Texas Rangers, Amarillo Police Solve 1997 Cold Case Murder

AUSTIN, TX — Nearly 30 years after the killing of an Amarillo woman, investigators have identified the man responsible through modern forensic DNA testing, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Jimmy Dale McClinton, of Buchanan Dam, was identified as the suspect in the 1997 murder of Gloria Ann Covington. McClinton died in November 2025 at the age of 81.

Covington's partially nude body was discovered by children at Hilltop Park in Amarillo on Aug. 5, 1997, at about 1 p.m. Investigators said she had been stabbed multiple times, sexually assaulted and suffered several defensive wounds. The mother of four, who worked as a cook at a local nursing home, was last seen around 3 a.m. that day in the 1600 block of North Marrs Street.

Authorities said investigators spent years pursuing leads, but all known suspects were eliminated and the case eventually went cold.

In February 2024, the DPS 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, or CODIS, which produced a match to McClinton.

Investigators traveled to Buchanan Dam and obtained a warrant to collect McClinton's DNA for additional testing. Authorities said the testing confirmed he was the source of the DNA recovered in the case.

According to investigators, McClinton had a documented history of knife assaults against women, including multiple incidents with similarities to Covington's killing. He lived in the Amarillo area at the time of the murder but was never interviewed or identified as a suspect during the original investigation. Between 1977 and 2014, McClinton was arrested multiple times in the Amarillo and Waco areas.

For the past two years, the Amarillo Police Department and the Texas Rangers worked with the Texas Attorney General's Office to prepare the case for prosecution. However, McClinton died before the case could be presented to a grand jury.

Because of his death, no arrest was made, and investigators have closed the case.

The Texas Rangers credited the Amarillo Police Department and the DPS Crime Laboratory Division for their work in identifying McClinton and resolving the nearly three-decade-old homicide investigation.