For 24 years, the case of a young adult entertainer who was murdered in the sprawling suburbs of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area remained unsolved.
Cynthia Gonzalez, 25, was reported missing in Arlington, Texas, by her ex-husband in September 1991 and found dead five days later in the boondocks south of the city from multiple gunshot wounds. Despite some clues, her killer was not found at the time.
But now police think they have finally identified the person responsible – with the help of an unusual new course at the University of Texas that enlists criminology students to solve cold cases.
On November 6, Marshals arrested 63-year-old Janie Perkins on capital murder charges in Azle, Texas, on the far northwest edge of Fort Worth.
“When we launched our cold case partnership with UTA, we always hoped that we would one day have an outcome like this. I don’t think any of us expected lightning to strike the first time,” said Arlington Police Chief Al Jones. This was stated in a press release on Monday.
“I would like to sincerely thank the students for their work and dedication to this cause. I would also like to thank the UTA faculty for embracing this program. We hope this is just the first of more.”
Founded by the University of Texas at Arlington only this Septemberthe ‘innovative’ program gave 15 students access to old case material from three unsolved murders and put them to work in search of a breakthrough.
One of those three cases was that of Cynthia Gonzalez, who was last seen on September 16, 1991, when she left her home to meet a client.
As recently as 2024, an Arlington Police Department detective had reviewed the case and determined there were no new leads to pursue. But the students disagreed and quickly focused on suspect Janie Perkins.
Police said Perkins — who was about 29 at the time — was a close friend of Gonzalez and often spent time with her. But just weeks before the murder, a shared romantic partner allegedly told Perkins they were breaking up so they could be with Gonzalez.
In the 1990s, Perkins — who maintains her innocence — reportedly failed to provide investigators with an alibi for the night Gonzalez disappeared and failed two voluntary polygraph tests when asked if she knew who was responsible.
Polygraph tests are not allowed in court and research has shown them to be highly unreliable. But Perkins also allegedly made statements to investigators suggesting that she was glad Gonzalez was dead, and that she had even thought about killing her or having her killed.
And so, at the urging of UTA students, modern detectives began to investigate Perkins further. They allegedly heard from witnesses who claimed that Perkins personally admitted to them that she had killed Gonzalez and provided specific details. These details were consistent with the existing evidence.
Perkins was charged with one count of capital murder, booked into the Tarrant County Jail and released on bond after posting $150,000 bail. according to reports.
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