Carla Walker Act: Bill to fund cold-case tech introduced in U.S. Senate
The Brief
"The Carla Walker Act," aims to boost funding for advanced DNA analysis in cold case investigations.
Co-authored by Sen. John Cornyn, the bill would support advanced technology to close previously unsolvable cold cases.
The bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate and has companion legislation in the House, but has not yet passed.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A bill co-authored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) would increase funding for advanced DNA analysis with the hope of helping to solve cold cases.
The Carla Walker Act, introduced to the U.S. Senate on Thursday, is named for a 17-year-old Fort Worth native who was killed in 1974, but whose case went unsolved for more than four decades due to a lack of analysis technology.
According to Cornyn's office, the bill, coauthored by Peter Welch (D-Vermont), would use current federal funding to support advanced technology called forensic genetic genealogy (FGG) DNA analysis.
The goal of the funding is to help solve previously unsolvable cold cases like Walker's.
According to the release, the advanced FGG technology that would be funded by the bill enables investigators to build family trees leading back to cold case suspects.
Traditional technology examines far fewer DNA profiles than is possible through FGG, the release says.
The backstory
Walker went missing 46 years before her case was solved. The 17-year-old was abducted from a bowling alley in Fort Worth after going to a Valentine's Day dance with her boyfriend.
Three days after her disappearance, Walker's body was found in a drainage ditch 30 minutes away from Forth Worth. While officials were able to find DNA evidence on her body, a lack of forensic technology prevented them from finding a suspect.
Nearly half a century later, investigators in 2020 were able to find and match the DNA found on Walker to Glen McCurley, who was 77 at the time of his arrest. McCurley had been a minor suspect in the 1976 crime, but investigators could not find compelling enough evidence to connect him to the offense.
McCurley later confessed to the murder and received a sentence of life in prison.
Why you should care
Walker's case was eventually solved with FGG analysis, but only after most of her remains passed away without ever learning what happened to the murdered 17-year-old.
If passed, Cornyn's bill aims to bring swifter justice for cold-case victims and answers for their loved ones.
What they're saying
"Fort Worth native Carla Walker was abducted in a bowling alley and tragically murdered in 1974, but it took more than four decades and the advent of forensic genetic genealogy DNA analysis for her killer to be identified and brought to justice," said Cornyn. "I am proud to have authored this legislation, which would make this cutting-edge DNA testing technology more widely available to law enforcement so they can better identify and prosecute offenders, solve cold cases, and bring closure to victims' families."
"Advancements in forensic DNA technology have revolutionized our ability to combat crime. In Vermont, detectives were able to use forensic genetic genealogy analysis to help provide answers to a family who thought they might never come. We've also seen how this technology can be a powerful tool in giving those wrongly accused a chance to clear their names," said coauthor Welch. "Our bipartisan bill will help investigators across the country harness the incredible power of FGG technology to crack cold cases and deliver justice to countless victims and families, and I'm thankful for Senator Cornyn's leadership on it."
What's next
The bill has yet to be passed by the U.S. Senate.
U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) is leading companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
The Source
Information in this article came from the office of U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and previous Fox 4 reporting.
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