Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - Was Carla Walker Murdered by a Serial Killer?

Episode Date: May 20, 2024

In 1974, 17-year-old Carla Walker was abducted from a car in Fort Worth, Texas. Days later, her body was discovered in a remote culvert a few miles away. 46 years later, an arrest was made. But was she Glen McCurley’s only victim? Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Due to the nature of this case, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of violence, abduction, rape, and murder. Consider this when deciding how and when you'll listen. One night back in 1974, Carla Walker went to a high school dance and never came home. Now, her family sits in a courthouse in Fort Worth, Texas, staring at her murderer. It's 2021. They've been waiting 47 years to see him put behind bars. Minutes from now, Carla's cold case will officially be solved, but a few nagging issues remain. For one thing, after watching the man's police interview, not everybody is sure he's telling the whole truth.

Some of the details he gave were dubious. Either his memory has faded, or he's. He's lying. And he hadn't taken responsibility for the bruises on her body, but somebody put them there. Most of all, nobody can be sure that Carla was the only victim of Glenn Samuel McCurley, Jr. I'm Vanessa Richardson, and this is Serial Killers, a Spotify podcast. You can find us here every Monday. Be sure to check us out on Instagram at Serial Killers Podcast. We'd love to hear from you.

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extremely helpful to our research. It's the evening of February 16th, 1974. In a lively suburban household in Fort Worth, Texas, 17-year-old Carla Rosa poses for photographs in a floor-length gown, baby blue with white details. She smiles next to her boyfriend, Rodney McCoy. He's an 18-year-old star quarterback. Carla's a popular and friendly cheerleader. Friends describe them as the cool couple.

and that night they're heading to their school's Valentine's dance. It's just like Carla to share this moment with her whole family. They're really important to her, and vice versa. The Walker family even considers Rodney one of their own. After the customary pre-dance photos, Carla and Rodney say their goodbyes and walk out the door. Hours pass. Now it's after 1 a.m., and Carla's still out.

But that's not uncommon. Her parents trust the kids to come home at a reasonable hour. Besides, it's a Saturday night. Mr. and Mrs. Walker are still up playing a game of late-night dominoes. In the next room, two of Carla's siblings, 12-year-old Jim, and 18-year-old Cindy watch TV. Everything changes when the walkers hear an odd sound outside their home. It's a car hitting the curb and someone yelling for Mr. Walker. It's Rodney.

Blood dries in streaks down his face. Carla isn't with him. They got her, he tells the walkers. Carla, Rodney explains, was just abducted by an unknown man in the local bowling alley's parking lot, and he saw it all happen. Mr. Walker grabs his gun and rushes down to the bowling alley

while Mrs. Walker calls the police. Investigators speak to Rodney, for the first of what will be many times, and he relates this story. After Rodney and Carla drove off in his mother's car, they attended the high school dance. Then they cruised with friends along the local drag, Camp Bowie Boulevard. It's what teenagers did on a Saturday night in West Fort Worth.

Eventually, Carla and Rodney broke off from the group and stopped at the bowling alley to use the restroom. The place was bustling inside. The big, dimly lit parking lot outside was another story. so Carla and Rodney didn't leave right away. They made out for a bit in the car. Sometime after midnight, the passenger side door flew open. Carla had been leaning up against it, so she fell backward.

Behind her, a man loomed over them, pulling Carla out of the car. Rodney grabbed a hold, struggling to pull her back inside. In the chaos, Rodney never saw the attacker's face. just his outline. He got a rough idea of his height, not too tall, and his shape, stocky. He thought he saw something fall, maybe a cowboy hat, and he noticed the man had a really strong southern accent. Before Rodney could gather any more details, he was beat over the head with something hard, leaving him stunned. The next thing he knew, he was staring down the barrel of a gun, held inches from his face. It clicked but didn't fire. Carla screamed at the attacker not to hurt Rodney,

but that's when Rodney's memory starts to fade. The last thing he remembers is Carla turning her head and telling him to get her dad. Then Rodney passed out. When he woke up, Carla was gone. Not much time had passed. It was maybe around 1 a.m. when he picked him, up off the bench seat and got behind the wheel. Rodney tells police he drove straight from the bowling alley to the Walker's house, which isn't far, only a mile away, maybe less. Investigators arrive at the bowling alley and find Carla's purse on the ground in the parking lot. Next to it is a magazine from a gun, presumably the one pointed at Rodney. detectives suspect it fell out when Carla's abductor hit him over the head.

