Arlington Police announced a stunning arrest in a 34-year-old cold case on Monday.
Chief Al Jones said detectives solved the 1991 murder of Cynthia Gonzalez with the help of criminology students at the University of Texas at Arlington.
“When we launched our partnership with UTA, we always hoped that we could get a moment like this,” Jones told reporters.
Gonzalez was reported missing on Sept. 17, 1991. The 25-year-old young mother, who police said worked as an “adult entertainer,” had left to meet a client for work the night before and was never seen alive again.
Her ex-husband reported her missing, and her car was found abandoned hours later in the 900 block of Cedar Springs Terrace. On Sept. 22, 1991, her body, which had been shot multiple times and was decomposing, was found in rural Johnson County.
For three decades, neither her family nor Arlington detectives gave up hope that her killer might be found.
With no full-time cold case unit, Jones said Arlington PD turned to UT Arlington.
At the start of the 2025 fall semester, police launched a new advanced course with UTA’s Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice.
A group of select students was given rare access to all the materials from the Gonzalez case with the exception of physical evidence.
Their fresh eyes lead detectives to re-question now 63-year-old Janie Perkins after the students noticed that Gonzalez and Perkins were friends and shared a romantic partner. Several weeks before the murder, the unidentified partner told Perkins that they were ending their relationship to be with Gonzalez.
Perkins also had no alibi for the night Gonzalez went missing, and failed two polygraph tests when she was asked if directly she knew who was responsible for the disappearance and death. Perkins even told detectives that she was glad Gonzalez was dead and thought about either killing her or having someone else do it.
Following the the students’ discovery, detective re-examined the investigation files and discovered witnesses had said Perkins had admitted she was involved in the murder and had mentioned specific details.
“Ms. Perkins knew information only a killer would know,” Jones said.
Perkins was arrested on Nov. 6 in Azle on one count of capital murder.
The development shocked Gonzalez’s daughter Jessica Roberts, who was just 6 years old when her mother was murdered.
“I am so grateful for this program and so proud of these students at UTA and so thankful for the time they have spent and the effort they have put in to this case,” said Roberts.
“I was beside myself and I only found out last Thursday, so it has been a process and I’m still processing this,” Roberts said.
The students were emotional, too.
“We had to comb through four to five hundred files, photographs from the crime scene,” said UTA senior Jacey Concannon. “We are so honored that we’re able to give the family some peace of mind.”
Gonzalez’s family hopes this development will lead to more cases getting another look.
“I’m just so thankful and the gratitude is hard to explain,” Roberts said. “I hope they get to solve many more cases.
Currently, the UTA class is reviewing two other cold cases.
“This is basically a culmination of things that should be happening,” said UTA professor Patricia Eddings. “There are not enough people in crime labs, not enough detectives in crime labs; these people need to be supported so much more.”
NBC 5 has reached out to the attorney representing Perkins for comment.
