Home / Crime and Justice / Cold Case Solved: DNA Links 1997 Texas Park Murder to Suspect
Cold Case Solved: DNA Links 1997 Texas Park Murder to Suspect
25 Jul
Summary
- Modern DNA testing linked Jimmy Dale McClinton to a 1997 Amarillo park murder.
- Gloria Ann Covington was found stabbed and sexually assaulted in Hilltop Park.
- The suspect died in November 2025 before charges could be filed.
The 1997 killing of Gloria Ann Covington in an Amarillo park has been resolved thanks to advancements in forensic technology. Covington, a cook and mother of four, was discovered brutally attacked in Hilltop Park on August 5, 1997.
In February 2024, the Texas Department of Public Safety crime lab developed a DNA profile from autopsy evidence. A subsequent search of the national DNA database, CODIS, identified Jimmy Dale McClinton as the suspect.
McClinton, who resided in Amarillo at the time of the murder and had a documented history of assaulting women with knives, was never interviewed in 1997. He passed away in November 2025 at the age of 81.
Authorities noted that the investigation, a joint effort by Amarillo police and the Texas Rangers, was nearing completion. However, McClinton's death prevented grand jury proceedings, concluding the pursuit of formal charges.