That's probably why it didn't fire when he pulled the trigger. It's a small miracle. Not only was Rodney's life spared, now detectives have a solid lead, because the magazine left behind is actually pretty unique in style. It doesn't take long to identify the weapon as a 22-caliber Ruger pistol. With the help of federal investigators, the Fort Worth team begins to compile a list of people who've purchased that gun.

Meanwhile, Carla's family holds up in their home. Rodney stays with them much of the time, sleeping in Carla's bed. Together, they all hold on to hope. Then, around 6.30 p.m. on February 20th, not quite four days since the abduction, Carla's body is found. Two patrolmen are out searching for carl. Carla in the Benbrook Lake area, a few miles southwest of her house. Not many people come through the recreational spot during the cold winter months, and it's not densely populated with homes.

It might have taken much longer to find Carla, but these two officers are specifically instructed to check this location. And there, halfway into a 30-foot culvert running below a road, They see her, and they know right away it's Carla Walker. She's still wearing her blue Valentine's dress, but it's disheveled. Some of her undergarments have been removed. An autopsy confirms she's been raped and strangled. The medical examiner notes bruises and scratches on her head, upper torso and legs, but no ligature marks,

a detail that suggests her killer used his hair. hands to strangle her. There's some obvious staining from bodily fluids on her dress, but again, it's 1974. Forensic DNA analysis won't be available for at least a dozen years. Officers on site carefully preserve the evidence anyway, including all of Carla's clothing. If they hadn't, this story would have a different ending. That's because for many years, Carla Walker's murder goes unsolved. Despite everybody in Fort Worth hoping to catch her killer, there's just not enough evidence to secure a single indictment. The list of people who own 22-caliber Rougars, it doesn't get them anywhere. The police speak with every name they're given, and one by one,

each person's story checks out. Rodney's questioned extensively and passes two polygraphs. None of Carla's friends or family have any reason to believe he's involved in Carla's murder. To them, it's clear. Rodney's also a victim. He agrees to be hypnotized to try to recall the event more vividly. A sketch artist draws up a facial composite based on this session, but the picture doesn't help much either. Investigators also administer a polygraph to Tommy Ray Neeland, a convicted rapist, and serial killer. It's another dead end. Months go by. Years turned to decades. Carla's little brother, Jim, who was 12 when she was murdered, grows up. He stays close to home and takes care of their

mom and dad. But his wish that his parents will live to see Carla's killer put behind bars doesn't come to pass. Over the years, DNA testing becomes commonplace and grows more advanced. as the Walker's wait for answers. Even then, it's not perfect. During one round of testing, a semen sample is drawn from Carla's decades-old dress. The DNA analysis comes up with a partial profile. It's enough to eliminate persons of interest, including Tommy Ray Neeland, but it still doesn't tell detectives exactly who they're looking for. Jim Walker gets worried, but he doesn't lose faith. He moves into his childhood home where he and Carla grew up, so anybody who wants to help solve the case will know where to find him. He stays in contact with Fort Worth detectives, too.

