Students at the University of Texas Solve a Cold Case!
A group of college students at the University of Texas at Arlington may have helped crack a murder case that had been cold for more than 30 years.
UTA criminology students assisted Arlington detectives in making an arrest in the 34-year-old killing of Cynthia Gonzalez, Chief Al Jones announced. Gonzalez, a 25-year-old mother who worked as an “adult entertainer,” was reported missing on Sept. 17, 1991, after leaving to meet a client. She was never seen alive again.
For decades, her family and investigators held onto hope that the case could still be solved. That opportunity came at the start of the 2025 fall semester, when Arlington police partnered with UTA’s Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice to launch an advanced cold-case course.
A small group of students was granted rare access to the complete case files, excluding physical evidence and were tasked with reviewing the investigation from scratch. Their fresh perspective led detectives to re-interview 63-year-old Janie Perkins, after the students noticed she had been both a friend of Gonzalez and shared a romantic partner with her. She had motive and no alibi! Janie Perkins was arrested and now Cynthia’s family have the peace they deserve!
Lana Backman
