Overview
- U.S. Marshals arrested Perkins, 63, in Azle on Nov. 6 on a capital murder warrant in the death of 25-year-old Cynthia Gonzalez.
- Cynthia Gonzalez was reported missing on Sept. 17, 1991; her body was found five days later in rural Johnson County with multiple gunshot wounds.
- Students in UTA’s advanced criminology course asked targeted questions that led detectives to re-examine files and identify witnesses who said Perkins admitted involvement and shared verifiable details.
- Perkins was scrutinized in the 1990s as a friend who shared a romantic partner with Gonzalez, lacked an alibi, and failed two voluntary polygraphs, which are inadmissible in court; she has maintained her innocence.
- Perkins was booked into the Tarrant County Jail and released after posting a reported $150,000 bond, as APD credits the student partnership and continues working other cold cases without a dedicated unit.