Modern DNA Testing Identifies Killer in 1997 Amarillo Cold Case Murder

AMARILLO, Texas. Nearly three decades after the brutal killing of an Amarillo woman, investigators have identified the man responsible through modern forensic DNA testing, bringing closure to a case that remained unsolved for almost 30 years.

The Texas Rangers announced that Jimmy Dale McClinton, who was living in Buchanan Dam, has been identified as the man who murdered 40-year-old Gloria Ann Covington on Aug. 5, 1997. McClinton died in November 2025 at the age of 81 before he could be prosecuted.

Covington’s partially nude body was discovered around 1 p.m. on Aug. 5, 1997, by children playing at Hilltop Park. Investigators determined she had been stabbed multiple times, sexually assaulted and suffered numerous defensive wounds.

Authorities said Covington, a cook at a local nursing home and the mother of four, was last seen alive at approximately 3 a.m. that day in the 1600 block of North Marrs Street.

Despite years of investigative work, detectives were unable to identify the killer, and all known suspects were eventually eliminated, leaving the case unsolved.

The breakthrough came in February 2024 when the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory in Lubbock developed a DNA profile from evidence collected during Covington’s autopsy. The profile was entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), where it matched McClinton.

Investigators traveled to Buchanan Dam and obtained a court-authorized DNA sample from McClinton. Additional forensic testing confirmed he was the source of the DNA recovered in the case.

During the investigation, authorities learned McClinton had a documented history of knife attacks against women, including several incidents investigators said closely resembled the circumstances of Covington’s murder. Although he lived in the Amarillo area at the time of the killing, he was never interviewed or identified as a suspect during the original investigation.

Records reviewed by investigators showed McClinton had been arrested multiple times in the Amarillo and Waco areas between 1977 and 2014.

For the next two years, the Texas Rangers, the Amarillo Police Department and the Texas Attorney General’s Office worked to build a prosecutable case against McClinton. However, he died before the case could be presented to a grand jury.

Because McClinton is deceased, no arrest was made, and investigators have officially closed the case.

The Texas Rangers credited the Amarillo Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory Division for their years of dedication and collaboration that ultimately identified Covington’s killer and brought long-awaited answers to her family.