Published: May 07, 2009 12:39 pm      

Cold cases see some movement after series runs

The Times-Review receives, and prints, comments from readers on stories.

Some are encouraging. Some are not.

In response to an “Annals of Crime” chapter on the death and body-dumping of Debbie Clark, a woman named Misty wrote, “The daughters of Debbie Clark were 15 and 12. ‘Mommy’ didn’t ask either of them not to say anything. She was a party girl, but she also had gone to AA before her murder and had been sober for months. Read all the articles, and they will tell you there was a ton of evidence. Evidence the police lost.”

The remains of Clark, a White Settlement resident, were found April 4, 1988, near the Dallas branch of the Santa Fe tracks just east of Cleburne.

She died of multiple stab wounds and head and abdomen trauma.

No arrests were ever made. A suspect resides in Wise County.

Johnson County Sheriff Bob Alford confirmed that any physical evidence in the Clark case is gone with the wind, accidentally discarded or misplaced.

“There is no physical evidence,” he said. “As far as having a good, solid case, we don’t have it.”

He said he remembers meeting with one of the deceased’s daughters.

“I believe it was one of the daughters who came to see me my first year in office,” Alford said. “The [paper] file was on my desk when I asked for all the cold cases to be brought forward. I assured the daughter that there’s no statute of limitations on homicide.”

Retired Johnson County investigator David Cole, who saw the dump site and worked the case, said an assistant medical examiner mishandled a post-mortum rape test.

The test would not have been admissable in court, Cole said.

There is only one way to investigate a case without physical evidence.

“You start back at the beginning,” Alford said. “You recontact people like the daughters.”

A confession from the suspect might clear the case.

“But even with a confession, I’m going to have to have some evidence,” Alford said, “something to make sure it’s not just somebody trying to get his name in the paper. I have to be able to substantiate the confession.”

Alford said noticeable movement has occurred in what has become known as the 1980 Times-Review murder case.

The deceased was Ronald G. Marshall. Two suspects were Times-Review employees.

“I’m not at liberty to say what kind of movement there’s been in that case, but my cold case unit was charged up about it. They rediscovered evidence that was presumably lost. The medical examiner’s office in Tarrant County had some material we were not aware of. I don’t know exactly what it was. I do know there was a positive lead, and the cold case unit turned up some stuff.

“They had a fire lit under them. They got another target to go after.”

Slight movement has come in the Cynthia Renee Gonzalez case.

The owner of an Arlington adult-oriented business, Gonzalez was believed murdered in Arlington. Her remains were found Sept. 22, 1991, in a secluded area off County Road 313 between Grandview and Alvarado and about one mile west of I-35

“We received information that her daughter might be willing to talk to us,” Alford said. “We followed up on that with Arlington [Police Department]. They informed us it was their case, and they asked if we had some information to share.”

Combined with data on the Times-Review murder case, that’s not tremendous movement.

“But it’s better than what we’ve had in the past,” Alford said. “You never know when one person is going to have the answer. That may be the one missing thread that brings everything together. I’m elated that there is some movement.”

When sufficient evidence is collected, Alford said, he will consult with district attorney Dale Hanna.

“That’s when you walk in and say, ‘This is where we are. What is your opinion, and what do we need to do to get an indictment?’ I’m not ready to knock on the DA’s door right now, but I’m closer than I was before.”