hosted at georgetown university. you'll hear from candidates for democratic national committee offices ahead of their leadership elections. scan the qr code on your screen to register for thursday's virtual event. that'll do it for me. thanks for watching. tune in tomorrow to the sunday show when congressman adriano espaillat of new york, chairman of the congressional hispanic caucus, discusses how democrats will respond to donald trump's aggressive agenda. that's tomorrow at 6 p.m. eastern, right here on msnbc. follow us on instagram, tiktok and threads using the handle at weekend capehart and blue sky using at capehart, dot, msnbc.com and watch clips of the show on youtube. you can also listen to youtube. you can also listen to every episode as a podcast youtube. you can also listen to every episode as a podcast cindy stone: she was just going to a valentine's dance in high school. it was after midnight. the front door just pounding. pound, pound, pound, pound, pound. he had blood all over his shirt, just screaming,

they've got her. i was like, who? who's got her? [dramatic music] this 17-year-old girl that's abducted literally out from underneath the boyfriend's nose. i was 18. it was just a blind attack. he nailed me pretty good with the butt of the pistol. did you recognize this guy? no. he was dating my sister. my family loved him. but you doubt his story? i had questions. he was at the top of our list, our primary suspect. we really had to dig deep. jim minter: someone had thought this out and had planned it. are we dealing with a serial offender? your heart aches. anger, rage. tenacity. we weren't willing to give up. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): a romantic valentine's dance turns riveting murder mystery. i made a promise to this family. and we're going to keep that promise. [theme music]

[suspenseful music] josh mankiewicz (voiceover): deep inside the fort worth police department is a room where they keep the cold case files, hundreds and hundreds of them. inside each one is a person crying for justice, crying from the grave. when i walk into this room, that first feeling is like, holy cow. that's a lot of cases. that's a lot of people. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): so where to begin? in 2018, this homicide detective found the answer when her phone rang. on the other end was a man with a hole in his heart. i says, how many cold cases do you have? and she said, we have 971 unsolved murders. i said, ma'am, my heart bleeds for all 971 of those families.

but right now, i only care about one case. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): someone he loved had been murdered decades before. and as far as that man on the phone was concerned, the time to settle accounts was now or never. jim walker: i said, whoever did this is either dead, dying. we're running out of daylight. i said, what is your goal here? and i said to her, i want the truth. and she said, good. that's what i'll give you. i'll tell you the truth. [faint cheering] [upbeat music] josh mankiewicz (voiceover): we'll start with a fundamental truth here in texas. friday nights are owned by tradition, when high school football teams face off, and a whole community cheers them on. rodney mccoy: i got to know farrington field, a great place, a lot of good memories. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): in 1974, rodney mccoy was living at the center of that world.

it was his senior year at western hills high school, and he was the star quarterback of the cougars. in this town and many like it across texas, that meant something. high school football kind of a religion around here. oh, yeah, it definitely is. yeah, it's a big deal. [chuckles] josh mankiewicz (voiceover): it's the kind of memory you treasure for a lifetime, except maybe not rodney's lifetime. josh mankiewicz: you've told this story over the years a lot of times. you've told it to police, and you've told it to your friends. this is it, isn't it? this is it. this is the last one. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): back in 1974, rodney had it all, including a girlfriend who filled up his world, carla walker, in her junior year at western hills. it was no secret they were the it couple. classmate brenda wells remembers.

they were the cool kids. what made them the cool kids? because she's a cheerleader, and she's dating the football player. that makes you cool in high school. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): carla even had a car to complete the image, a brand new monte carlo. she cruised camp bowie boulevard with her friends, christy shelton and konnie myers. christy shelton: you would go one place, see who was there, mingle with them. ok, let's all go down to the other place. that was just what you did. konnie myers: we would just go up and down. and even my parents, when they would go out with their friends, they would come through our parking lot. and i was so embarrassed. but our parents knew that's where we were. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the memories are never far away, especially that one night in 1974, the one they can never forget, the valentine's day dance. how big a deal was that valentine's day dance?

it was very important. you don't take your valentine to the valentine's dance, you're in big trouble. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the day of the dance, rodney had finished his shift at a local gas station, gone home, gotten dressed, and was headed over in his mom's ford ltd to pick up carla. rodney mccoy: i had forgotten the corsage. and there was no way i was going to go pick her up without the corsage. turned around, went back, got there, and i kind of felt something's going to have to give here. because now you're definitely late. oh, i'm way late. and i walked in, and i definitely got the look. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): carla was not happy. i knew it, and i expected it. but i tell you, it's like as soon as i pin that corsage on her, it was gone, her anger. josh mankiewicz: she looked like a million dollars? rodney mccoy: oh, yeah, definitely. when she dressed up, she did it right. and with her, it really didn't take that much.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): they drove to dinner and then to the dance. the high school cafeteria was dressed up in pink and red. the theme? love is a kaleidoscope. come on. it was high school. [upbeat music] christy shelton: had a great time. danced the whole night. i remember carla and rodney coming in. we were all dancing on the floor together. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rodney and carla seemed as in love as two teenagers can be. [soft music] a couple of months earlier, rodney had given carla a promise ring. it meant a lot to me. it meant i'm here, i'm yours, and i promise you. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): back at the walker house, carla's mom and dad were playing dominoes with relatives. her big sister, cindy, and her little brother, jim, were watching tv. it got to be 1:00 am.

jim walker: i heard a car hitting a curb. and then i heard rodney's voice outside yelling, mr. walker, mr. walker, help me! cindy stone: a little bit after that, the front door just pounding. you know, pound, pound, pound, pound, pound. so jimmy and i both went to the front door together and opened it, and it was rodney. and he had-- was bleeding from his head down his face, had blood all over his shirt, just screaming. and i looked over his shoulder, like, where's carla? he was like, they've got her, they've got her, they've got her. i was like, who? who's got her? [suspenseful music] josh mankiewicz (voiceover): coming up. what had happened to carla? i see carla's face, and she screams, rodney, go get my dad. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rodney's stunning story, a sudden violent attack. he stuck the pistol about 3 or 4 inches from my face.

