Bill named for 1974 Fort Worth murder victim Carla Walker passes U.S. Senate
A bill named for a Fort Worth teen whose murder went unsolved for nearly 50 years is one step closer to becoming law.
The Carla Walker Act, which would make federal funds available for advanced DNA testing in cold cases nationwide, passed the U.S. Senate on Wednesday.
Advanced DNA testing, known as forensic genetic genealogy, has been used to solve several high-profile cases, including the Golden State Killer. It’s also helped investigators identify human remains that were found decades ago.
The process is expensive — around $7,500 to $12,000 at the Texas-based forensic laboratory Othram — and not currently covered by federal funding.
In 2020, Fort Worth police used forensic genetic genealogy to solve the murder of 17-year-old Carla Walker. The Western Hills High School cheerleader was kidnapped from her boyfriend’s car on Feb. 17, 1974. Her body was found three days later in a ditch south of Fort Worth.
DNA taken from Walker’s clothing was badly degraded, but the genetic profile built at Othram led investigators to Glen Samuel McCurley. McCurley pleaded guilty to Walker’s murder in 2021 and was sentenced to life in prison. He died in 2023 from natural causes.
U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced the Carla Walker Act in 2025 with the hope that other cold cases would be resolved.
“By making this cutting-edge technology more widely available to investigative agencies, law enforcement will gain a reliable and effective tool to identify unknown offenders,” Cornyn said in a news release Thursday after the bill passed the Senate.
The Carla Walker Act has already been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
