Houston cold case arrest: Man arrested in connection with 2007 murder on Bissonnet Street
HOUSTON - Houston police have made an arrest in connection with a 2007 murder case.
According to a release, 64-year-old Anthony Darrell Lankford is charged with murder in connection to the death of 43-year-old Bethal Rawls.
Anthony Lankford mug shot (Source: Houston Police Department)
Police said they were called out to the 10200 block of Bissonnet Street in November 2007 after a concerned family member entered the apartment to check on Rawls and found her dead.
Officials said Rawls had suffered multiple injuries. According to the family member who spoke with police, Rawls had stopped answering calls the previous day.
The Houston Police Department Homicide Division conducted an extensive investigation and collected unknown male DNA evidence from the scene.
Authorities stated that at the time of the homicide, several persons of interest were investigated, but were eliminated via DNA evidence.
Earlier in this year, in 2024, investigators reexamined the case and developed an additional male person of interest, Lankford, based on the victim's phone records and other evidence in the original investigation.
In February, officials said Lankford was interviewed by investigators and a DNA sample was collected from him. He later proved to be a DNA match to the unknown male suspect in the case.
Lankford was arrested at his home on Monday without incident and charged for his role in Rawl's death.