Murder of Carla Walker

On the evening of February 17, 1974, Walker was sitting with her boyfriend, Rodney McCoy, in his car after attending a dance at Western Hills High School. The car door suddenly swung open and the two were attacked by an unknown assailant. McCoy was pistol-whipped and rendered unconscious. His last memory of the incident is Walker being grabbed and taken by the unknown male, as she screamed for help. Walker was nowhere to be seen after McCoy regained consciousness. McCoy immediately went to Walker's house to inform her parents following the incident.[1][2]

The police were called and searched the area where she had been abducted. Her purse was the only item recovered in the parking lot. On February 20, 1974, her lifeless body was found near a ditch in Lake Benbrook. The autopsy revealed she had been beaten, tortured, raped, and strangled to death. Toxicology reports also showed she had been injected with morphine. The police had several suspects in mind during the initial investigation and were even able to obtain DNA samples from the crime scene. However, adequate technology to use such samples to identify the killer did not exist in the 1970s.[3] A mysterious letter by a person claiming to know the killer was among the few pieces of evidence received and released by the police department.[4]

The murder remained a cold case for 46 years until September 2020, when DNA evidence was sent to Othram Inc. Leads from Othram and a follow up investigation by Detectives Wagner and Bennett led to the identification of 77-year old Glen Samuel McCurley as a suspect to the crime. Police obtained DNA samples from the trash receptacle outside his home. He also agreed to provide a DNA sample when questioned by authorities. The matching of the samples were enough to arrest and charge the man with the crime.[5] He went on trial in August 2021. However before the jury reached a verdict, McCurley changed his plea to guilty and he was sentenced to life in prison.[6][7][8]