Gary was merely a year and a half away from graduating from Grand Prairie High School and attending the University of Texas at Arlington, where one of the victims was attending when she was murdered. Report No: 84211918 Victim: Manuel Vargas Soto, 22 years old Location: 1416 N Main St On June 3rd, 1984, Manuel Soto was inside the bar located at 1416 N. Main Street. They entered the residence and found Zita Rogers deceased in the residence. When I heard that, I asked Palazzolo how he has been able to persevere for more than a decade at his quest to regain his position and to get what is justly coming to him despite the districts stonewalling. Learn more about your ad choices. "The word that came across my brain was 'finally,' after 46 years, five months and three days, we have a name, a face and are working toward a complete resolution," said Jim Walker. " Report No: 85420666Victim: Rodney Rogers, 48 year-old white male On January 25, 1985, patrol officers were dispatched to a residence in the 4300 block of Carey. "We take terrible evidence that other labs don't want to mess with," he said. Report No: 84501542Victim: Eddie Sanchez 38 year-old hispanic male Detectives Leah Wagner and Jeff Bennett of the Fort Worth Police Department share more information about three cold case homicides in the area that they believe could be linked to Carla Walkers killer, Glen McCurley.Jan. Report No: 91316552Victim: Doyle Stanley (53 year old white male) & John Maddox (29 year old white male) It is really fascinating to me from a personal point of view, going, My gosh, we lived through this, and I had no idea, he said. Going through the Weeklys search engine, I found more than two dozen pieces over the years with such headlines as Its Official: Palazzolos Head Is on Johnsons Platter and Day Two: Joe Palazzolo V FWISD.. What is Curtis Don Browns date of death and cause of death? This location is east of Hillside Park. 28th Street. The ones that are most closely linked were all in the southwest Fort Worth area, Karin said. Not only was the principal determined to hide the problems at Arlington Heights, but also Judy Needham, the school board member representing the Arlington Heights area, reportedly felt just as strongly that Palazzolo had damaged the school. Palazzolo: The kids know when you have low expectations. (Star-Telegram photo illustration/Family photos, Fort Worth Police Department) ON THE CASE - For its first two episodes, "Out of the Cold" focused on the 1973 murder of 14-year-old Donald Rodgers, who was shot in his neighbor's house while spending some time with his friend, Melvin Knox, who was 15. Three days later Walker's body was found dumped in a culvert near Benbrook Lake. She lived on Bellaire Dr in Fort Worth. Location: 2100 E. Richmond Ave Much of the day was also spent on the DNA evidence detectives said led them back to McCurley in 2020 after the cold case was reopened. On October 6, 1989, patrol officers were dispatched to the residence at 2900 Rosen. Report No: 85126017Victim: Mary Taylor, 36 year-old black female In discussing Needham, it was the first time I saw Palazzolo really get emotional. It was later determined that she had been strangled. I loved being an administrator and making a difference.. When they tried to stop him to question him, he ran but was apprehended and arrested after a fierce struggle. Location: 3200 Avenue I We looked at the patterns of this particular man and compare them to these crimes, but I dont want to say that we were the first person to say we think he committed these crimes. We want to note that African American serial killers are not rare, Karin said. If somebody is hunting young, attractive women in this area, odds are pretty good that they may have been involved in modeling in some way or another in the mid-1980s, Karin said. Report No: 01066517 Victim: Derek Locke, 30 years old Despite all his efforts, he had not been able to go back to doing what he loved. He had been stabbed. Jail records showed McCurley was being held in the Tarrant County Jail on a charge of capital murder with bond set at $100,000. However, it wasnt too long after Palazzolo submitted the teachers list of grievances in May that Johnson and other leaders broke those promises. I loved teaching. He had apparently been robbed, and his vehicle had been stolen. Victim's family says they forgive the suspect and are praying for his family but expect justice to be delivered. Here she was, thrilled she might be able to reel in an overqualified candidate at the same time Fort Worth ISD was hemorrhaging teacher and administrator positions. As whistleblower Joe Palazzolo fights for his old FWISD job, he holds fast to his faith and military training. Star-Telegram photo illustration of Melvin Knox. He resided a few blocks from the convenience store. Homicide detectives said Tuesday that though McCurley was investigated and named a person of interest in 1974, the investigation into developing him as a suspect was taken as it could be in 1974 with the technology available at that time. Report No: 95062027Victim: Ruth Ann Kearns, 56 year-old white female Carla wore a powder blue dress and the flowered corsage McCoy had pinned to the fabric. When they looked inside the purses, officials found the womans ID, so they went to her apartment. Detectives did not again pursue McCurley following the 1974 interview until the DNA profile match was found in GEDMATCH. McCurley told detectives in 1974 that his wife had gone to West Texas to