In January 2018, with the 44th anniversary of Carla's case right around the corner, Jim places another call to them. If there's any hope of getting justice, time may be running out if it's not too late already. That day, Jim talks to Detective Leah Wagner. The following year in 2019, she and her colleague Jeff Bennett reopened Carla's case. Around the same time, another person takes an interest, Paul Holes, a now legendary cold case detective, who helped catch the Golden State killer. From there, Holes puts Wagner and Bennett in touch with Othrum Labs, located in the Houston area, Othrum Labs is quickly gaining a reputation for closing some of the toughest cold cases, using advanced DNA technology. In addition to genetic genealogy,

they've been able to solve decades-long mysteries using even minuscule, degraded DNA samples, which is perfect, because the only known DNA sample remaining on Carla's clothing is worn down, and is mixed with her DNA. Othrum may only have one shot at this. It works. They're able to narrow the suspect list down considerably to someone with the last name, McCurley. When they call Detective Bennett with the news,

he recognizes the name immediately from the case files. Bennett goes back and locates the report he's thinking of, and there it is. Back in 1974, police interviewed a man named named Glenn Samuel McCurley Jr. He had once owned a 22-caliber Ruger pistol, and he still lives in Fort Worth just a couple of miles away from the old bowling alley.

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During the original case, detectives had interviewed McCurley shortly after Carla Walker's murder in 1974. They got his name because he'd owned the exact type of gun used to bludgeon Rodney McCoy at the site of Carla's abduction. But when a much younger Glenn McCurley spoke with police, he told them a story. His Ruger had been stolen. Investigators gave him a polygraph. He passed, and his name was scratched off the list. list. Now, the DNA evidence suggests he lied. Officers pay a visit to McCurley's house on July 7th, 2020, only they don't let on that they're closing in on the Carlo Walker case just yet. They

simply have a few questions about a parking violation, they say. Now in his 70s, Glenn McCurley stands and chats with police for a while. He even mentions that he'd like to move closer to a lake somewhere so he can spend his retirement fishing. Detective's Wagner and Bennett returned to his house that September. This time, they aren't playing coy. As soon as they mention Carla's murder, they get a reaction from the McCurley's. Only it's Glenn's wife who speaks up. She knows right away who they're talking about.

She remembers driving by the Walker home and seeing Carla's car parked out front for years. They apparently lived fairly close by. When investigators ask Glenn if he recalls his whereabouts that weekend at 1974, his wife pipes up. She was visiting her parents out of town. Glenn stayed home. Finally, Wagner and Bennett say they just need a DNA swab to rule McCurley out. He agrees. And he's a perfect match to the male DNA taken from Carla's closing.

11 days later, Glenn Samuel McCurley Jr. is arrested. At the police station, Wagner and Bennett questioned him about the night Carla was murdered over 46 and a half years ago. At first, he denies everything, but eventually he admits he choked Carla. During this confession of sorts, Glenn also makes claims the detectives find hard to believe, like he did have sex with with Carla, but it was consensual, and he left her in the parking lot alive. The nail in the coffin comes a short time later. McCurley admits he still has the 22-cali-Rugar wrapped up and hidden away in his house. Police located right away. The trial happens relatively quickly. McCurley pleads not guilty, and by the following August, the prosecution presents a mountain

of damning evidence and testimony. On day three of the trial, McCurley changes his plea to guilty. He receives a life sentence. Carlo Walker's family finally has some answers. Glenn McCurley's conviction stokes a lot of new questions, too. Questions that are even brought up during his trial. Namely, did he have any more victims? See, Carla's abduction.

and murder bears similarities to other cold cases around Fort Worth, stretching from about 1967 to 1984. Most people will tell you it's not likely that a single person committed every one of these crimes, but armchair detectives and authorities alike have considered the possibility for years, since even before Carla's body was discovered. Remember the two officers who located Carla in the remote culvert, they'd specifically been directed to search that area. That's because Carla isn't the only victim found near that location around that time. Months earlier, police discovered another woman in a secluded culvert who died in an unsolved crime in Fort Worth. Her name is Becky Martin.