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can we talk about casual fridays? for sure. what's up? get fast powerful cough relief with robitussin and find your voice. ♪robitussin♪ ] and find your voice. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): 18-year-old rodney mccoy stood at the door of the walker house. carla's sister, cindy, won't forget that moment. cindy stone: rodney just says, they've got her. they've got her. we were at the bowling alley. we were all in shock, trying to figure out, what exactly is he saying? we were all like, who was it? he said, i don't know. i don't know. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): carla's brother jim was 12 years old. i was looking up at rodney at the time, and he had a big cut going across his cheek. and i could tell there was blood on him. he was panicked. and no carla? and no carla. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): they called the police. carla's father didn't wait for them to arrive. jim walker: next thing i saw was my dad running.

he had his pistol. he was going out the door to go up to the bowling alley where rodney had told him this had happened. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rodney was taken to the hospital, his head wound stitched up, and quickly found himself telling his story to fort worth police. rodney told us what he told them. after the dance, you go for a ride. yeah, and everybody, you know-- hey, let's meet up at-- at taco bell, which was, friday, saturday night, was the hangout. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rodney invited another couple to join them. rodney mccoy: we just kind of cruised around and was talking and just having a good old time. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): about 12:30, rodney dropped the other couple at their car. he said he and carla kept cruising camp bowie boulevard. jim walker: and i was having such a good time, i didn't even care what time it was. you didn't have a curfew, and she didn't have a curfew? well, it was kind of an understood curfew.

and the walkers, they just-- they trusted me. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): carla had to find a bathroom. the bowling alley was the stop for that. when they returned to the parking lot, rodney said one thing led to another. we started kissing, making out, and doing what teenagers do. and her head was pretty much on the armrest, but she had taken her purse and put it behind her head and kind of, you know, a pillow. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): that's when rodney's teenage dream evaporated. he still says he will never forget the moment. the passenger door burst open, and standing there was a stranger with a gun. and when he opened the door, we both kind of-- our heads both fell out of the car, basically. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rodney said the man began hitting him with a pistol. rodney mccoy: he nailed me pretty good on the first shot with the butt of the pistol. he had put his hand inside the car

and stuck the pistol about 3 or 4 inches from my face and started pulling the trigger. i do remember clicks, three clicks. he pulls the trigger three times. you're sure? - three times. i-- three or four times. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rodney said the gun didn't fire. by then, he said the man had grabbed carla by the arm and pulled her out of the car, still swinging the pistol at rodney with his other hand. finally, she said, stop hitting him. stop hitting him. i'll go with you. did you recognize this guy? no, i didn't even get a look at the guy's face. did it seem that carla knew him? no, no. what do you say? i didn't say anything. it was all i could do to hold myself up and trying to wipe the blood at the same time. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): he said he could see carla with the stranger as he pulled her away. i see carla's face, and she-- she screams, rodney, go get my dad.

and that's the last word i heard her say. that's the last time i saw her. i just-- i went out face first in the seat. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rodney said he must have blacked out. how long do you think you were out? i have no idea. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): when he came to, he said he had just one thought. all i could think of was going to get mr. walker. it was just right around the corner, down the hill. and there was her house. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): her dad, who'd headed straight to the bowling alley parking lot, gun in hand, came back home after finding no sign of his daughter. thinking carla might never come home was too hard for her sister. cindy stone: i slept on the couch in the living room. and every time i heard a car go by, 2 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 4 o'clock in the morning, i would jump up, just sit up

on the couch, and look out the window, thinking they were going to drop her off. just go slow and push her out the car. the bottom of the world fell out at our house that night. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): carla's little brother, jim, tried to wrap his pre-teen brain around it. i knew something bad had happened, but i didn't have the life experience to recognize, like i would right now, immediately what had transpired. i was 12 years old. i was a little bit scared about what i was seeing, but i knew it was bad when i saw my dad move. he moved at lightning speed. what were the next couple of days like in that house? intense. we had fort worth police department, tarrant county sheriff's department, the fbi, texas rangers, just inundating there. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and rodney was there, too. cindy stone: rodney was at home with us the whole time. he slept up there in carla's bed.

i was terrified. all my thoughts and everything were-- we gotta find carla. we gotta find carla. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): police were thinking the same thing. coming up. when i got here, there were probably, oh, 30 uniformed officers. the road was blocked off. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): a discovery on a remote road outside of town. what would investigators uncover? jim minter: it made me believe that someone had thought this out and had planned it. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. nice. >> however, skechers max cushioning are just as fabulous at a price that blows them away. at a price that blows them away. get insane comfort and my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis held me back. now with skyrizi, i'm all in with clearer skin. ♪ things are getting clearer ♪

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get the best of msnbc all in one place, sign up for msnbc place, sign up for msnbc daily@msnbc.com. [somber music] josh mankiewicz (voiceover): police were searching for carla walker and trying to puzzle out who might have taken her. her big family was about to be tested. she was one of five children. jim was her little brother. tell me about your big sister. carla had a lot of friends. josh mankiewicz: what did you think she was going to become? jim walker: i knew she was going to go to college. i know that she wanted to be a veterinarian. carla was tiny, but mighty.

beautiful blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes i always thought she had a gorgeous smile. i really didn't realize that until i got older, what i was looking at. peppy personality, feisty. she had a look, though, you know, josh. when she was trying to communicate something to me, her little brother, she'd give me the stare. and so i knew not to mess with her. josh mankiewicz: she still hadn't made it to 5 feet tall? no, 4 foot 11 on a good day if she has taken a deep breath. 100 pounds, little blonde thing that was just a little spitfire. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): carla's big sister, cindy, says they did everything together. we shared the same bedroom for 17 years. if you looked at all the pictures, family pictures, it was always carla and i together, getting our pictures made. if i was there, she was there. if she was there, i was there. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): cindy says carla was funny, sweet, but also tough and stubborn and never gave up easily.

that's how she ended up behind the wheel of that monte carlo. cindy stone: when carla turned 16, she says, i want a brand new monte carlo. and i'm like, are you serious? really? and she told my parents, if i can't get that, i just-- don't get me a car right now. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and then a short time later, there was her new car. she got exactly what she wanted, her brand new monte carlo. yeah, she did. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): now, the monte carlo sat in the walkers' driveway as police searched for carla. there was a flurry of activity. it was intensity. it was strategizing, gnashing of teeth, worried. anybody sleeping? not really. no. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): four days after carla went missing, a patrol officer spotted something in a culvert on a remote road southwest of town. josh mankiewicz: you were on call that night? right.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): jim minter was a criminal investigator with the tarrant county sheriff's office. jim minter: the call was a dead body, a young woman. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): he headed to the culvert. when i got here, there were probably, oh, 30 uniformed officers. the road was blocked off. and shortly after i arrived were the plainclothes people, and the crime scene people arrived. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): one of those crime scene investigators was jack bolton with the fort worth police department. as he looked down into the culvert, he had no doubt it was carla. i was the first person to go in that culvert. she was a beautiful girl. she appeared to be asleep. then i saw the deep gashes she had on her thighs and legs. yours was one of the few departments in the country that had its own crime lab at that point. we had the very most advanced crime lab in texas. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and to stay on the cutting edge, bolton had just purchased what was then a high-tech kodak movie camera.

now he looked through the viewfinder and hit the button. our job was to document the crime scene, and that's what we did. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the culvert ran under the road, maybe 30 feet long and just tall enough to stand in. jack bolton: she was on her back, and her clothes were torn. she had some bruises on her neck. josh mankiewicz: she put up a hell of a fight. i believe she probably did absolutely. we went almost inch by inch through that crime scene, identifying any type of physical evidence. tell me about that area. it's country. very few people live there. and about the only traffic you have there are people that are going to and from the lake. and in february, there's not a lot of traffic going to that lake because it's cold. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the culvert is nine miles from where carla was taken and difficult to see, even from the road. it made me believe that someone had thought this out

and had planned it. this guy hid her, and he hid her for a reason, maybe because it was close to his house, maybe he wanted to get rid of it quick. if he hadn't thought it out, he would have just opened the door and kicked her out, threw her stuff down, and driven off. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): they took carla's body to the morgue for autopsy. bolton kept filming. her clothes were taken, and we took every precaution not to contaminate anything, to seal it properly. we had no idea where we're going, dna, but we knew we needed to preserve it because technology was coming along so fast that, who knows, you know, maybe they can do something with this later on. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and the investigators' meticulous attention, the care they took to avoid contamination of the evidence, all that would prove critical decades later. josh mankiewicz: what did the medical examiner tell you about what had happened to carla walker?

