logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2025
30m 22s

The Case of Carla Walker: How DNA Eviden...

iHeartPodcasts and Kaleidoscope
About this episode

Carla Walker’s brazen abduction after her high school Valentine’s dance shocked Fort Worth. The case went cold for decades. In Part 1, host Elin Lantz Lesser and producer Catherine Fenollosa walk through the early investigation, and why suspicion turned toward Carla’s boyfriend.

This cold case is where our story begins. Using forensic genealogy and DNA evidence, detectives and scientists from Othram begin to reexamine what was left behind.

America’s Crime Lab is a true crime podcast about how science solves cold cases, missing persons, and other unsolved cases. Hosted by journalist and clinical psychologist Elin Lantz Lesser, and powered by Othram’s forensic DNA lab, the show connects the science to the story, revealing what really happens in the lab and why it matters.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Jul 2025
Carla Walker, Part 2: A Cold Case Reopened by DNA Evidence
Nearly 50 years after Carla Walker’s murder, Fort Worth detectives decide to reopen the case. In Part 2, host Elin Lantz Lesser and producer Catherine Fenollosa trace how a persistent cold case investigator begins to reexamine the original evidence, and why a single swab becomes ... Show More
36m 22s
Jul 2025
Carla Walker, Part 3: DNA Evidence Identifies a Suspect
In Part 3 of our Carla Walker investigation, a decades-old DNA sample is reexamined at Othram’s lab, leading to a breakthrough. Host Elin Lantz Lesser and producer Catherine Fenollosa walk us through the science behind the profile, the chain of custody, and the unexpected match t ... Show More
28m 43s
Jul 2025
Carla Walker, Part 4: A Confession and the Power of DNA Evidence
In the final chapter of Carla Walker’s story, detectives sit down with their prime suspect. What follows is a slow, tense interrogation, and a long-delayed confession. Host Elin Lantz Lesser and producer Catherine Fenollosa bring together the science, the interrogation, and the m ... Show More
36m 27s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2020
Valentine’s Dance abduction-murder solved by DNA? Bethany Decker disappearance: Boyfriend charged
Carla Walker was kidnapped from her boyfriend’s car after a Valentine's Day high school dance in 1974, and was found brutally murdered three days later. A Texas man has been arrested after the Othram Inc. forensic laboratory identified a genetic profile in the cold case. Plus, a ... Show More
53m 36s
Dec 2024
Cold Case Solved by a Witness After 20 Years
In recent years, cold cases that were solved through advances in science have been the main focus of popular documentary television shows such as Forensic Files and The New Detectives. These shows highlight the unwavering precision of DNA evidence, often a stark contrast to the s ... Show More
20m 26s
Nov 2023
Flashback (Jessica Baggen)
<p>When a 17 year old is murdered in her Alaskan hometown, the community wants answers. It would take years to get them. The wonders of DNA and its advancements are on full display in this case.</p><p>For episode information and photos, please visit <a href="https://anatomyofmurd ... Show More
45m 21s
Sep 2021
The Girl with the “S” Tattoo
On October 5th, 1980, Detective John Williams responds to the scene where a young woman has been found, raped, murdered, and discarded on the side of a remote Nevada road. Investigators have no clue to her identity. With no leads and very little evidence, the case goes cold for 3 ... Show More
28m 30s
Feb 2019
Identification Of A Killer - Investigative Genealogy and DNA
Explore the journey, process, science and investigative work that went into identifying the suspected Golden State Killer, Joseph James DeAngelo, with some of the key players responsible for this amazing feat - Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Shubert, Lt. Kirk Camp ... Show More
1h 2m
Dec 2021
If the Shoe Fits - Part 2 (Suzanne Nauman & Phyllis Harvey)
<p>For two decades, the homicide of a teenage girl goes unsolved. The clue to solving her case as well as a completely different murder was right in front of investigators in black and white.</p><p>For episode information and photos, please visit <a href="https://anatomyofmurder. ... Show More
35m 11s
Oct 2025
Post Mortem | Closing the Cold Case of Robin Lawrence
48 Hours correspondents Natalie Morales and Anne-Marie Green discuss the cold case of Robin Lawrence, who was home with her 2-year-old daughter when she was murdered by an unknown assailant. They discuss how advances in DNA technology and a volunteer genetic genealogist helped in ... Show More
22m 25s
Sep 2024
Decades and DNA (Sarah Mobley Hall & Derrick Mobley)
<p>A mother and young son are found dead in their apartment. Local law enforcement hit wall after wall, for decades. New technology and a family tree led to the solve they'd been waiting for.</p><p> </p><p>For episode information and photos, please visit: <a href="https://anatomy ... Show More
48m 29s
Aug 2023
Unsolved / Eve Stratford & Lynne Weedon
As time progressed, DNA testing methods evolved, becoming increasingly sophisticated and refined. Cold cases that had remained unsolved for decades were revisited periodically, with renewed hope that advanced forensic analysis could crack the case. With the turn of the millennium ... Show More
58m 23s