GUILTY TX - Carla Walker, 17, abducted, raped and strangled, Fort Worth, 17 Feb 1974 *Arrest in 2020*

[LadyL]

omg they had him back then!
(mugshot at link)

That DNA profile was then used to narrow the search to three brothers with the last name McCurley.

McCurley was the name of a possible suspect in Walker's case file. Police said during the initial investigation of Walker's death, Glen Samuel McCurley had been identified as a person of interest in 1974 because he owned a gun, a .22 Ruger, that matched a magazine found at the crime scene.

Nearly two months after Walker's disappearance and murder, McCurley was picked up and interviewed by detectives about the case. McCurley told detectives in 1974 that his wife had gone to West Texas to visit family and that his .22 Ruger had been stolen about six weeks earlier (around the time of the murder) and that he didn't report it because he was an ex-con who'd been to jail for car theft.

McCurley also told investigators that on the day of the murder he worked until 4:30 p.m. as a truck driver and had been off work the following day. Detectives did not again pursue McCurley following the 1974 interview until the DNA profile match was found in GEDMATCH.

Suspect Arrested in 1974 Cold Case Murder of Carla Walker; Was ‘Random Attack': Police

 

[Betty P]

I am so thankful that Carla's family will finally get the closure they deserve. I am local to the area, Carla was in the youth group at my Grandmothers church. My Grandmother was so relieved to hear of the arrest. I am very curious if he has any involvement in the 1974 disappearance of the "Fort Worth Trio", Mary Trlica, Lisa Wilson, and Julie Moseley:
Fort Worth Missing Trio - Wikipedia.

Their case and Carla's was always heavy on my heart.

MOO.

I was wondering the same thing.

 

[they'll get you]

Blessings to Carla’s family.
DNA is solving some very cold cases here as well.
Love from Australia

A man was arrested and charged in the 1974 killing of a Texas teenage girl after nearly 50 years of investigation and the advancement of DNA technology, police said.
Glen McCurley, 77, of Fort Worth, was arrested early Monday and charged with capital murder in the abduction, torture, rape and slaying of 17-year-old Carla Walker. He is confined to the Tarrant County Jail with bond set at US$100,000.
Man, 77, charged in 1974 murder of Texas teenage girl

 

[othram]

Blessings to Carla’s family.
DNA is solving some very cold cases here as well.
Love from Australia

A man was arrested and charged in the 1974 killing of a Texas teenage girl after nearly 50 years of investigation and the advancement of DNA technology, police said.
Glen McCurley, 77, of Fort Worth, was arrested early Monday and charged with capital murder in the abduction, torture, rape and slaying of 17-year-old Carla Walker. He is confined to the Tarrant County Jail with bond set at US$100,000.
Man, 77, charged in 1974 murder of Texas teenage girl

Congrats on what is being done in Australia. Everyone deserves justice.

 

[neesaki]

Fort Worth PD Announces Arrest in 1974 Cold Case Murder of Carla Walker

Fort Worth PD Announces Arrest in 1974 Cold Case Murder of Carla Walker

From the article. Considering the violent and gruesome nature of the crime it’s hard to believe it was the only time he did this. jmo

Over the last four decades, police said it appears McCurley had led a relatively normal life, was married and had two children. Police said Tuesday that McCurley is not a suspect in any other crimes.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Wow, they had him back in 1974. And with a piss-poor alibi. I hope he’s not found to be responsible for any more horrific crimes, before or after Carla.

Thank you @othram, once again.

Rest peacefully now pretty girl!

 

[MadMcGoo]

I’m also very curious as to what he was up to in 1974 - how did he get ahold of morphine if it was hard to come by then.

 

[Mind your biscuits]

I’m also very curious as to what he was up to in 1974 - how did he get ahold of morphine if it was hard to come by then.

I was wondering about that too. Where did he keep the victim until he dumped her? In his own house? Moo

 

[JudgeJoe]

OMG OMG I knew he'd still be around here ....wonder if any involvement with the FW3 I am so happy , her brother I met years ago didn't live long enough to see this but I'm sure he's up there dancing!

Oh no- too much loss in one family. I hope she has other living family members who can experience the relief of this awesome day.

 

[JudgeJoe]

Capital murder he’s eligible for the death penalty , if they choose to seek it .

Ya gotta love Texas. They don’t mess around with these slimeballs.

 

[LunaInvidia]

Do we know if he was the one named in the letter?

