For nearly 40 years, the brutal murder of Terri McAdams remained unsolved. But with help from the emerging and cutting edge field of investigative genetic genealogy, the Arlington Police Department and FBI Dallas Field Office have finally identified her killer.
On February 14, 1985, Ms. McAdams was found severely beaten and deceased inside an apartment in the 2500 block of Walnut Hill Circle. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled her cause of death as blunt force trauma. There was also evidence she’d been sexually assaulted.
The apartment belonged to her fiancé who was out of town on a business trip at the time. He was ruled out early on as a suspect. Investigators believe the killer entered the apartment through a sliding glass door that connected to a bedroom.
Although detectives at the time conducted a thorough investigation of the murder, no arrests were ever made. Since then, the APD Homicide Unit has revisited the case multiple times, working to see if advancements in forensics, technology, or other investigative processes may help to solve it.
In 2021, multiple pieces of physical evidence from the case were sent to a lab for DNA testing. From that testing, a DNA profile for an unknown male suspect was developed. That profile was entered into CODIS, a national database of DNA profiles from convicted offenders, missing persons, and unsolved crimes – but unfortunately, it never produced a match.
In August 2023, the department approached the FBI Dallas Field Office to see if the McAdams case may be a good candidate for investigative genetic genealogy (IGG), a process that combines unidentified crime scene DNA with meticulous genealogy research and the use of historical public records to identify new leads for law enforcement agencies. The FBI’s IGG team agreed to assist with the case.
After several months of work, a lead developed through IGG techniques led to the discovery of a potential suspect -- a man named Bernard Sharp.
On November 3, 1985 -- nearly nine months after Ms. McAdams’ murder -- Mr. Sharp was involved in a double murder-suicide in Arlington. He shot three people, killing two of them, before turning the gun on himself. Because Mr. Sharp was deceased, there was no available DNA the IGG team could use for comparison. They were, however, able to identify and locate a close genetic relative of Mr. Sharp.
Earlier this year, APD and FBI personnel traveled out of state to meet with the relative, who we are not identifying out of respect for their privacy. The relative agreed to provide the team with a DNA sample. The sample was sent to the Center for Human Identification at the University of North Texas Health Science Center – and this month, lab results confirmed that Mr. Sharp was a genetic match to the suspect DNA sample recovered from the crime scene.
“Over the years, it would be easy to lose faith and accept that this case might never be solved,” said Chief of Police Al Jones. “But Terri’s family never gave up hope and our detectives never wavered. Now, we get to provide answers that this department has wanted to provide for nearly four decades. I cannot say enough good things about our partnerships with our federal agencies. I’m extremely grateful to the FBI Dallas Field Office for working with us on this case. We would not be here today without their support.”
“Investigative genetic genealogy is one of the most valuable tools that law enforcement has access to today,” said FBI Dallas Field Office Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarbrough. “It is inspirational to see it work to provide answers to families. It’s motivating as a leader to see the dedication of the team that develops and works the leads that are unlocked through research critical thinking, and investigative techniques.”
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