Tarrant County DA goes after cold cases

Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells is rolling out a new initiative dedicated to addressing unsolved homicides and other serious violent crimes.

He has created a Cold Case Task Force that will use advances in DNA technology and digital forensics to work closely with local police departments to identify offenders, hold them accountable and bring long-awaited answers to victims’ families.

“This task force isn’t simply an investigative unit,” Sorrells said. “It’s a promise to victims, families and Tarrant County residents that justice will always be pursued here.”

“Every victim deserves justice and every family deserves answers,” he said.

This task force of prosecutors and investigators will collaborate with law enforcement partners as well as forensic laboratories.

The effectiveness of modern forensic technology has already been demonstrated in Tarrant County.

In one case that remained unsolved for 46 years, 17-year-old Carla Walker was abducted, sexually assaulted and strangled after a Western Hills High School dance in 1974. Her body was discovered three days later in a culvert near Benbrook Lake.

The case was closed with no resolution. In 2019, the case was reopened. New advanced testing matched DNA from Glen McCurley to stains found on Carla Walker’s clothes. He was arrested in 2020 and went to trial in 2021. Three days into the trial, McCurley pled guilty, and the judge sentenced him to life in prison. He died in prison less than two years later at the age of 80.

“Testing is the key to finding justice for families,” Sorrells said. “This task force sends a clear message that we do not forget crime victims, and we will never stop fighting for justice.”

This comes as U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has proposed the Carla Walker Act to dedicate federal grant funds to support forensic genetic genealogy DNA analysis to help solve previously unsolvable cold cases.

“Tarrant County is safer when those who harm others know that we will pursue justice no matter how many years have passed,” Sorrells said.