visit family and that his .22 Ruger had been stolen about six weeks earlier (around the time of the murder) and that he didn't report it because he was an ex-con who'd been to jail for car theft. Interestingly, the amount of notice this case garnered in Fort Worths paper of record is minuscule by comparison. They observed the body of Eddie Sanchez lying next to a guard rail at 4300 Brentwood Stair Road. On June 3rd, 1984, Manuel Soto was inside the bar located at 1416 N. Main Street. Report No: 86460840Victim: Oscar Olvera, 28 years old Report No: 93261548Victim: Robert Rodriguez, 32 years old Then, surprisingly, he received a call back right away. In tracking Browns history, the team discovered he had been previously convicted of an unrelated felony and was released from prison in 1983. Sitting at our table at a South Fort Worth eatery, our cups of coffee long cold, our conversation wrapping up, Joe Palazzolo recalled photos of him that the Weekly took more than a decade . Also, he has picked up how to breed, raise, and work cattle. Three years later, they decided to take that step and focus on cold case Fort Worth-based murders. The investigation revealed that she might have been strangled. Twenty-seven-year-old Mary Till left her apartment in Arlington around 9 a.m. and headed toward her workplace at a downtown Dallas law firm. Report No: 92456591Victim: Rose Fromer, 50 year-old white female Gone Cold began in July of 2017 with the hopes of drawing attention to cases that have been previously overlooked or forgotten. Wagner and Bennett, who had recently reopened Carlas case and been interviewing dozens of witnesses and friends, struck their deal with Holes to pay for the advanced DNA testing. "It's a terrible burden that you feel when you're helping folks solve a case that's been unsolved for decades," Mittleman said. We appreciate the story getting out because our work and our goal is better served the more listeners that we have., We need listeners to get involved, Karin added. Sylvia Hynes died at the hospital, due to trauma to the head. As Palazzolo told the Weeklyin 2014, the district has allegedly paid out millions in legal fees all with taxpayer money.. After being dropped off by her date, intending to visit a friend in southwest Fort Worth, she was last seen walking across the street to a Dairy Queen. Location: 700 NE 28th St The way Gary narrates the podcast is ominous. On June 13, 1994, Robert Freeman was at a pay telephone in front of Julies Food Mart at 4621 Miller Avenue when he was shot and killed during an apparent robbery. Glen McCurley, 77, of Fort Worth, was . Sandra Bush did not return to her residence. In December 2015, Fort Worth police arrested 58-year-old Melvin Linn Knox for the Aug. 7, 1973, shooting and stabbing death of Donald Bryan Rodgers, who was 14 at the time. Report No: 81032984Victim: Lester Cole, 72 year-old white male It was terrifying. The officers found the body of Jason Smith lying in the parking lot behind the Owens Sausage business. Fort Worth is just one stop for Adventures with Purpose, as they travel across the country to work 27 different cold cases, looking for 36 people in total. Some of those kids dont have that in their lives, and I loved that about teaching. His is the 113th cold case cleared since the department began increasing efforts in 2002 to reinvestigate unsolved . On November 20, 1996, Monica Coleman was found deceased at her residence: 1029 E. Powell. They found Marilyn Hartmann deceased in the house. Arlington police got a match for one of their unsolved cases, so thats how he got convicted for three murders before he died in prison this year, Gary said. Satisfyingly, he provides them in depth. Richard Garcia was shot and killed. The officers found the body of Lester Cole lying in the parking lot, in front of his 1978 Chevrolet El Camino. This myth kind of got perpetuated through the years about who serial killers are., A lot of it goes back to when the FBI started its Behavioral Science Unit, Gary said. Report No: 84495062Victim: Angela Ewert, 21 years old Location: 3404 Park Ridge When asked how he felt after the trial, Jim Walker said, Peaceful. Bleeding and losing consciousness, McCoy saw the abductor start to pull Carla away. In September 1984, 23-year-old Catherine Davis returned to her apartment in southwest Fort Worth around midnight. The seventh victim is Terri McAdams. McCoy said he later woke up to find Walker was gone and blood coming from his head. Get email updates from the Fort Worth Police Department. McCurley was the name of a possible suspect in Walker's case file. I feel sadness for the McCurleys that are survivors of this. The district desperately needs experienced administrators like Palazzolo, who is willing and has been waiting years to go back to work. On November 25, 1990, Celestine Rogers was found deceased at a park at 2100 Redbud Trail. Report No: 80433227Victim: Cheryl Lynn Tunnel Springfield Her family waited for answers for decades until DNA technology and a dogged police investigation led to the conviction of McCurley. Palazzolos evaluation was changed by the district from Exceeds Expectations to Needs Improvement. As Shaw described it at the time, This is a classic tale of killing the messenger., To understand why those in power were so determined to retaliate against Palazzolo for, in their minds, damaging Arlington Heights reputation, we need to understand that, at the time, as the Weeklyreported, Principal Alexander ha[d] long