sitting, her back was up against the car door. And because they were both in the back seat occupied with each other, they didn't notice as a stranger approached the vehicle.

People rarely lock their doors while they're inside the vehicle. And Rodney was no different. So when the stranger pulled at the door behind Carla, it opened easily and she tumbled outside onto the ground. Rodney tried to grab Carla from where she had fallen but the stranger pulled out a gun and pointed it at Rodney threatening to kill him.

Carla, reportedly screamed, "I'll go with you just don't shoot him!" Rodney heard the gun fire and he panicked thinking he was being shot. But then the stranger pointed the gun into his face and pulled the trigger again, but this time nothing happened. Rodney realized the gun wasn't loaded but before he had time to think further, he was struck in the head repeatedly, which knocked him unconscious. When her woke up, he was still in his vehicle with a bleeding gash on his head, but Carla was missing. The last thing that Rodney remembered was that Carla had shouted to him, "Go get my dad!" Covered in blood, Rodney raced to Carla's house and told her parents what happened.

Horrified, the Walkers called the police and Carla's shocked father went back to the bowling alley. Police met him there and they found a magazine for a 22 caliber Ruger pistol. The search for Carla Walker was enormous including police and volunteers who went by foot, horseback and helicopter to try to find any sign of her. Rodney had given the police an incredibly clear description of the stranger. He said the man was Caucasian and slender, clean-cut with short wavy hair and had been wearing a shiny green sleeveless vest and a white cowboy hat. Rodney was also sure that he had heard the man speak with a Texas accent.

At first, Rodney himself had become a suspect, but more because the police had no other leads. Carla's body was found after three days of searching in a ditch near Lake Benbrook. Through her autopsy, it appeared that she had died 24 to 36 hours after she was taken. And that she had been held captive for that period during which she was tortured and assaulted. It was also revealed that she had been injected with morphine.

Her death was believed to be caused by strangulation. As soon as she was found, the police were flooded with tips and suggested suspects by the general public.

In fact, the police recorded about 200 calls containing possible information. It seemed like the case would be easily solved as there were several viable suspects. One suspect who caught the police's attention was Glenn Samuel McCurley who lived less than a mile from the bowling alley, was off work from his truck driving job, and didn't have anyone to vouch for his alibi because his wife was away the night Carla was taken.

McCurley had become a person of interest when he bought bullets for a gun matching the magazine found in the parking lot where Carla was abducted. When police asked to see his gun, he said that it had been stolen around the time that Carla was taken and that he never reported it because he had a criminal record from a previous car theft. Though McCurley was clearly suspicious, the police had no conclusive evidence to link him to the crime. And so they had to release him.

The police followed up on other suspects and some people even came forward to confess they were involved but each person was ultimately eliminated. For years, police revisited Carla's case and frequently they had leads but none resulted in finding her killer. However, the investigators were sure they would one day ultimately solve Carla's murder as they had collected DNA evidence from Carla's body and her clothing.

The only problem was the technology to accurately sequence the DNA samples didn't exist in the 1970s. It wasn't until 2019, decades after Carla's horrific murder that her case received a renewed interest when a letter related to her death was discovered and shared to social media. With more recent awareness on her case, the DNA found on Carla's bra was sent Othram Incorporated. Using the most cutting edge technology that hadn't previously been available. Othram created a full DNA profile of a suspect. The profile was compared in CODIS, Combined DNA Index System which failed to find any results.

But when added to GEDmatch, the DNA sequence came up with a narrowed search to three brothers with the last name McCurley. on July 7th, 2020, investigators took the bin from outside of 77 year old Glen Samuel McCurley's house. As he had been the police's primary suspect, they were quick to narrow down his name from his brothers who appeared in the DNA match. Items from his bin were examined and his DNA was collected. 

On September 4th, 2020, it was determined that McCurley's DNA matched the DNA on Carla's bra. A few days later, the police approached McCurley where they spoke to him and his wife. He told them the exact same story that he had recited years prior, that he hadn't killed anyone and that he never knew Carla Walker. McCurley even provided a DNA sample and consented to having it analyzed.

These swabs of McCurley's DNA once again matched the sample found on Carla and he was finally arrested. McCurley is charged with capital murder and is being held on a $100,000 bail while he awaits trial.

The details of McCurley's life over the past four decades are still being examined. Jim Walker, Carla's brother, spoke at a news conference announcing the development in the case saying, "Finally, after 46 years, five months and three days, we have a name, a face and are working toward a complete resolution."

Though Jim says they are praying for McCurley's family, he wants to see full justice served in his sister's death. However, Carla's case took a dramatic turn when McCurley spoke from prison. No longer denying having anything to do with Carla's death, McCurley is now claiming that he saved her.

In an interview, McCurley explained that he had been heavily drinking the night he randomly came across Carla and her boyfriend in the parking lot of the bowling alley. McCurley alleged quote, "He was hitting on her, and I was drinking beer in the parking lot. And I saw him. He was screaming. And I went over there and opened the door, and knocked him off of her."

He then went on to claim that he pulled Carla to his car where they talked until she calmed down. And she had apparently thanked him for getting her boyfriend off of her. McCurley then described, "She just gave me a hug. I gave her a kiss. I mistook her for something else. I didn't mean to do it." He refused to explain anything more about Carla's murder but many people are looking at his statement with skepticism.More details are expected to be revealed when a trial date is finally set for 2021.