Cold cases don’t usually get solved in a classroom, but in North Texas, that’s exactly what happened! More than three decades after 25-year-old Cynthia Gonzalez was murdered, a group of college students helped detectives uncover a new suspect in a case that had gone silent since the early 1990s.
What started as a class project at the University of Texas at Arlington has now led to a capital murder charge, and long-awaited hope for a family that’s spent 34 years without answers.
What Happened to Cynthia Gonzalez?
Cynthia Gonzalez was just 25 years old when she was killed in September of 1991. According to police, Gonzalez dropped off her six-year-old daughter at her ex-husband’s home before heading to meet a client for a private dance. She never returned.
Her abandoned car was found near the meeting location, and five days later her body was discovered dumped in a rural ditch roughly 30 minutes away. She had been shot multiple times and left naked, and extreme Texas heat and rain severely damaged potential forensic evidence.
From the start, investigators believed the killer was male and spent years focusing on men in Gonzalez’s life. Every possible suspect was eventually ruled out. And the case went cold.
How a UT Arlington Class Got Involved in a Cold Case
Fast-forward more than 30 years. The Arlington Police Department doesn’t have a dedicated cold case unit, meaning unsolved murders must compete with active investigations. In 2024 alone, detectives were juggling multiple homicides, officer-involved shootings, and other major cases.
That’s when a new idea emerged: hand old cases to students. A criminology professor at the University of Texas at Arlington launched a specialized class and partnered with the police department, giving a small group of students full access to real cold case files.
Detective Anthony Stafford turned over five boxes of evidence- more than 1,000 documents- and let the students dive in.
As the semester went on, something stood out to the students. A woman mentioned repeatedly in the original detective’s notes. The students questioned why she hadn’t been investigated more deeply and asked whether she had been interviewed, whether her husband had been interviewed, and whether her DNA or fingerprints had ever been compared to evidence. Those questions changed everything.
Stafford revisited the files and discovered sworn statements from two men who claimed the woman- Janie Perkins- had confessed to the murder in the early 1990s, sharing details only someone involved would have known. According to investigators, Perkins was allegedly involved in a love triangle and enraged when a man left her to be with Gonzalez.
Why No Arrest Was Made Back Then
Despite the confessions and failed polygraph tests, Perkins was never arrested in the 1990s. Polygraphs aren’t admissible in court, and investigators couldn’t link her to the crime through forensic evidence. At the time, prosecutors often required definitive physical proof before filing murder charges. The lead detective worked the case for years and died in 2013 without making an arrest.
A Breakthrough Decades Later
With renewed focus and modern investigative standards, Perkins was arrested in November 2024 at her home in Azle, Texas, and charged with capital murder. She has since been released on bond as prosecutors continue building their case. Perkins denies the allegations. Her attorneys say she is innocent and confident the facts will clear her name.
Meanwhile, investigators say additional DNA and forensic testing is now underway.
Detective Stafford personally told the students about the arrest, a moment that left many of them in tears.
For Gonzalez’s daughter, who was just six years old when her mother was murdered, the arrest brought a mix of relief and disbelief after decades without answers. The case has also sparked national interest in similar partnerships, with other police departments and universities exploring the idea of using students to help tackle long-unsolved crimes.
What started as a college class assignment has now become a blueprint for how cold cases might be approached in the future.
Sometimes, it turns out, the key to solving a decades-old mystery isn’t new technology, it’s a new perspective. Also, I would 100% watch a docu-series or listen to a podcast about this!
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Gallery Credit: Texas Department of Public Safety
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