he said she was strangled, been assaulted, sexually assaulted, and that's about all he could tell us. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): now, they had to tell an anxious family the worst possible news. coming up. i heard my mom scream. you feel your heart just drop. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the hunt is on for carla's killer. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): could hypnosis help the only witness remember something? and he cried. and i thought that he was going to have to be hospitalized when it was over. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. when winter season hits emergen-c supports your immune system with so much more than vitamin c. be ready to fight back with emergen-c and for on-the-go immune support try emergen-c crystals. no water needed. ooo! our car's value went up!

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on the skin. it works like a dream. why didn't someone think of this sooner? >> i'm jessica. layton with the hour's. >> top stories. >> former fox. >> news anchor and. >> army combat. >> veteran pete. hegseth has been. >> sworn in as secretary of defense. >> after vice president jd vance

cast the tie breaking vote in the senate. it's the second time in u.s. history a vp has done so for a. >> cabinet. >> nominee, and for female. >> israeli soldiers. >> have been released in exchange for 200. >> palestinian prisoners. >> this is the second group to. >> be released by hamas into israeli. territory as part of a very fragile ceasefire agreement. >> and now. >> and now. >> back to dateline. [melancholy music] josh mankiewicz (voiceover): investigators in fort worth, texas, had found 17-year-old carla walker's body in a lonely culvert. she'd been raped, strangled, and badly bruised. it wasn't clear in what order. now, they had to tell her family. jim walker: sheriff's department came by, and mom and dad had to go down and identify carla's body. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): a neighbor drove them to the morgue. young jim waited in the car. jim walker: mom and dad got out

and went through, like, double emergency doors into a long hallway. and they went into the room. about 15 seconds later, i heard-- i heard my mom scream that scream that you don't ever want to hear anybody scream. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rodney was with carla's sister, cindy, when a relative told them the news. i kind of collapsed to my knees. and, uh, cindy was holding on to me. and we were both crying. you feel your heart just drop. and that's when it's over. over. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): a few days later, the town packed carla's funeral. massive. everybody was there.

yes, standing room only. people had to be outside. officers went to the funeral, took pictures of everything and everyone? yes, sir. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): criminal investigator jim minter. josh mankiewicz: 'cause you thought your killer was in that church. jim minter: we didn't know. it was a once in a lifetime chance to make that record. and if it came up later, then we'd have the evidence. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): carla's friends, konnie and christy, were still just kids themselves, and they couldn't believe it. it was open casket, which was very difficult. and i just remember sitting with my hands over my face most of the time. when we left, everyone had to walk in front of the casket. walking by the casket, i pretty much passed out. it was just too much. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): carla's murder changed everything.

christy shelton: we wouldn't really go anywhere. we didn't want to go to the hangout anymore. we didn't want to cruise up and down camp bowie because we were scared. i didn't want to live there anymore. i remember i told my parents, we've got to leave. i don't want to be here. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): front pages demanded an answer. who killed carla walker? investigative techniques were different back in 1974. fort worth police did not have a lot of the tools many departments have today. there were no cell phones to trace or ping, no text messages or hard drives to download and examine. forensic dna was investigative science fiction. and security cameras were not everywhere. in fact, they were hardly anywhere. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): so there was no video of that parking lot. that said, police did have someone who saw it all with his own eyes-- rodney mccoy.

they'd hoped rodney could help them identify the killer. but he said he couldn't remember much about his attacker. so, with rodney's agreement, investigators tried something that, back then, was considered cutting edge-- josh mankiewicz (voiceover): --hypnosis. i wasn't a big believer in it. but the hypnotist took his time and put rodney under, and rodney relived that scene. down? i was like, josh mankiewicz (voiceover): he was able to describe the man well enough for police to make this sketch.

>> kind of. >> green sleeveless jacket. a cowboy hat. he talks. cowboy hat. he talks. >> like a and he cried, and the snot ran out of his nose. and i thought that he was going to have to be hospitalized when it was over. and finally, the man brought him back. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): hearing rodney talk about a cowboy gave minter an idea. he started wondering if maybe the killer came into town with the annual rodeo. jim minter: it comes in january and february here. and we interviewed and went out to the rodeo and looked at people that-- criminal records that worked at the carnival and contestants and clowns. but that didn't produce a suspect? not any, sir. no. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and all through the early investigation, police never took their eyes off rodney and continued to pepper him with questions.

tell me about those detective interviews. it was pretty intimidating for me. it doesn't take you long to realize you're a suspect. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): coming up. we each individually took a shot at questioning him. if he was involved, we were trying to find out what has happened. you're not thinking about anything else, but you know, my god, how could i be a suspect? well, i'm going to tell you how. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. touch can mean so many things. even for people with moderate-to-severe eczema. touch can make two feel like one. or simply be a helping hand. dupixent can help you stay ahead of eczema as you welcome the feeling of touch. dupixent helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema to help heal your skin from within. many adults saw 90% clearer skin.

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police had to consider another possibility-- that he had something to do with carla's murder. so they kept grilling him. we each individually took a shot at questioning him. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): investigator jim minter says those sessions weren't pleasant for rodney. jim minter: we didn't sit there and hold his hand and put our arms around his shoulder. if he was involved, we were trying to find out what had happened, wanted him to tell us. and you challenged him on it? you weren't just buying everything he said? exactly. josh mankiewicz: they're asking you the same questions? same questions over and over and over again. and you're 18. you're not thinking about, you know, anything else but, you know, my god, how could i be a suspect? i mean, for me, anyway. josh mankiewicz: well, i'm going to tell you how-- you didn't go to the police initially. you drove back to the walkers. you said they took carla, but then you described only one man. right.

i thought i'd been shot. and from where we were at, the nearest police station was 20, 30 minutes away. and i have no idea why i would say they. you know, to me, it was only one person there. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): if rodney had killed carla, maybe they'd had a fight. police questioned everyone who'd seen the it couple that night. did you know rodney and carla? no, i knew of them because they're football players and cheerleaders. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): brenda wells had been at the valentine's dance. she was a 15-year-old freshman, and her date played baseball with rodney. they were the couple rodney and carla had cruised around with before the attack. and being around them made you cooler? well, for an hour. [laughs] josh mankiewicz (voiceover): police wanted to know the mood in that car. brenda wells: the short time that we were together,

everything was very lighthearted. we just had a good time. nobody was fighting? no, not at all. i was excited to have met her. and she and rodney seemed to be getting along well? perfect. i mean, there was nothing-- there were no harsh words in the whole car. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): as they talked with more of carla's friends, police heard nothing to suggest rodney would have had any reason to harm carla. never suspected rodney. he was too crazy about her. konnie myers: i had friends calling me and saying, konnie, do you think, rodney had-- no, absolutely not. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and carla's family had nothing but good things to say about him. rodney really became part of your family. absolutely. he was-- i mean, my parents loved him, trusted him. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and they believed him. that story he was telling make any sense to you?