On the evening of February 7, 1973, almost exactly one year before Carla's abduction, Becky Martin debates whether or not to skip classes. Her toddler is sick at home. But 21-year-old Becky and her husband have just purchased a new house, and she's going after a scholarship to help cover her studies. She plans to be a special education teacher. So she grabs her textbooks and drives to Terrant County Junior College South Campus around 6.15 p.m. Classmates spot Becky inside the school that night. She turns in an

assignment and leaves at approximately 8.30, likely walking back to her car in the parking lot. By 10 o'clock, Becky's husband David grows worried and heads to the college. He finds Becky's car, still in the parking lot where she'd normally leave it. Becky's nowhere to be found, and David phones the police immediately. They all notice a few things amiss around the car. For one thing, her textbooks are scattered all over the back seat. The note cards she used in class are found in a puddle about 150 feet away. And then there's all the mud on the tires, the front seat, even on the dashboard. Some of the splatters look like footprints. David later makes note of faint, thin lines indented in the drying dirt, and remembers that Becky left the house wearing a

corduroyd jacket. He tells police the car wasn't muddy like this when Becky left home a few hours ago, and he feels certain there's been foul play, almost as if somebody was waiting in the back seat when Becky was done with class. David also notes that she was driving their old car, which had given them trouble. Becky didn't know it yet, but David had just purchased her a brand-new sports car as a surprise to replace their less-reliable vehicle.

Police record all the evidence, but they can only guess where Becky went and hope she comes home safe. In the meantime, investigators follow up on a couple of leads, like one report of a woman's body in a park a few miles from the Martin's home. David organizes a group of volunteers, but their search is fruitless.

On March 26th, about seven weeks after Becky's disappearance, a family visits a dairy just outside of Fort Worth. There's not much else in this area right at the edge of Tarrant County, a couple housing developments, a lot of brushy land, and some trees here and there. It's not far from Benbrook Lake. Just inside a culvert, leading to the lake, under a two-lane road, they see what appears to be human remains. Police move in and confirm it's a body. For now, they don't know much beyond that. The elements have degraded the remains

so much that the person's sex can't be determined on sight alone. David Martin knows right away that it's Becky. He's been up half the night plagued by nightmares. Now a report on television mentions that an unidentified body has been found. David catches a glimpse of the person's curled brunette hair shown briefly in the news clip. Two days later, Becky Martin is positively identified via dental records. Investigators feel certain that Becky is the victim of a homicide and that she was likely killed elsewhere and placed in the culvert.

The medical examiner can't determine a specific cause of death, decomposition is too advanced. Combing the area for two days, police find no helpful clues. If there was evidence at one point, it's probably been washed away by the rain. Becky's clothing is never recovered, and there doesn't seem to be any DNA left at the scene. Like Carla Walker's case, Becky's goes cold for decades, and hers remains unsolved, to this day. But her name is never forgotten, especially once Carla's case is reopened and solved. The killing of Becky Martin shares a few notable similarities with Carla's story, in particular

the place and manner in which Becky's taken in a public parking lot at night, and where she's found in a deserted culvert on the edge of town in the same general area. Then there's the fact that both crimes happen almost exactly one year apart. For a while, detectives consider that the perpetrator might have some reason for traveling through Fort Worth each winter, like, say, the local rodeo, which happens in mid-January to early February. These could just be coincidences. The connection between Carla Walker and Becky Martin's cases was, and still is, purely speculation. But as one of the original detectives on Carla's case tells Texas Monthly in 2022, those coincidences were impossible to ignore. Remember, by the time they begin investigating Carla's murder,

authorities are already wondering if they have a repeat killer on their hands. See, there are certain details about the way Glenn McCurley murdered Carla that some experts say, suggest it was not a one-time occurrence. The Fort Worth Star Telegram, which has followed Carla's and Becky's cases since the beginning, spoke with Kim Rosmo, a director at Texas State University's School of Criminal Justice. He cautions that we don't have access to any psychological evaluation on Glenn McCurley if one was in fact performed. But Rosmo also acknowledges that because McCurley raped Carla, he may have been motivated by an urge. Urges are typically satisfied for a while, but often come back.

