Brutal murder, rape of Amarillo woman 30 years ago solved
AMARILLO, Texas - The murder of a woman whose partially naked body was found by children playing at an Amarillo park nearly 30 years ago has been solved.
What we know:
Investigators said that 45-year-old Gloria Ann Covington was found stabbed to death about 1 p.m. on Aug. 5, 1997. Covington, a mother of four, had also been raped and had suffered defensive wounds.
Detectives were never able to identify a suspect in the case. In Feb. 2024, DNA that was found during Covington’s autopsy was used to identify a person of interest in the case – Jimmy Dale McClinton.
Jimmy Dale McClinton is seen in this 1994 mugshot. (Amarillo Police Dept./Texas DPS / FOX Local)
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, investigators obtained a warrant for McClinton’s DNA. It was a match.
Investigators worked to get the case against McClinton presented to a grand jury, but McClinton died before that happened. He was 81.
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The backstory:
Authorities said McClinton was living at Amarillo at the time of Covington’s death. He was also arrested multiple time between 1997 and 2014 in the Amarillo and Waco areas, including for incidents involving knife assaults against women.
The Amarillo Tribune reported that Texas Rangers Staff Lt. Jason Shea said during a July 16 news conference that McClinton was also identified as a suspect in two attempted murders in the Amarillo area in 1994.
The Source: Information in this story came from the Texas Department of Public Safety and reporting by the Amarillo Tribune.