you know, at the time, it did. it did make sense to me. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rodney passed two police polygraph exams and always maintained his innocence. i never thought rodney had anything to do with this. he was just a scared little boy at that time. he got pistol whipped. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): while they couldn't completely rule out rodney, police did widen their hunt for the killer. when they searched the bowling alley parking lot, they found carla's purse, and next to it, a magazine from a pistol. josh mankiewicz: that ended up being a pretty big piece of evidence. oh, absolutely, it was. it came from a ruger pistol. we knew that. and the way that particular gun is constructed, if some stranger had used it to hit rodney on the head, the magazine could easily have fallen out. that seemed to back up rodney's claim there had been a stranger and that the gun misfired. this gun won't fire unless the magazine's in it. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): now minter hoped that magazine

would lead them to a killer. we were able to get some federal help to determine everybody that had bought a ruger pistol in this area. how many people are we talking about? 40. that's a small enough number that you can go around and talk to every one of them. we did, each and every one of them. anybody jump out at you? everybody had an alibi or had the gun and, you know, were able-- were willing to turn it over. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): investigators didn't just take their word for it. how many people did you end up asking to take a polygraph? 20, maybe. and everybody passed? yes, sir. everybody passed. disappointing. very disappointing. [somber music] josh mankiewicz (voiceover): as the investigation dragged on, the walker family tried to carry on. carla's sister, cindy, had planned her wedding before carla was murdered. i did get married, like, three months after.

she was going to be my maid of honor. and i didn't want to have the wedding then, but i got talked into it. you need to go ahead and do it. let's do it. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): carla's mom and dad kept a brave face. it comes from that era where-- you don't talk about it. --they have a family. didn't talk about it. honey, we've got a family. we've got other sons and daughters. they're still here. let's make a good life for them, good memories. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): jim soon realized that stoicism was just a facade. i figured out where my mom cried. so going into their bedroom, she'd shut one door. going into their bathroom, she'd shut another door. and the way their bathroom was designed, she'd go into a shower with a glass door and-- can we stop for a second? [exhales] hang on one second, guys. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): there's a ripple effect to every murder, even all these years

later. coming up, a new suspect with a stunner of a story. he walks into a police station, says he's responsible for the murder of carla walker. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. (cough cough) (sneeze) (♪♪) new alka-seltzer plus cold or flu fizzy chews. chew. fizz. feel better fast. no water needed. new alka-seltzer plus fizzychews. patients who have sensitive teeth but also want whiter teeth they have to make a choice one versus the other. sensodyne clinical white provides two shades whiter teeth as well as providing 24/7 sensitivity protection. patients are going to love to see sensodyne on the shelf. ooo! our car's value went up! as well as providing 24/7 sensitivity protection. maybe we should track all our cars' value on carvana? we need more trackers! oh! i'm getting a value update! do you see which one is going off? how's it trackin'? some dips, some rises.

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>> is phenomenal. try the crossover bra today at honey crossover bra today at honey love.com. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): carla walker's case was on the front burner until it wasn't. jim minter: we had hundreds of leads on carla's case, maybe 40 or 50 officers that worked for two months on them, just running down the leads that we got. and then, eventually, you've run down all those leads, and there's nothing there. well, through attrition, the leads stopped coming in. you start getting disheartened at all? well, sure you do. but it doesn't mean we stop. carla was a precocious 17-year-old and a junior

at western hills high. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): enter vincent strange. not his real name, but it's the one he goes by on his true crime podcast called "gone cold." he'd been digging into carla's case for years. we stumbled upon carla's story, 2016, i think? got obsessed with it. what is it about cold cases? well, it's certainly the mystery behind them is more interesting, just at the get-go. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): as he researched the case, strange found that about two months after carla's murder, fort worth police arrested a notorious serial killer. tommy ray kneeland. he's a guy who got popped for abducting a girl in arlington. she got away when his truck got stuck in the mud. cops staked him out, got him, arrested him. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): kneeland then confessed to murdering two teenage hitchhikers in oklahoma and abducting and murdering another woman in texas.

well, when he spilled the beans about all these other crimes he'd committed, i guess pretty natural that the cops straight away thought that he was responsible for carla walker's murder. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): police put kneeland in this lineup and asked rodney mccoy to listen to each man say, "come with me," the words rodney says the killer used, and rodney picked tommy kneeland, except while kneeland did confess and was convicted of those other crimes, he did not confess to carla's. still, he stayed on the list. then, three years after carla's murder, another suspect emerged. jimmy dean sasser, oh, yeah. somewhere near nashville, i believe. he walks into a police station, says he's responsible for the murder of carla walker. you know, of course, they immediately phone the fort worth police. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the district attorney indicted sasser for carla's murder,

but jim minter wasn't buying it. there was so much information in the newspapers at that time, you could tell a pretty good story. his mother is quoted in the "fort worth star telegram" as saying that he often got drunk and confessed to crimes. as one does. sure. right. and so, that particular day, i suppose, it was carla walker. reporter: sasser walked out of the tarrant county jail a free man for the first time in eight months when his talking got him in trouble with the law. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): sure enough, sasser recanted his confession and told nbc station kxas he had invented it. reporter: how did you come to pick carla walker's case, jimmy? well, i don't know, really. i just got out of the clear blue sky. i just made the story up. vincent strange: so her story was staying in the media. and it gained legendary kind of status.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): legendary, yes, but it was a legend without a final act. as the years went by, carla's classmates kept her memory alive. they raised the money to have this mosaic built in her honor. it's been here ever since. and the kids aren't allowed to walk on it. i wish it wasn't here, because if it wasn't here, that means that she'd be with us. that's what i wish. [cheering] josh mankiewicz (voiceover): some things did not change over those years. football still reigned supreme at western hills, and rodney mccoy's jersey number 15 was passed down to a different cougar, living his best life under the friday night lights. and rodney, he skipped out of junior college and headed up to alaska to work on the north slope oil rigs. he says he left fort worth because he couldn't live with the guilt. carla saved my life.

i wish it would have been the other way around. you wish she were still here, and you weren't? yeah. and for so many years, so many years, my thoughts were how terrified and how scared carla was that night. that's been with me forever. you blame yourself for this? me and mr. walker, we had an agreement. we'd go and leave and go out on a date or whatever, and he goes, take care of my little flower. and i just-- [sighs] it's hard not to think that, you know, i kind of let him down. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rodney could not shake the cloud of suspicion that hung over him. as much as he tried to ignore them, there were those who continued to think he had killed carla.