So urge-related crimes are more likely to be repeated. Retired FBI agent Dr. Brianna Fox adds that there's another possible indicator that Carla's murder wasn't a one-off crime. That's the fact that McCurley killed her by manual strangulation. This method, Dr. Fox explains, usually requires intense emotion and is physically demanding. Dr. Fox also points out, most murderers only kill one victim,

and it's somebody they know. As far as anybody can tell, Glenn McCurley and Carla Walker were strangers. That's another indicator that police might want to take another look at McCurley to see if he knows anything about other cold cases. Because in Becky Martin's case, detectives don't seem to have DNA evidence.

That's one thing. thing that sets it apart from Carla's case. There's no hope of raising money for advanced forensic testing. Only Glenn McCurley can confirm if he had anything to do with Becky's death, and he already said he didn't murder anybody else. But investigators know his story about Carla changed over time, and they have reason to suspect McCurley's holding back on some more details. When detectives Wagner and Bennett arrest McCurley in September 2021, they record the interview in which he confesses to choking Carla. That tape is later played in court, with at least one segment of the interview removed. This section of the tape contains information ruled inadmissible

in the Carla Walker case. In it, McCurley recalls that he left Carla up against a building. We know that's not true. She was found in a culvert. So the detectives push McCurley on that point. Is it possible, they ask, that he's thinking of another victim? McCurley tells them, no. He, quote, only did one night. Bennett asks if he's sure, to which McCurley replies, pretty sure. Sometime later, McCurley gives a prison interview to veteran crime journalist Skip Hollinsworth. The inmate mentions that when he saw Carla, she wasn't wearing a blue Valentine's Day dress. He insists she wore pants and a sweater. To this day, nobody can say for certain if McCurley is misremembering details from long ago,

or if he's confusing Carla with another person, possibly another victim. Either way, he becomes a person of interest in the Becky Martin case. And once he's imprisoned, detectives gear up to interview him again in 23, 50 years after Becky's murder. Are you looking for support in your weight management journey? Zepbound terseptitide may be able to help. Zepbound is a prescription medicine used with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity to help adults with obesity. Or some adults with overweight who also have weight-related medical problems to lose excess bodywomenes. weight and keep the weight off. Zepbound is approved as a 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, or 15 milligram injection. Zepound contains terseptide and should not be used with other terseptide containing products

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Detectives like Leo Wagner and Jeff Bennett face constant reminders that every name on this list belongs to a person, someone with a future full of potential who left home one day thinking they'd return shortly and life would go on as it should. That's why they know they need to speak with Glenn McCurley, who's now a person of interest, and at least three other murders. If they can rule him out, great, but some of the details he mentioned in their last interview aren't sitting right. And there's a long line of women

who've been waiting too long to receive justice. One of the other cases they're curious about is Christy Tower. It's February 4, 1983, nearly 10 years since Becky Martin was abducted, and nine years since Carlo Walker was more. murdered. Christy Tower waitresses at the popular Billy Bob's Texas nightclub in northern Fort Worth. She's new to the job, but it suits her. At 26, Christy's saving up to move back home to Canada,

and she enjoys waiting tables. After her shift ends, Christy heads to her 1975 Chevy Impala in the adjacent parking lot between 2 and 3 a.m. That's when a man stops her, and they appear to have an argument. The only known witness to their conversation later describes this man to police. He's about six foot three with longish hair, and he was previously seen inside the nightclub, where he hit on one of Christie's co-workers. The next day, Christy's sister and brother-in-law, who also live in the area, notice she's missing. They involve police right away, and Christy's car is located. It's still parked outside the nightclub, only now it's in disarranted. It's in disarranted. and the doors are unlocked. Later that day, a couple discovers Christy's purse hidden in a dumpster

several miles away. They remove her ID and her paycheck, which they then cash. That brings investigators right to their door, only it doesn't seem like the couple knows anything about Christy's disappearance. They're questioned and charged with forgery, but they're seemingly dismissed as persons of interest. Christy's mother travels from Canada to Texas and takes an active role in the search. By mid-April, about two and a half months since Christy went missing, her mom returns home. Just two days later, on the morning of April 20th, a man working with a landscaping company reports human remains about five or six miles away from the nightclub. Decomposition has set in, but police feel strongly that they've got Christy. She's still wearing the same clothing

