61-year-old suspect arrested in Irving cold case murder from 1994, police say
More than 30 years after a North Texas woman was stabbed to death in her apartment, her former neighbor has been arrested as a suspect in the cold case murder, Irving police said.
Megan Johns’ coworkers alerted her apartment complex when she failed to show up for work at Smith Barney in Las Colinas the morning of Oct. 5, 1994. Johns’ apartment was locked, but staff at the Apple Apartments jimmied the sliding glass patio door to get in.
They found Johns, 29, lying face-down on her living room floor. She’d been stabbed multiple times. Police theorized at the time that she’d known her killer because there was no sign of forced entry.
Johns’ apartment had been ransacked. Dresser drawers and bathroom cabinets had been opened, and a VCR and some jewelry were missing. Other evidence police found at the crime scene included a partial palm print in blood.
Darryl Patrick Goggans was arrested Tuesday in connection with Johns’ death, Irving Police Chief Derick Miller announced at a news conference Wednesday.
“For 30 years justice has been patient,” Miller said. “Justice does not forget.”
The 61-year-old suspect was Johns’ next-door-neighbor at the time she was killed. Investigators interviewed him shortly after the killing, but he claimed he didn’t know anything about it, according to his arrest warrant affidavit.
Tom Rowan, the lead investigator in Johns’ case until his retirement in 2016, said at the news conference that Goggans was just one of hundreds of people investigators talked to about the murder. There was nothing to indicate he’d been involved.
“He just didn’t develop into person of interest or a suspect at that time,” Rowan said.
Even though evidence was found at the crime scene, DNA technology was limited. Rowan said they periodically sent samples in for testing, but they could never get a DNA profile.
For years, Rowan carried a photo of Johns in his wallet. After his retirement from the Irving Police Department, he continued to stay in touch with Detective Eric Curtis, who took over the case three years ago.
“This is a great day,” Rowan said. “These cases you get assigned stay with you forever.”
A piece of carpet with several drops of blood on it was found at the crime scene, according to Goggans’ arrest warrant affidavit, obtained Wednesday by the Star-Telegram. Investigators recently reviewed Johns’ file and decided to send the carpet in for DNA testing on the hunch that the perpetrator may have left some of his own blood behind.
Results of the DNA test showed two profiles, according to the affidavit. One belonged to Johns and the other to an unidentified man. Investigators entered the unknown DNA profile into CODIS, the national law enforcement database, and it came up with a match.
Goggans was found in Lancaster, police said. Investigators don’t yet know a motive for the crime.
Bridget Johns Scott, the victim’s half-sister, was 9 years old when Johns was killed. She thanked Rowan and Curtis for their efforts to bring the perpetrator to justice.
“I also wanted to extend some hope to families that continue to live with the unresolved loss of a loved one,” Scott said at the news conference. “That even after 30 years, eight months and six days, God’s timing can prevail.”
Scott said she and her sister had a fun relationship. Johns would babysit her often, and would always bring her little gifts. She didn’t know all the details of Johns’ death until she started looking for answers as a young woman.
Scott described dreaming about Johns one day while traveling on an airplane. As soon as she could, she drove to the Irving police station unannounced and asked to speak to someone who knew about her sister’s case. She met Rowan, who sat down and talked with her. On a subsequent visit he showed her the photo of Johns in his wallet.
“It’s testament to how passionate the detectives are with these unsolved cases,” Scott said.
Kelly Chance met Johns in high school, and the two girls became good friends. When Chance got married, Johns served as a bridesmaid in her wedding. She said Johns was a beautiful person with a heart of gold.
Johns didn’t always have an easy life, Chance said, but she never let it get her down. She had a good job as a secretary at Smith Barney at the time of her murder and had just moved into the nicest apartment she’d ever lived in.
“Things were looking up for her,” Chance said at the news conference.
Chance has spent years making sure Johns was not forgotten. She started a Facebook page and communicated regularly with the investigators about possible next steps. She said she was shaking when the detective called her with news of Goggans’ arrest.
“When he told me, I couldn’t hear it. My ears went deaf and I’m like ‘What? What?’” Chance said. “And he had to repeat it a couple times before I could really process it.”
Goggans is being held at the Irving City Jail and faces a capital murder charge, police said in a news release.
“Thanks to the collective effort from family, friends, media, and law enforcement, Megan Johns’ case was never forgotten, and justice will finally be served,” Irving police said.
This story was originally published June 11, 2025 at 9:36 AM.