carla's sister, cindy, had kids of her own, including a daughter she named carla jan. cindy stone: and i said, you are just like your aunt carla. you got the same sassy attitude, the short, little legs. i said, i'm being punished. i know i am. she's doing that on purpose. we would joke about that. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): by the late '70s, carla's brother, jim, was attending western hills high himself. he remembers how angry and mixed up he was. once, he spent the night in the culvert where his sister had been found. josh mankiewicz: why did you do that? honest answer, hoping i could kill somebody. hoping your killer would return to the scene of the crime? and i was going to take care of him right there, yep. because you felt powerless? anger, rage. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): years later, as an adult, jim tried to channel that rage. josh mankiewicz: all of this led you initially to a career in law enforcement. yes, i applied and got accepted to the fort

worth police department. all because of carla's case. that's the only reason i wanted to do it, yes. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): that dream was cut short by a genetic eye condition that left jim legally blind. after his father died in 1987, jim moved in, took care of his mom, and then bought the house after her death. i didn't want to miss the opportunity if somebody knocked on our front door at 3 o'clock in the morning with a guilty conscience or end of life story to tell me. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the years passed. no one came. the original investigators retired. carla's files took up residence in that cold case room next to hundreds of others. josh mankiewicz: there was a very long period of time when nothing seemed to be happening on this case. dead. you probably thought it was not ever going to be solved. you know, i can tell you, i really felt the spirit saying,

this is a marathon. you're not in a sprint. this is a marathon, not a sprint. it's a marathon. we're in it for the long haul. so just keep moving. and on the horizon, there was something that looked like it might be a finish line. i looked at the carla walker case as a challenge. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): coming up. carla's dress from the night of the murder. investigator: the tech in the lab called me and said that she found a place on the dress that had a small stain. that was exciting. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): could that stain be the key? hope would rest with three crucial letters-- d, n, a. when "dateline" continues. ever feel like a spectator in your own life with chronic migraine? 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting 4 hours or more. botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine. in a survey, 91% of users wish they'd started sooner.

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her friends, konnie and kristi, couldn't let her memory go. she was always with us. always in my heart, always. i dreamed about her. when i would dream about her, she'd always comfort me. she would always tell me in our dreams that she was ok. don't worry about me. i'm ok. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): carla's brother, jim, wasn't ok. her murder changed his life, and he made sure his big sister never slipped off police radar. i never met one law enforcement officer that did not want to solve this case. it was a case, that wouldn't go away. it shouldn't go away. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): one of those was detective sarah waters. jimmy's hope was to solve his sister's case before his parents died. first one, then the other. so the hope of doing it for them evaporated.

but he still needed it. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): in 2005, her sergeant asked her to try to clear some cold cases, including carla's. waters sent carla's dress so carefully preserved by those original investigators, to the crime lab to see if they could spot any new evidence. sarah waters: the tech in the lab called me and said that she found a place on the dress that had a small stain that was the perfect shape of a sperm. that was exciting. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): because, by 2005, dna testing was a brand new way to solve old cases. of course, rodney's dna was on carla's dress. they'd been making out in the car. it was expected that his dna would be there somewhere. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): waters wanted to know if there was anyone else's dna on the dress. and in fact, the crime lab was able to come up with the profile of an unknown male. but it was incomplete.

a partial profile for dna is only good for one thing, and that's to eliminate a subject. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): so waters had that dna compared to half a dozen other samples detectives had collected over the years. some were known criminals. some were people that she had known in the past. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): remember that serial killer from the '70s, tommy ray kneeland? he was eliminated. all the other suspects were eliminated, too. waters kept at it. one year turned into five, and then into 10. by 2015, she was ready to retire. it was a case that wouldn't go away. it shouldn't go away. but i knew the day i had worked myself into a corner, i had eliminated every suspect that i had dna for.

i didn't have probable cause to write a warrant for anyone else's dna. so i told my sergeant then, it's going to take new technology to solve this. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): it wouldn't be long before that new technology would be ready. fast forward three more years to january 2018. leah wagner would be the latest fort worth detective to get an earful from jim walker. leah wagner: and jim was very frustrated. he called, and he wanted to know how we could get the texas rangers to investigate the case. so i listened to him vent for a while, and i said, well, jim, i said, why do you want the rangers to investigate it? i said, whoever did this to my sister is either dead, dying, or is getting really to a point in life where we're running out of daylight. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detective wagner said she'd take a look at the case. she did tell jim not to get his hopes up.

i'm going to be blunt with you. and i'm going to tell you, if everything has been done that can be done, then i'll let you know that. which means the answer could be everything from "we found a suspect, and we're going to prosecute" to "we don't have enough to go forward," or "the person you're looking for is probably dead." yes. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detective jeff bennett joined the case. starting from the very beginning and reading everything was going to be the best method moving forward with this case. so maybe people who hadn't been suspects before or who had been dismissed as possible suspects were now conceivably back on the board? absolutely. people that may have been excluded for one reason or another, let's say, through polygraphs, if there wasn't enough reason to really exclude them, put them back on our list. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): that list grew to 83 names. so on the list are ex-boyfriends, friends of carla's, other males in the school.

really appreciate you. oh, yeah. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detectives interviewed as many of them as they could. most of the stories they heard seemed to check out. even so, they weren't taking any chances. we pretty much asked every male if they would voluntarily give consent for their swab. ok, just open up wide. and look up. and we really put the emphasis on the purpose of doing this is to exclude you. which is what you guys always say. [laughs] yes. well, i mean, you know, we just want to find out the truth. right, right. if you're not the guy, then it does exclude you. yeah, exactly. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): sure enough, all those men were excluded. so police tried something else, hoping to generate new leads. they posted about the case on facebook. we had a tremendous reaction from the public. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): part of that came from a woman, who sent a message that made police sit up in their chairs. her post basically alluded to the fact that she believed that she knew who killed carla.

coming up. she had found a metal box. it had all the newspaper clippings of carla's murder. was he happy to see you? no. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): that facebook tip leads detectives to a brand new person of interest. jeff bennett: he had lived a couple of blocks from carla. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. mirajoy: the overwhelming relief after miralax® helps you “go” miralax® works naturally with the water in your body. putting you in a supernaturally good mood. miralax®: free your gut to free your mood. (luke) now that we have a completely new homes-dot-com, we're gonna lock the doors and stay late until we find mood. that name that's synonymous with shopping for homes. (marci) here's a wild idea: homes-dot-com? (luke) we're gonna go with homes-dot-com, we're gonna keep it.

