No one could solve this 1991 murder, until this group of students took a closer look

The Arlington Police Department recently announced a breakthrough in a 1991 cold case, thanks to the efforts of criminology students at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). Janie Perkins, 63, was taken into custody and charged with capital murder in connection with the death of Cynthia Gonzalez. Gonzalez, 26 at the time, had been missing since September 17, 1991, and her body was discovered five days later, with multiple gunshot wounds.

The fresh lead in the case emerged after UTA criminology students, working on cold cases as part of a class project, began reviewing evidence from unsolved investigations. As part of a new initiative launched at the beginning of the semester, the students were assigned to groups that examined different cold cases in collaboration with the Arlington Police. During their review of Gonzalez’s case, the students raised red flags about Perkins. They discovered that Perkins had failed polygraph tests, never provided a solid alibi for the time of the murder, and had made disturbing comments suggesting she was pleased that Gonzalez was dead. Although polygraph results aren't admissible in court, the students’ findings piqued further interest.

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Arlington detectives reopened the case, and new testimonies from witnesses revealed that Perkins had confessed to her involvement in the murder. These revelations led to her arrest. Arlington Police Chief Al Jones expressed gratitude for the students' work, saying, "When we launched our cold case partnership with UTA, we hoped for a result like this, but we didn’t expect it to happen so soon. This success is a testament to the hard work of the students and faculty." The police department hopes that this case will be the first of many to benefit from such collaborations.