been determined to avoid negative publicity about her school. She seemed obsessed with lifting the taint of the Academically Unacceptable rating the school received in 2009.. Report No: 84390654Victim: Catherine Davis, 24 years old She had been strangled. In the video interview, McCurley told detectives he was drinking whiskey and beers that Saturday night and driving around the town. On March 12, 1981, officers went to the residence at 1829 S. Jennings Avenue to check on George Shelby, who lived at the residence by himself. They found the body of Carol Preslar in the apartment. Location: 3700 Craven They died as a result of blunt force injuries. Though each of those murderers are now either dead or incarcerated, Karin added, police arent certain that all of the victims have been identified. This murder was believed to have been drug-related. Fort Worth homicide detectives hope a 45-year-old letter will help solve an equally old homicide. Francisco Puentes died as a result of gunshot wounds. Peaceful., Were glad and happy, and I feel happy for our community, he said. Like a babe in the woods, he added. Location: 2306 E Berry St DNA evidence recovered from clothing and a bra worn by Carla Walker the night she was abducted was sent to a private lab in The Woodlands. Instead of remedying the problems at Arlington Heights and other campuses, the district has spent years going after the messenger. He grappled with finding just the right words to describe her, then shook his head and said, Especially in regards to my case, I question her ethics, character, and morals.. PLEASE ask them to do a report on the Austin Yogurt Shop Murders. A male ran up to the drivers side of the truck and fired several times toward the truck, shooting and killing Richard Hutchinson. Since the MCSO created the unit back in late 2017, they've resolved 14 cold cases from 1955 to 2012: 13 of them they believe are murders, and one they've ruled a drug overdose. Over the last four decades, police said it appears McCurley had led a relatively normal life, was married and had two children. It was a really big win for us and the Walker family. Palazzolo was demoted, transferred, fired, reinstated, and then fired a second time, but that was not all the district did. When McCurley beat McCoy with his .22 Ruger, the guns magazine was dislodged and fell into the parking lot. Location: 1829 S. Jennings Avenue On July 22, 1994, Curtis Roberson was inside the Berry Street Detail Shop at 2306 E. Berry Street. The property at 1600 Ballinger used to be owned by the Marble Product Company. During a news conference Tuesday afternoon, detectives with the Fort Worth Police Department said they believe the assault and murder were random and that Walker and McCurley didn't know each other. They were trying to get funding from Congress. Im guilty. Man accused of murder in Fort Worth cold case confesses in video interview, Student fatally shot near Lake Highlands High School, Dallas police say, Woman shot in Fort Worth road rage incident, taken to hospital with injuries, police say, Man arrested, accused of stealing donations for Turkey, Syria earthquake victims from Islamic school, Lewisville police search for man accused of shooting girlfriend, grazing girlfriends child, 20-year-old man killed in Fort Worth parking lot had multiple gunshot wounds, police say, Homeowner shot man he found breaking into his vehicle in Fort Worth, authorities say, Woman shot by girlfriend in fight outside south Fort Worth convenience store, police say. She was found lying in the field. Location: 4708 Bryce Ave On May 14, 1993, Robert Rodriguez was at a bar located at 3446 May Street. A neighbor had seen the victim talking to an unknown male around midnight on Christmas Eve. Fort Worth, TX Area Cold Cases Crime Map Neighborhoods Trends Analytics Cold Cases Missing Persons Daily Archive Name Marjorie Dabney Age Cause of Death Homicide Info Homicide Agency Lewisville Police Department View Source Name Baby Doe Age Cause of Death Homicide Info Homicide Agency Lewisville Police Department View Source Name Report No: 87161476Victim: Michael Myers 41 year-old white male On May 3, 1999, Ezekiel Barraza, who was also known as Chico, was at the Cowboy Cats Club at Main Street and Exchange Avenue. Palazzolo then realized this was the key to understanding what had happened in his past. She did not return to her residence, where she lived with her husband. They found the body of Denise Hough at the bottom of the ravine. Julie left the room to take some trash to a dumpster. During the trial, McCurley initially pleaded not guilty to the murder. Carla turned her face to me and I can visualize it and said, Rodney go get dad. That December, 21-year-old Angela Ewert stopped at a convenience store after leaving her fiancs house in southwest Fort Worth around 11 p.m. She headed east, but several miles down the road, she pulled over with a flat tire, which appeared to have been stabbed. The body of Jaime Trevizo was later found on the street at 2000 Clinton Avenue. It upsets us deeply that someone who may have held the answers to so many questions took his secrets to the grave. They entered the residence and found the bodies of Frederick Cremean, and his wife, Karen Cremean. His 1991 red Chevrolet Cavalier had been stolen, and was later found at Glenwood Park in the 900 block of Exeter St. McCurley was interviewed by police in the 1974 investigation of Carlas murder. 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