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>> nationwide coverage if i switch. >> yep, for unlimited talk and text with reliable coverage and your second month free call your second month free call consumer cellular. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detectives had heard from a woman who said she knew who had killed carla walker. it was someone she was quite familiar with. they'd actually lived together. she told police it was her ex-husband. what made her think he was a suspect? well, she had found a metal box in their house. it had all the newspaper clippings and articles of carla's murder and her funeral. and he had lived a couple of blocks from carla when he was growing up. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the man's name, steven clare. he was 17 at the time of the murder. josh mankiewicz: they go to the same school? they know each other? yes. they did know each other. they were acquainted. her younger brother, jim, knew steve. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): so they asked clare, by then, 63 years old,

to come in for an interview. was he happy to see you? no. had to talk with his attorney a couple of times. ho did mr. clare explain that box with all that carla walker material in it? he said that he had a box, but it had lots of memorabilia from his past in it. it wasn't just carla walker information. my. >> dad's. >> my friends. >> my coworkers. >> my sister in law, my stepson. all those clippings would have been in there too, right? >> because you would save those and put them in your boxes. keepsakes for people. keepsakes for people. >> that y josh mankiewicz (voiceover): clare told detectives he also had something else-- an alibi.

he did show evidence that he was not living in the area at the time of the murder. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): clare allowed detectives to take a dna sample. we were able to rule him out pretty quickly. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): clare's ex-wife was wrong. he wasn't the killer and had nothing to do with carla's murder. another dead end-- not the first and not the last because now there was someone else, someone detectives could not rule out. we'll give you three guesses who that was. so our number one suspect was carla's boyfriend, rodney mccoy. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rodney, the man the original investigators came to believe the last person known to see carla walker alive. the reason being is that most murders are going to have somebody that knows the person involved.

stranger killings just don't happen that often. so when you have a killing of a woman, a lot of times, it's a husband, boyfriend, somebody where there's a passionate. just by the nature of the crime, we had to keep looking at rodney until he could be excluded. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): that wasn't the only reason. as they dug through the file from the early days of the investigation, detectives found three letters sent to police. leah wagner: one of them was postmarked the 25th of february in 1974, so just a few days after carla was found. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): all three accused rodney of murdering carla. josh mankiewicz: this could be the killer trying to point the finger at rodney to get suspicion off him. that's correct. mm-hmm. or it could have been a witness that knew it was rodney. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): there was no proof offered in any of those letters. so detectives were left with their own suspicions about the story rodney had told because some of it simply didn't make sense.

right now, we are at the parking lot of the bowling alley in which carla walker was abducted in 1974. the drive from the bowling alley to the walkers' house is only about a mile, which, for a drive, should take only about two to three minutes. rodney told original investigators that he woke up about five minutes after being knocked unconscious. but that creates a problem because there's a time gap of about 30 to 45 minutes in which he can account for. jeff bennett: turn left. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detectives found the trip from the bowling alley to the culvert where carla was found and then back to the walker house could be made in less than 45 minutes. jeff bennett: and so this is the walkers' house. this is where rodney would have pulled in into this driveway. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): they wondered why rodney hadn't either gone straight to a police station or even used a phone at the bowling alley to try to call for help.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): carla's siblings, who had always thought rodney was innocent, told detectives even they were bothered by something back when rodney came to their door that awful night. as i got older, i realized that cut on rodney's cheek, it looked like it was not dry, but coagulating. does that make sense? which made you doubt his story. i had questions. and it all came back to the timeline. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and remember what rodney said. oh yes. oh yes. >> i mean that was they josh mankiewicz: he says to the walkers, they took carla. then he describes only one person. correct. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and there

was something else rodney said, something he also told us. he had stuck the pistol about-- i don't know-- 3 or 4 inches from my face and started pulling the trigger. and i do remember clicks, three clicks. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): plausible? maybe. it's just not possible. detective bennett showed us why that could not have happened with the magazine out of the gun. jeff bennett: so when you pull the trigger, you'll get a click and no fire. but you cannot continue to fire the gun. and you can't get-- the hammer will not fall. if you charge it again, one hammer fall. so you start adding all of that up. and it spells? suspicion. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): coming up. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rodney mccoy back in the interview room. leah wagner: you could tell what kind of a toll it had taken on him. very stressed.

leah wagner: he was very nervous when he was speaking to us. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and in the lab, a devastating setback. i was crushed. i was like, did we just kill this case? josh mankiewicz (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. [tense music] i can rest comfortably and slow. meg tablets have a slow release formula that's gentle on my stomach. that's why i use slow. meg. >> hi, grandma. i played baseball today. >> oh that's great. >> what position. >> did you play? >> first base. >> that's what. >> grandpa used to. >> play when our. hearing wouldn't allow. us to use a. >> regular phone. >> it made. >> us feel isolated. >> it became difficult to. >> communicate with our. >> friends. >> and family. >> clear captions was. >> an easy. >> solution for us. >> clear captions provides captions on a phone. >> like captioning on your tv so. >> you can see.

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was just the pain from that night. i mean, it's been torment for, you know, a lot of years. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): in the four-plus decades since carla's murder, he'd made that move to alaska, married, had three kids, earned an engineering degree, moved back to texas, divorced, and became a grandfather. i've had fun. i've had some good times. i've had vacations with my family. i've had-- i've had a decent life, considering all of this. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): he even got back in touch with carla's family and friends. it was a life come full circle. here he was again in 2019, back in texas, facing another set of cold case detectives eager to speak with him. josh mankiewicz: tell me about when leah and jeff start again with fresh eyes, you know, and they contact you

because you're one of the people on their list of potential suspects. i thought it was great. and any time anybody's come to interview me for this, i'm for it. i don't care. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): it's true rodney had always cooperated before. this time, he didn't seem exactly thrilled to talk. he was hesitant quite a bit. like, how many times did you have to reschedule? it was a couple of times, even for us to get an interview with rodney. when he walked in, he just looked defeated. you could tell what kind of a toll it had taken on him. very stressed. leah wagner: and he was very nervous when he was speaking to us.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): even though rodney seemed emotional 46 years later, detectives couldn't shake the feeling that they might be sitting across from carla's killer after all, except a feeling is not a reason to arrest someone. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): despite investigators' suspicions, there was no new evidence linking rodney to any crime. so he was free to go. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detectives kept methodically working the case, combing through evidence, interviewing more people, and then some unexpected help arrived from a tv show. why'd you choose the carla walker case?

well, as i was looking at cases, in order to be able to assist agencies, the carla walker case was brought to my attention. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): paul holes is something of a legend in crime fighting circles. as a sheriff's investigator, he helped find the man who killed at least a dozen people in california a generation ago, a man known as the golden state killer. holes retired from law enforcement and is now an author, a consultant, and a true crime tv personality. this show on oxygen had an episode on the carla walker case. holes is an expert in genealogical dna, which can identify suspects through their relatives. it wasn't available back in 2005. it's also expensive. so the producers of his program provided $18,000 to help cover the cost. detectives sent carla's dress, and for the first time,

all the rest of her clothing to a lab in california. that actually allowed for us to look for dna in other spots than dna had originally been found. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and here's why wagner and bennett will be eternally grateful to those first crime scene investigators who did their work back in 1974. they packaged the evidence so carefully that 21st century lab techs were able to find something new, not on carla's dress, but on the strap of her bra-- a perfectly preserved single sperm cell. it was a single source sample, just pure that guy right there on her bra strap. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): from that, the lab developed a full male profile and checked that against some of the dna samples police had gathered. no match. they uploaded the sample to the national dna database.

no hit. and then it was like genealogy. this is easy. let's get this sample to a genealogy testing lab and start using investigative genealogy to identify who this male is. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): in other words, if they couldn't pinpoint the killer, maybe they could find his relatives. holes suggested detectives send the sample to a genealogical lab he'd had success with on other cases. now, any time you test a dna sample, part of it gets used up. in this case, the sample was so small, the lab used up all of it and then struck out on finding a link. josh mankiewicz: so now you don't have a suspect, and the sample is gone. your gold mine has dried up. the gold mine is gone. i was crushed. i was like, [sighs] did we just kill this case? i've let the family down. i've let carla down. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): it was

a major setback, to be sure. but detectives held on to a gut feeling they would solve this case. each time we hit a wall, a door opened. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and that next doorway led to a big break. we specifically focus on cases that have already failed other methods. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): cutting edge technology was about to solve carla's case. coming up. paul told me that, unfortunately, there were no leads generated. i said i'd like a chance to relook at that evidence. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): a new sample, a new lab, and bull's eye. i was hearing something that detectives had been wanting to hear for the last 46 years. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. when winter season hits emergen-c supports your immune system with so much more than vitamin c. be ready to fight back with emergen-c and for on-the-go immune support try emergen-c crystals. no water needed.

