Man pleads guilty to 1974 slaying of 17-year-old Texas girl

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A man stopped his capital murder trial with a guilty plea to the 1974 killing of a 17-year-old Texas girl. Glen McCurley was immediately sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole for the abduction, torture, rape and killing of Carla Walker. Prosecutors had said they would not seek the death penalty for the 78-year-old Fort Worth man. Walker was outside a Valentine’s Day party at a bowling alley the night of Feb. 17, 1974, when a man pistol-whipped her boyfriend and grabbed Walker. Investigators weren’t able to solve the case until DNA technology advanced enough that a complete genetic profile could be developed from evidence gleaned from the girl’s clothing.