Jan. 13 marks 25 years since 9-year-old Amber Hagerman was kidnapped and killed in Arlington, inspiring the nationwide Amber Alert system for lacking and endangered youngsters.
Police nonetheless working the case a long time later introduced plans Wednesday to submit objects of proof initially obtained within the investigation to new forensic testing which will yield a extra full DNA profile of the killer.
“As a result of the expertise is new and it is superior we’re excited that this yr, hopefully by February, we’ll submit this new proof to see if we are able to get an enhanced DNA profile,” stated Arlington Assistant Police Chief Kevin Kolbye.
Officers didn’t reveal what the proof was or how lengthy it’s going to take for the proof to be examined.
Hagerman was kidnapped whereas driving her bicycle in a parking zone on the nook of Abram Avenue and Browning Drive, simply blocks from her grandmother’s East Arlington dwelling on Jan. 13, 1996.
4 days after she was taken, police discovered Amber’s physique in a creek close to a North Arlington residence advanced.
Detective Grant Gildon stated he hoped developments in expertise will assist them unlock the thriller of who killed Hagerman.
Gildon factors to genealogical DNA testing carried out on a really small pattern in the 1974 Fort Worth cold case of Carla Walker that led to an arrest in September. Related testing led to the arrest of the Golden State Killer in 2018 and in November 2020, 60-year-old Roy Charles Waller was convicted of raping nine women in their homes between 1991 and 2006.
NBC 5 Information A particular mural in Arlington honors Amber Hagerman the Arlington woman whose abduction and homicide led to the worldwide Amber Alert notification system to seek out lacking youngsters.
Arlington police stated they’ve confidence the case might be solved and hope that they’ll present justice to Hagerman and her household.
Throughout a information convention Wednesday morning, police relayed what they described because the “correct suspect and automobile descriptions” based mostly on the report of the lone eye-witness to Hagerman’s abduction. Police stated the witness reported seeing a person carrying Amber, as she screamed, towards a black pickup truck.
Arlington police stated the kidnapper was in his 20s or 30s, both white or Hispanic and had a medium construct. He had brown or black hair and was underneath 6 ft in top. The witness stated the truck was a Nineteen Eighties or Nineteen Nineties single-cab, fleet dimension pickup with a brief wheelbase and that it was in good situation. There was no chrome or striping on the truck and there was no seen injury. The truck had a strong piece of glass alongside the again of the cab with no sliding window.
Detectives need anybody with info to not hesitate to name.
“We now have one witness, all this time we have solely had one witness come ahead to inform us what occurred, what he noticed,” stated Arlington Police Sgt. Ben Lopez. “If there’s anybody on the market that has info, even when they assume it is only a small bit of knowledge, it could be the lead that we have to break this.”
Arlington police nonetheless obtain suggestions within the case, greater than every other chilly case, however nobody has ever been arrested. To this point, police stated they’ve acquired greater than 7,000 suggestions associated to Hagerman’s kidnapping and homicide.
“There’s not been a single month we’ve not gotten some type of tip are available,” stated Detective Grant Gildon.
Authorities additionally pleaded with the killer to come back ahead.
“You understand time goes by, 25 years later, the killer is aware of who it’s, he is aware of who he’s, he has some guilt, some regret – hopefully – and as he is gaining in age, we’re pleaing with him to come back ahead,” stated Kolbye. “It is time, it is time we convey closure to this case and resolve this case.”