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also had carla mixed in. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): paul holes says a sample like that would normally be untestable. then he heard from this man, who'd seen hole's episode about carla walker. paul told me that, unfortunately, there were no leads generated. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): david mittelman is the ceo of othram labs. so i told him. i said, i'd like a chance to relook at that evidence. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): mittelman says his techs can use even tiny samples of degraded dna to build a complete profile david mittelman: once we can build a dna profile at othram, because there's so much more information in that profile, we can do a lot of interesting things, including genealogical search. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): holes put mittelman in touch with fort worth detectives. and we were really impressed with the lab. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): paul holes started to feel a little better. paul holes: if dr. mittelman is saying that he thinks that he can get a good genealogy profile,

this case could be solved. but this is the last gasp. if we consume this sample, there isn't going to be a solution to this case. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): in may of 2020, detectives decided to roll the dice. they sent their tiny, precious dna sample to othram labs outside houston. we got to work on it. and five weeks later, my lab director, he calls me, and he says they already have an answer. and i was like, this is amazing. we have to call-- we have to call jeff and let him know. i got a phone call on the morning of july 4. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): othram scientists had used the dna to come up with a full profile and then used genealogical mapping to find a family name. the family name was mccurley. and as soon as we told him the surname, he stopped us, and i hear him ruffling. and next thing you know, he's reading the notes. he immediately recognizes the name. so he's like, memorized this case file. i said, i know that name. so i looked at the suspect list,

and glen samuel mccurley is number 22. and i asked david. i said, is it glen samuel mccurley? and he goes, we're down to glen samuel mccurley. but he died in 1972, and your offense is 1974. and i asked him. i said, well, did he have a son that was a glen samuel mccurley, jr.? he said, i don't know. let me call you back. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): about an hour later, bennett got another phone call. this one would make his independence day light up brighter than any fireworks display. he said, bingo, we've got a glen samuel mccurley, jr. and he had two brothers. and both of those brothers were not living in texas at the time. but glen, jr. was, in fact, living in fort worth in 1974. and he was one of your suspects? he was one of our suspects. interviewed early on because he'd owned a ruger 22? mm-hmm. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): remember, back in 1974, police had found the magazine from a ruger pistol in the parking lot where carla was taken.

mccurley told police his ruger had been stolen, and he was cleared because he passed a police polygraph. it's one more example of why polygraphs aren't normally admissible in court. sometimes they get to the truth, but often enough, they do not. glen mccurley was the suspect police had sought since 1974. i knew that i was hearing something that detectives had been wanting to hear for the last 46 years. so i immediately called leah, and i told her, now we just need to prove this up. we researched where he was currently residing. and it happened to still be in fort worth, only a couple of miles away from the bowling alley. and so what we decided to do was have an officer go out there and talk with the residents of the house. officer (on recording): are you ms. mccurley? hi. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the officer wore a body cam and pretended he was conducting a welfare

check in the neighborhood. officer (on recording): mr. mccurley? he's in the back. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and then there he was. mr. mccurley! josh mankiewicz: and you think to yourself, oh, yeah, you did. yeah, she did. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): coming up. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): glen mccurley under a microscope and detectives under pressure. can they get the proof they need? and we pick out some select items that we believe would yield dna. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): a hunt for treasure in the trash. when "dateline" continues. touch can mean so many things. even for people with moderate-to-severe eczema. touch can make two feel like one. or simply be a helping hand. dupixent can help you stay ahead of eczema as you welcome the feeling of touch. dupixent helps block a key source of inflammation

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>> the palisades. >> from msnbc world headquarters. >> will understand more with officer (on recording): come out of the rain. hey, they sent us out here because-- josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the officer was smooth and downright folksy as he talked with glen mccurley about a parking violation. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): mccurley seemed to have no clue. he told the officer he'd lived in fort worth since the '70s and had been a long haul trucker, among other jobs. he waxed on about his retirement plans. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): in reality, the officer was the one doing the fishing, and glenn mccurley was about to be reeled in.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): once they left mccurley's home, police planned a quiet return after dark. leah wagner: we have some of those officers go out and do a trash run that night. and we pick out some select items that we believe would yield dna. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): they sent it all off to the lab. and about two weeks later, a lab tech called. she says, i have a match. what's the item that gives you his profile? a mcdonald's straw. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): fast food had led detectives to a suspect they'd been seeking for more than four decades, except they'd have to wait a little longer. to make a case in court, they had to be absolutely sure. so they returned to the mccurley home with an audio recorder. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and this time, they mentioned carla walker.

after our conversation, we said, you know, would you mind giving us a sample of your dna? and he tells us, well, they did it-- they did that back then. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): if mr. mccurley was reluctant, mrs. mccurley was surprisingly helpful. and his wife pipes up and says, no, they didn't, honey. they didn't have dna back then. and he looked at her with a sideways look, like, you're not helping me here. yeah. correct. we also asked him what he was doing the week that carla was abducted, and he stated, well, my wife doesn't drive, so i'm sure i was driving her to her job. and then even 46 years later,

mrs. mccurley recalled for police how she wasn't with her husband at all that weekend. you should have thought about deputizing mrs. mccurley. [chuckles] yes. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): in the end, glen mccurley volunteered a dna sample. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): we'll save you the suspense. it matched the dna taken from the bra strap. and now detectives knew they had their man. so on september 21, 2020, they arrested glen mccurley for the murder of carla walker. is detective bennett, and we are here to discuss the murder of this young lady. >> i've never. >> i've never. >> seen josh mankiewicz (voiceover): after more than an hour

of gentle yet persistent questioning-- josh mankiewicz (voiceover): --they got what investigators had waited for across the decades. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): mccurley was 31 then. remember that sketch police drew after rodney's hypnosis? he said he was drunk that night, looking for a victim. he admitted pistol whipping rodney and taking carla, but wouldn't admit to raping her. he just said they had sex. [sobbing] here, get you some more tissue.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): one more thing-- remember the ruger pistol he claimed was stolen? once he confessed, mccurley admitted he still had the gun squirreled away at his house. he described exactly in his home where he had hidden the gun in a room off of his laundry room up in the ceiling and that it was wrapped up in a towel. and that's where it is? yep. we recovered the weapon from exactly where he had stated that it was placed. [pensive music] josh mankiewicz (voiceover): jim walker remembers hearing the news. i can't even tell you. just elation. glen mccurley was not a name you'd heard before. no. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): jim texted his sister, cindy, who was driving with some friends. and so i just asked my friend. i handed her my phone and says, what's that text say? and she says, we got him. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): her sister's killer had been living right down the street. [sighs] a mile and a half from my parents' house,

