A Texas man arrested in September for the 1974 death of a teen girl has been indicted on a capital murder charge.
NBC 5 reports that 77-year-old Glen Samuel McCurley was indicted this week in connection with the death of Carla Jan Walker, a 17-year-old Western Hills High School junior who was kidnapped and murdered in 1974. McCurley was taken into custody in September and remained behind bars while awaiting the indictment.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Walker had just attended a Valentine’s Day dance in Fort Worth shortly before she vanished. She was snatched while sitting in the passenger seat of her boyfriend’s car while at a bowling alley parking lot.
According to Walker’s boyfriend, Rodney McCoy, an unknown man approached the car and pointed a gun at him. Within minutes, something hit McCoy in the head and knocked him out. When McCoy woke up, he felt blood coming from his head and flowing into his eyes. He also had a large cut under his eye. Walker was gone.
Police found Walker’s body three days later near Benbrook Lake. After investigations, detectives determined Walker had been tortured while kept alive for days before the suspect killed her. She was also injected with morphine, beaten, and raped.
DNA from Walker’s clothing was sent to a private Texas lab that uncovers DNA and genetic evidence via “DNA, rootless hair and decades-old bones.” The DNA profile of a suspect was then established, which matched to three brothers with the last name of McCurley.
During the initial investigation in 1974, one of the brothers, Glen Samuel McCurley, was a person of interest after police found out he owned a .22 Ruger. The magazine found at the crime scene matched the gun.
At the time, there wasn’t enough evidence for an arrest, and McCurley claimed the gun had been stolen from him while fishing at a river, Dallas News reports.
Over 40 years later, detectives decided to collect trash from McCurley’s trash can, in an attempt to get his DNA. After they found a match, they went to the suspect’s home to interview him. McCurley invited the detectives inside and recited the same thing he told authorities in 1974.
McCurley then agreed to a DNA swab, which ultimately matched the DNA found on Walker’s bra.
Authorities said they believe that the attack was random and McCurley didn’t know the victim.
After the crime, McCurley seemed to have lived a normal life without any arrests. He got married and had two children.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Here is a related episode.
[Feature Photo: Carla Walker/Family Handout
