Texas College Sleuths Crack a Cold Case on First Try

Criminology students in Texas who formed a partnership with police to help investigate cold case murders have brought about an arrest on their very first try. The Arlington Police Department on Monday announced the arrest of 63-year-old Janie Perkins in the 1991 murder of 25-year-old Cynthia Gonzalez, reports NBC News. The breakthrough came after students in the University of Texas at Arlington's criminology department began reviewing the case file, narrowing in on Perkins, per KERA News. "When we launched our cold case partnership with UTA, we always hoped we'd get an outcome like this one day," says Police Chief Al Jones. "I don't think any of us expected that lightning would strike the first time."

Gonzalez, who worked as an "adult entertainer," was last seen leaving her home to meet a client. Her body was found five days later in rural Johnson County, shot multiple times. Despite early suspicions about Perkins—who reportedly had no alibi, failed two polygraph tests, and expressed ill will toward Gonzalez—no charges were filed at the time. The case went cold, partly because the department lacks a dedicated cold case unit and can only revisit old cases when time allows. However, a homicide detective who reviewed the case in 2024 didn't think there were any new leads or evidence.

The students, who had access to all case files except physical evidence, noticed that Perkins and Gonzalez were friends who shared a romantic partner. That partner had decided to leave Perkins for Gonzalez weeks before the murder. Perkins had even told police she was glad Gonzalez was dead and had thought about killing her. After the students' review, police returned to the file and found witness statements indicating Perkins had admitted involvement in the crime and knew details that weren't public. Those statements matched with evidence in the case. Perkins was arrested Nov. 6 and faces a capital murder charge. Gonzalez's daughter, who was six when her mother was killed, says she's "so grateful for this program and so proud of these students at UTA."