ARLINGTON, Texas — After 34 years, a cold case murder investigation has culminated in the arrest of an Azle woman, Janie Perkins, who is accused of the 1991 capital murder of Cynthia Gonzalez. The key evidence detailed in an arrest warrant affidavit includes the suspect’s two failed polygraph tests and detailed confessions made to two different individuals.
Gonzalez, 25, was reported missing in Arlington on September 17, 1991. Her body, which showed signs of multiple gunshot wounds, was discovered five days later in a rural area of Johnson County.
The Role of UT Arlington Students in Reopening the Case
The decades-old case was transferred to cold case archives until 2024, when Arlington Police Detective Anthony Stafford briefly revisited the file following a request from Gonzalez’s daughter. The investigation was officially reopened in July 2025 after the University of Texas at Arlington’s (UTA) Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice launched a course to review cold cases with the police department.
Gonzalez’s case was selected for the students’ review. Based on the students’ feedback and questions regarding initial suspect Janie Perkins (known as Janie Hatley in 1991), Detective Stafford was prompted to fully reopen the investigation, ultimately leading to Perkins’ arrest last month on a charge of capital murder.
Motive and Failed Polygraphs
According to the affidavit, the victim and the suspect shared a romantic partner. Approximately three weeks before the murder, the man informed Perkins he was ending their relationship to be exclusively with Gonzalez. Detectives noted Perkins’ strong obsession with the man, characterized by her “hysterical” reaction to the breakup…