Dallas County Criminal District Attorney John Cruezot has stated that a suspect connected to a murder has been identified using Investigative Genetic Genealogy.
Now, 86-year-old Liborio Canales has pleaded guilty to the murder of Barbara Carr Villarreal. He has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. The plea comes 38 years after the crime was committed.
“Investigative Genetic Genealogy is no longer the future of solving violent crimes. It is very much the present. In Dallas, we continue to be a national leader using IGG,” Cruezot said.
On November 7, 1986, Barbara Carr Villarreal was fatally stabbed in her residence in Garland. For close to 40 years, the crime had not been solved. This was until new testing was done on blood collected from the scene thanks to technological advancements. Because of IGG, blood taken in 1986 was linked to the DNA of the victim’s brother-in-law, Liborio Canales. In July 2023, Canales was taken into custody in Livingston, New Mexico.
“The life you lived should be considered a gift. You just didn’t kill Barb, you killed a little piece of everyone she knew. So many years have passed, and the desire for you to suffer the same pain you caused her has passed. It would serve no purpose and will never bring her back,” said the victim’s sister-in-law in court.