had to drive by my parents' house, i bet you, a thousand times. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): jim called someone else that morning, rodney mccoy. and i said, buddy, you wanna hear something? we got him. it took him a minute to process. he goes, oh, my god, we got him? i said, yeah, he's in the tarrant county jail now. he's confessed. and that was a special, special moment for rodney and me. because that murder took a giant piece out of both your lives. unfortunately, it changed the direction that we went. it impacted who we are. i don't even think about what could have been. i just live with what is. josh mankiewicz: in this interview, we've been framing you through the camera kind of close. and that's because sometimes we do that to disguise whether somebody is actually incarcerated when we're talking with them.

but of course, as we can see from the wider shot, you are not incarcerated. you have never been charged with anything. arresting and charging glen mccurley has two effects. one is, it arrests and charges someone for that murder. and second, it isn't you. yes, that's true. thank you. i had doubts that this day would come. i really did. and that nobody would ever really know. nobody would know. and that suspicion would just linger with me till my dying day. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): 64-year-old rodney mccoy had been telling the truth all along. he'd lived with suspicion since he was 18. that truth? he was a victim himself. and now everyone knew it. i wake up every day. i feel liberated.

i feel so liberated. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): glen mccurley would not go easily. despite his confession, he pleaded not guilty. prosecutors kim d'avignon and emily dixon were happy to take the case to trial. i have a hobby beyond my job, i guess, of just reading up on cold cases. i've always thought they were interesting. i guess that's partly why i became a prosecutor. you know, it's one of those cases that it has kind of a local lore to it. it was a "but this could happen to you because it happened to carla walker" kind of feel. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rodney was their first witness. when i saw her, i smiled. she smiled. and i did love her. josh mankiewicz: what was it like to testify and see him? when i first got in there, i didn't even notice him. i was pretty-- i had a lot of anxiety. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rodney says he'd waited 47 years for this moment. his testimony, to me, there's

no better way to describe it other than it transformed you back to 1974. you could feel it. he let the jury know who carla was. and you could feel, with every ounce of your soul, every single heartbreaking moment of what he had gone through. he was one of the most impressive witnesses i've ever put on the stand. carla turned her face to me and i can-- i can visualize and said, rodney, go get dad. go get my dad. it was a very impactful moment. the courtroom was completely silent. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the case moved on. dna experts testified, as did detectives, old and new. prosecutors were about to wrap up. soon, mccurley's attorneys would mount his defense. this is normally the time for answers. it's not usually the time to hear questions that

have never before been asked. coming up. you just felt the whole room fill with emotion. that's got to give you chills. - mm-hmm. - mm-hmm. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the moment that stops the trial cold and a question-- was carla walker the only victim? is there another girl that you might have done this to as well. when "dateline" continues. (cough cough) (sneeze) (♪♪) new alka-seltzer plus cold or flu fizzy chews. chew. fizz. feel better fast. no water needed. new alka-seltzer plus fizzychews. patients who have sensitive teeth but also want whiter teeth they have to make a choice one versus the other. sensodyne clinical white provides two shades whiter teeth as well as providing 24/7 sensitivity protection.

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>> com. >> com. >> download the free app now. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): glen mccurley was on trial for the murder of carla walker 47 years earlier. one of the last things prosecutors did was play his confession in court. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): maybe that's when mccurley knew he was cooked. on day three of the trial, before his lawyer was able to even present a defense, mccurley gave up. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): mccurley was sentenced to life in prison. i will never forget that moment, just watching everybody crying and hugging. and you just felt the whole room fill with emotion. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and carla's brother, jim, comforted glen mccurley's son.

jim walker: his heart was broken, and his soul was broken, i could tell. josh mankiewicz: you hugged the son of the man who killed your sister? i did. that's what forgiveness is all about. you're a better guy than i am. remember, it took me 45 years to get here. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): now, there were some things the jury wasn't allowed to hear from that police interview. ok, that jump in the tape? there was material the judge ruled the jury couldn't see. and what was left out of the trial might just be key to getting more files off the shelves of that cold case room. here's what was missing. to. - there's no building there. - yeah, exactly. mm-mm. no, there's not. so, again, i asked him, why did you select the spot you did to place carla's body? and he, again, repeats pretty much the same story.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detectives wondered, did mccurley just have it wrong, or could this mean he'd committed another murder and was confusing the details? >> girl that he might have done this to as well? no. >> i didn't. >> want that. >> i got drunk. >> i didn't. >> do two times. >> are you sure? >> yeah. >> i'm pretty sure. >> i'm pretty sure. >> that's got to give you chills. mm-hmm. mm-hmm. we started looking at other cases and how these girls were abducted, how they were killed. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): this was not a complete surprise to jim minter. even back in 1974, down in the culvert where they found

carla, minter had a strong feeling this was not the killer's first time. jim minter: we had a previous case, becky martin's case. becky martin had been abducted almost exactly a year before this one. and then later, we found her remains in a culvert in the same general area as this. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): 21-year-old becky martin was abducted in the parking lot of her junior college. her body was found weeks later. jeff bennett took us out to the scene. you know, it's a really surreal feeling when you come out to a scene like this. and it definitely makes you want to work harder to get these cases solved. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): wagner and bennett say glen mccurley is a person of interest in the becky martin case and in at least two others-- kristi towers in 1983 and angela ewert from 1984. both young women were snatched from their cars,

strangled, raped, murdered. and police are still asking the question, did mccurley leave some other victim by a building? that question and many others may never be answered. mccurley declined our request for an interview. and, in july 2021, just as detectives were preparing to interview him again, glen mccurley died in prison. justice may never come for those other families. but at least carla's family finally had what they'd been seeking for so long. we love you, sis. we told you we wouldn't-- we wouldn't give up. we know you're been in a better place, but now we're healing. [melancholy music] josh mankiewicz (voiceover): here on earth, rodney mccoy is in a better place, too. josh mankiewicz: you still dream about her? rodney mccoy: it's sporadic. it's like i can't touch her.

i wake up from that dream, and it's like, wow, why can't i touch her? that hurts. and, yeah, she's-- she's still here. [chatter] josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and so are his friends. woman: come on! let's go! woo! josh mankiewicz (voiceover): once the star quarterback, he's happy to be finally out of the spotlight-- touchdown! [cheering] josh mankiewicz (voiceover): --and, again, back on the sidelines. hey, cougs! good job. good job. [cheering] [theme music] i'm andrea canning, and this is "dateline." goi? my husband, he's been shot in the head, please. there was a female. she had mud and blood all over her. frantic, saying her husband had been shot.