 

[Falcon500]

I’m also very curious as to what he was up to in 1974 - how did he get ahold of morphine if it was hard to come by then.

I’m betting that’s going to be some lab issue where something in the decomposition process was mistaken for morphine.

 

[oviedo]

I was wondering about that too. Where did he keep the victim until he dumped her? In his own house? Moo

from the link:
Nearly two months after Walker's disappearance and murder, McCurley was picked up and interviewed by detectives about the case. McCurley told detectives in 1974 that his wife had gone to West Texas to visit family and that his .22 Ruger had been stolen about six weeks earlier (around the time of the murder) and that he didn't report it because he was an ex-con who'd been to jail for car theft.

McCurley also told investigators that on the day of the murder he worked until 4:30 p.m. as a truck driver and had been off work the following day. Detectives did not again pursue McCurley following the 1974 interview until the DNA profile match was found in GEDMATCH.
snip
The case gained renewed interest in March 2019 after detectives discovered a letter related to the murder and shared it on social media. NBC 5 profiled the murder in 2017 during a series of cold case reports. Police said Tuesday afternoon that the letter was not part of the development of McCurley as a suspect.
Suspect Arrested in 1974 Cold Case Murder of Carla Walker; Was ‘Random Attack': Police

If his wife was out of town did he plan for this and keep her at his house and then killing / dumping her when the wife returned home?

 

[JudgeJoe]

I’m betting that’s going to be some lab issue where something in the decomposition process was mistaken for morphine.

The ME said she was injected with morphene. I wonder if he noted injection mark(s) on his autopsy report- in addition to whatever substance he noted in blood or urine. I don’t believe biologists learned that morphine can be produced by the body itself till much later than the 1970’s.
Human Bodies Make Their Own Morphine

 

[weegee]

Could there have been two perps? The boyfriend was hit on the back of the head, could someone have hit him from behind while the other had the gun pointed at Carla? Or could have been driving the get away, it seems so bold to abduct her when she was already with someone rather than a girl walking alone. Either that or it shows his confidence which I’d bet means he’s either killed or raped before.

 

[weegee]

Also just a side note, but how terrifying there are all these murderers living among us. On the unsolved cases a lot of folks suggests an already known or convicted killer as a potential suspect. Most of the recent dna solves are guys not even on the radar, that have been roaming free doing god knows what for how long.

 

[othram]

Also just a side note, but how terrifying there are all these murderers living among us. On the unsolved cases a lot of folks suggests an already known or convicted killer as a potential suspect. Most of the recent dna solves are guys not even on the radar, that have been roaming free doing god knows what for how long.

Time to find them. We have the technology to do this as a team and Websleuths is a large team.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Just wanted to leave this here for those who may not have seen it...

Othram - General Discussion

 

[Gracie55]

Could there have been two perps? The boyfriend was hit on the back of the head, could someone have hit him from behind while the other had the gun pointed at Carla? Or could have been driving the get away, it seems so bold to abduct her when she was already with someone rather than a girl walking alone. Either that or it shows his confidence which I’d bet means he’s either killed or raped before.

I think It could be possibly more than one peep since the boyfriend uses "they" when relating to her parents what happened.

"It was 1974 when police say someone opened the door of the parked car Walker was in and snatched her. She was 17 years old and was on a date with her boyfriend, who alerted the family about what happened.

“Jim and I both answered the door, and he was bleeding from the head,” Stone recalled. “And he said, ‘They’ve got her! They’ve got her! And they are going to hurt her bad.’”

So who is "they"? Or was the young man simply dazed and used the plural?

Handwritten letter rekindles interest in 1974 Fort Worth cold case

 

[snakefinger]

I think It could be possibly more than one peep since the boyfriend uses "they" when relating to her parents what happened.

"It was 1974 when police say someone opened the door of the parked car Walker was in and snatched her. She was 17 years old and was on a date with her boyfriend, who alerted the family about what happened.

“Jim and I both answered the door, and he was bleeding from the head,” Stone recalled. “And he said, ‘They’ve got her! They’ve got her! And they are going to hurt her bad.’”

So who is "they"? Or was the young man simply dazed and used the plural?

Handwritten letter rekindles interest in 1974 Fort Worth cold case

If she was being pulled from the passenger side front door and the boyfriend lunged to grab her back I could see him getting hit in the back of the head by the same individual grabbing Ms. Walker. I imagine now that they have made an arrest more information will be determined by LE.