Authorities solve Little Rock woman’s 1985 killing in Texas

ARLINGTON, Texas – A Little Rock woman’s cold case has finally been solved after nearly 40 years.

On Valentine’s Day in 1985, 22-year-old Terri McAdams was raped and killed in Arlington, Texas. The former Central High graduate and Razorback undergrad had only been in Texas for half a year when her family got news of her murder.

Arlington police said an attacker managed to enter McAdams’ ground-floor apartment through a sliding door, but they were unable to determine who was responsible until this year. Terri’s younger sister, Karen Hopper, said there were stretches of years when she lost hope.

“She was a great big sister, and she looked out for me,” Hopper recalled. “Once she passed away, I sort of had to take that role.”

Hopper has been protecting her sister’s memory since her sister and later parents died, calling the police for decades before authorities shared the breakthrough they made this summer.

In a press conference, Arlington Police Chief Al Jones shared that news with the community.

“We got the big break that we needed, and we identified the killer,” Jones said.

Bernard Sharp lived nearby and, as a registered sex offender, was one of dozens questioned in 1985. DNA left on the scene could not link him to the crime then or when criminal databases came about.

Dallas FBI special agent Chad Yarbrough’s team was brought on to help with the case in recent years thanks to the development of Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) through the FBI. He said IGG made the difference in McAdams’ case and hundreds more in the past five years.

“Investigative Genetic Genealogy has transformed law enforcement’s ability to solve crime,” Yarbrough said.

IGG works with two DNA databases, which Hopper said are FamilyTreeDNA and GEDMatch, that share access with law enforcement. By using forensic evidence, a family tree is built, and in this instance, a close relative of Bernard agreed to a DNA test that matched with nail clippings, a cigarette butt, and other clues left on the murder scene.

Sharp has not and will not be arrested because he already took his life in 1985 after killing his wife and a friend. Hopper said for so long she had wished to see justice play out in front of her eyes, but now her mindset has flipped.

“It may be more of a blessing that he is not here, so we didn’t have to go through that heartache,” she said.

Both IGG-friendly online databases allow users to import DNA data from another site. Yarbrough said the tool would clear even more cold cases if other DNA services participated.

“If all of the DNA databases could share their information, the agent said 95% would be solved,” Hopper stated. “I feel like this is a mission for me to try and get the word out.”

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