Nearly three decades after Gloria Ann Covington was brutally murdered in an Amarillo park, investigators say modern DNA technology has finally identified the man responsible.

The Amarillo Police Department announced this week that Jimmy Dale McClinton has been identified as the suspect in Covington's Aug. 5, 1997, homicide. Although investigators were preparing to prosecute him, McClinton died before he could be arrested.

Covington, 45, was found by two young children in what is now Hines Memorial Park after suffering multiple stab wounds. She was partially nude from the waist down, and investigators believed she may have also been sexually assaulted.

According to Lt. James Clements, Covington had been taken to the park in a vehicle, where the attack began. She managed to escape and ran through the park, but her attacker chased her down.

"There was an attack in the park where Gloria fought for her life," Clements said.

For years, the case remained unsolved.

That changed after the Amarillo Police Department established a dedicated Cold Case Unit in 2022 and partnered with the Texas Rangers Cold Case Unit, the Texas Department of Public Safety crime lab and the Texas Attorney General's Office.

In early 2023, investigators submitted evidence from the case—including DNA—for reevaluation using newer forensic enhancement techniques. The following year, they received a breakthrough when DNA developed from a hair recovered during Covington's autopsy produced a match in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).

The DNA profile matched McClinton, who lived in Amarillo at the time of the murder but had never been considered a suspect during the original investigation. He had never been interviewed or asked to provide a DNA sample in 1997.

After the CODIS hit, APD investigators and a Texas Ranger traveled to Buchanan Dam, where McClinton was living. He spoke briefly with investigators before requesting an attorney and ending the interview.

Investigators later obtained a warrant for his DNA. Testing by the DPS crime lab confirmed what Lt. Clements described as a "100%" match to the hair evidence recovered from Covington's body.

The case was then presented to the Texas Attorney General's Office, which agreed to prosecute McClinton for Covington's murder. Before charges could be filed, however, investigators learned he had died.

"I was hoping to put cuffs on him myself," Clements said. "Unfortunately, time was against us on this case."

The Texas Rangers said McClinton was also considered a suspect in other investigations.

While no arrest will ever be made, investigators hope finally identifying the suspect will bring some measure of closure to Covington's family after nearly 30 years of unanswered questions.

"No family should have to wait decades for answers," said Lt. Jason Shea with the Texas Rangers. "While today's announcement can't bring Ms. Covington back, I hope knowing this provides a measure of peace."

Officials said the case demonstrates how advances in DNA science and cooperation between local and state agencies can breathe new life into decades-old investigations. Amarillo police also emphasized that although the case went cold, the search for answers never truly stopped and pledged to continue pursuing other unsolved homicides.