she disappeared in, right down to the Billy Bob's tag on her jeans. A wire around her neck suggests she's been strangled. Aside from the fact that Christy was abducted from her car in a dark parking lot in the month of February, there's another detail that stands out. Christy's purse, the one found by the forgers in a dumpster was left behind a bar on Camp Bowie Boulevard. The same local drag, Carla, Rodney, and all their friends used to drive up and down on the weekends, and that bar sits half a mile away from the bowling alley

where Carla was taken. On the other hand, it's important to note the man seen arguing with Christy outside the nightclub was described as having blonde hair, which Glenn McCurley did not have. It's not an open and shut case by any means. Suspicion of a serial killer spreads beyond the walls of the Fort Worth Police Department. Local newspapers and TV stations report on the coincidences.

They group cases together and dub them the Northside murders or the slayings of February. Or refer to the assailant as the February killer. Authorities even comment to reporters that, yes, they do see similarities. between the cases. The public most certainly takes notice. It's hard not to feel like a terrifying pattern seems to be forming, because in the 1970s through the mid-80s, Fort Worth PD is dealing with multiple homicides of young women. Victims are abducted near their cars. Many are strangled. Several in February. Fast forward to the summer of 2023. Detects. Wagoner and Bennett gear up to talk to Glenn McCurley. They want to ask him, point blank,

about some of these other cases. Just before they do, their person of interest dies in prison. It's unclear how many of these cases have DNA evidence, just waiting to be tested. Probably because some of the murder investigations have been reopened in recent years, and that's the kind of information detectives might want to keep under wraps. If DNA was collected and preserved well enough, there's a chance, answers will come. One major hurdle is resources. The kind of advanced testing Othrum and other labs perform is time-consuming and therefore expensive. In fact, testing the DNA from Carla's clothing cost several thousand dollars.

It might not have even happened at all if Paul Holes and producers at NBC who covered Carla's story hadn't put up the money in the form of donations. That's why Carla's brother, Jim Walker, now serves on the board of directors for the nonprofit Fort Worth PD Cold Case Support Group. He helps raise money so that other families might find some peace, the kind that comes with seeing your loved one's murderer put behind bars. He's also one of the voices behind the Carla Walker Act, which would set aside federal funding for advanced DNA testing in cold cases. It's a bitter pill to swallow, but without DNA from the offender, it's hard to say if the rest of these women will get the justice they deserve. Maybe Glenn McCurley did have more victims

and took his secrets to the grave. Or maybe it's easier to hope that he was responsible for other unsolved murders, to find an orderly pattern among the crimes to make sense of the senseless. The alternative means accepting that each one of these homicides could have been perpetrated by different individuals, that this many killers operated without regard to human life and without ever being caught. What we do know is, the investigators who understand the cases best have their own suspicions about Glenn McCurley. Thanks for listening to Serial Killers, a Spotify podcast. We're here with a new episode every Monday.

Be sure to check us out on Instagram at Serial Killers Podcast. And we'd love to hear from you. So if you're listening on the Spotify app, swipe up and give us your thoughts. For more information on the nonprofit FWPD Cold Case Support Group mentioned in this story, visit fwpd coldcase support.org. Stay safe out there. Serial Killers is a Spotify podcast. This episode was written and researched by Mickey Taylor, edited by Maggie Admire and Connor Samson, fact-checked by Lori Siegel, and sound designed by Kelly Gary. Our head of programming is Julian Borrow. Our head of production is Nick Johnson, and Spencer Howard is our post.

Post-production supervisor. I'm your host, Vanessa Richardson. A beloved 75-year-old man washing up getting ready for bed is brutally beaten and killed. Despite an exhaustive investigation, the killer avoids arrest and then strikes again. I'm Global News crime reporter Nancy Hicks. You might listen to a lot of true crime podcasts this year, but they're not crime beat. Search for and follow the award-winning podcast Crime Beat on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

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