Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells has launched a new task force focused on addressing unsolved homicide cases and other violent crimes.<\/p>\n
The Cold Case Task Force, which went into effect Thursday, will use DNA technology and digital forensics to work alongside local police departments to solve cold cases, Sorrells said in a press release.<\/p>\n
The new task force is made up of prosecutors and investigators and will collaborate with law enforcement officials as well as forensic laboratories.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis task force isn\u2019t simply an investigative unit,\u201d Sorrells said. \u201cIt\u2019s a promise to victims, families, and Tarrant County residents that justice will always be pursued here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Modern technology used by the county helped solve a cold case dating back to 1974 in Fort Worth.<\/p>\n
Carla Walker was 17 years old when she was kidnapped and murdered after a Western Hills High School dance. Her body was discovered three days later near Benbrook Lake.<\/p>\n
The case was eventually closed and remained unsolved until it was reopened in 2019, according to Sorrells.<\/p>\n
New advanced testing matched DNA from stains found on Walker\u2019s clothes, leading to the arrest of 78-year-old Glen McCurley in 2020.<\/a> He pleaded guilty in 2021 and was sentenced to life in prison. McCurley died in prison less than two years later at the age of 80.<\/p>\n U.S. Sen. John Cornyn last year proposed the Carla Walker Act<\/a> in her honor, dedicating federal grant funds to support forensic genetic genealogy DNA analysis to help solve previously unsolvable cold cases.<\/p>\n \u201cTarrant County is safer when those who harm others know that we will pursue justice no matter how many years have passed,\u201d Sorrells said.<\/p>\n Penelope Rivera is KERA’s Tarrant County Accountability Reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope Rivera at\u00a0privera@kera.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n