FORT WORTH, TEXAS: It often happens that even with all the efforts of an investigation team, murder cases remain unsolved for years and years. Carla Walker's sexual assault and murder case from 1974 is perhaps one of the most haunting examples of America's unsolved cases.
Walker was just 17 when she was brutally killed after being abducted. The scene of the crime and her body left no leads that the investigators could pursue. Her case remained unsolved for over 46 years, until technological advancements helped the investigators zero in on the killer. NBC's 'Dateline' will do a rerun of the investigation this Friday, July 28, 2023. The episode originally came out last year.
How was Carla Walker killed?
Walker was a high school student at Western Hills. She was dating Rodney McCoy, who was the last person to see her alive as they sat in an unmoving car after attending a school dance in February of '74. They were attacked by an unidentified man who struck McCoy unconscious with a gun and kidnapped Walker from the car. “Rodney, go get my dad" were the last words McCoy heard from Walker. It took a while before he regained consciousness and informed her family.
Three days after the abduction, Walker's body was found in an open drain in Lake Benbrook. An autopsy revealed Walker was killed only a day before her body was found and that she had been sexually assaulted, tortured, and beaten before being strangled to death. DNA investigation wasn't an option at the time and the case was left unsolved for a long time owing to a lack of resources.
Who killed Carla Walker?
Walker's case was picked back up decades later after the relentless pressure her brother Jim Walker put on investigators. They collected Walker's leftover DNA for further investigation. However, the tests were deemed too expensive for a cold case. Nevertheless, Walker contacted an acquaintance to secure funding from a network called Oxygen in order to facilitate the tests.
It did not take them long to discover that Glen McCurley, one of the suspects from the days of active investigation, was associated with the rape and murder of Walker. McCurley was 77 years old by the time he became a suspect again and it did not take him long to give in to the pressure of the court and the police officers to plead guilty for Walker's death.
