Bill Supports Advanced DNA Technology for Investigative Agencies
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) have introduced the Carla Walker Act, bipartisan legislation that would dedicate federal grant funds to support forensic genetic genealogy (FGG) DNA analysis to help solve previously unsolvable cold cases. The bill is named for Carla Walker, a Fort Worth native whose murderer was finally identified 46 years after her death with the help of this technology. Representatives Kelly Armstrong (R-ND-At-Large) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA-14) introduced companion legislation in the House.
“Advancements in forensic DNA technology have revolutionized our ability to combat crime. In Vermont, detectives have been able to use forensic genetic genealogy analysis to help provide answers to families who thought they would never come. We’ve also seen how this technology can be a powerful tool in giving those wrongly accused a chance to clear their names,” said Senator Welch. “Our bipartisan bill will help investigators across the country harness the incredible power of FGG technology to crack cold cases and deliver justice to countless victims and families, and I’m thankful for Senator Cornyn’s leadership on it.”
“46 years after Carla Walker’s tragic murder left her family desperately seeking answers, her killer was finally identified and brought to justice thanks to advanced FGG DNA analysis,” said Senator Cornyn. “I’m proud to introduce this legislation in Carla Walker’s honor so that we can provide the resources needed to give more families in Texas and across the country the peace, healing, and resolution that comes through the power of a case solved.”
Typically, when a suspect’s identity is unknown, a crime laboratory uploads the genetic material recovered from a crime scene into the FBI’s national database to search for DNA matches between the forensic sample and any known offenders. While this traditional form of forensic DNA profiling only examines 13-20 Short tandem repeat (STR) DNA markers, FGG technology examines over half a million Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) that span the entirety of the human genome. It does so by cross-referencing shared blocks of SNP markers to identify relatives of the genetic profile by uncovering shared blocks of DNA. This enables criminal investigators to build family trees that ultimately help determine the sample’s identity and solve cases.
The Carla Walker Act would create a pilot program to make this cutting-edge technology and FGG DNA analysis more widely available to investigative agencies to:
- Aid in resolving previously unsolvable cold cases;
- Assist in the identification of criminals;
- Seek justice for previously unidentified victims; and
- Help exonerate wrongly accused individuals.
Carla Walker was abducted from a bowling alley parking lot in Fort Worth, Texas, on February 17, 1974. Her body was found three days later just 30 minutes south of Fort Worth. Law enforcement could not solve the murder due to limited forensic technology at the time. Nearly 50 years later, FGG DNA analysis was conducted on the last remaining DNA on a piece of Carla’s clothing, which led to a successful DNA match to the family of Glen McCurley, Jr., who confessed to the crime in 2021 and died in prison in 2023.
Learn more about the Carla Walker Act.
Read the full text of the bill.
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