'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Carla Walker was kidnapped, tortured, r*ped, and strangled to death in February 1974. Over four decades later, using DNA evidence found on her clothing, investigators solved the cold case by arresting 77-year-old Glen McCurley, a retired truck driver, maintenance worker, and ex-convict, in September 2020.
McCurley was previously questioned in connection with the murder early on in the investigation when the magazine of a gun he owned was found at the crime scene. He claimed that the weapon was stolen and was soon ruled out as a suspect.
Decades later, following his arrest, McCurley was charged with capital murder and initially denied committing the crime, pleading not guilty. He later changed his plea to guilty on the third day of court proceedings and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
According to The US Sun, Glen McCurley is currently serving his sentence at the Gib Lewis Unit in Woodville, Texas.
NBC Dateline's two-hour Friday mystery will further delve into Carla Walker's murder from decades ago in an episode titled After the Dance. The official synopsis says:
"Fort Worth, Texas, investigators desperately search for answers after a 17-year-old high school student is kidnapped and murdered following a Valentine’s Day dance. Josh Mankiewicz reports."
The upcoming episode will air on NBC at 9 pm ET on July 28, 2023.
DNA and other evidence crucial evidence was used to solve Carla Walker's 1974 kidnapping and murder
Carla Walker was 17 years old when she was kidnapped by an unidentified man on February 17, 1974, after attending the Valentine's Day dance at Fort Worth's Western Hills High School.
Walker was taken from a bowling alley, where she was sitting inside her then-boyfriend Rodney McCoy's car. The man reportedly pistol-whipper McCoy, who only gained consciousness after the kidnapper had fled the scene with the girl.
Three days later, following an extensive search, her body was found in a culvert near Benbrook Lake. She had been beaten, r*ped, tortured, and strangled to death after being kept alive for two days, according to reports. DNA found on her clothing initially failed to produce results.
After more than four decades, on September 21, 2020, investigators arrested 77-year-old Glen McCurley, a retired truck driver, maintenance worker, and ex-convict, after his DNA matched the one found on Carla Walker's clothes all those years ago. McCurley was charged with capital murder, to which he pleaded not guilty.
More about the detailed investigation and DNA testing in Carla Walker's cold case led to an arrest 46 years later
NBC 5 reported that Carla Walker's case was solved after cold case detectives sent the DNA sample found on her clothes to a private lab called Othram in The Woodlands. There, experts use ground-breaking to expose genetic identities "through DNA, rootless hair and decades-old bones."
Othram developed the full DNA profile of a potential suspect for the first time, which was then used to narrow down the suspect to three brothers with the McCurley last name.
The same outlet reported that McCurley's name was mentioned in the case file from the initial investigation into Carla Walker's murder. In 1974, a man named Glen McCurley was declared a person of interest after a .22 Ruger magazine found at the parking lot from where the victim was taken matched a gun he owned.
Nearly two months after the kidnapping and killing, McCurley was interrogated when he claimed that his .22 Ruger was stolen about six weeks prior to the incident and that he didn't report it because, being an ex-convict, it could have caused troubles for him.
McCurley was ruled out as a suspect after the 1974 interview with investigators and was reportedly only targeted again when the DNA profile match was found in GEDMATCH. Moreover, he lived in a house located about one mile from the bowling alley where the 17-year-old was taken.
In July 2020, investigators discretely collected trash from a bin outside his house and sent it for testing. By September, they learned that the sample taken from his trash matched the one found on Walker's clothing. He was arrested that same month and charged with capital murder.
Where is Glen McCurley now?
Glen McCurley initially pleaded not guilty and maintained his innocence. However, on the third day of court proceedings during his 2021 trial, he changed his plea to guilty in Carla Walker's murder and was eventually sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
According to The US Sun, McCurley is currently serving his sentence at the Gib Lewis Unit in Woodville, Texas.
The case airs on NBC Dateline this Friday at 9 pm ET.
