86-year-old man sentenced in 1st Dallas County murder conviction using forensic genealogy

Nicole Lopez
·2 min read
2

An 86-year-old cold case suspect has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in Dallas County’s first murder conviction using investigative genetic genealogy, Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot said in a news release Tuesday.

Liborio Canales pleaded guilty to the murder of Barbara Carr Villareal, almost 38 years after the crime took place.

“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,” Creuzot said in the release.

On Nov. 7, 1986, Villareal was stabbed to death in her Garland home, authorities said. The crime went unsolved until technological advances allowed for new testing on blood collected at the scene. Through investigative genetic genealogy, the blood was found to match the DNA of Canales, who was Villareal’s brother in-law, the release states.

He was arrested in Lovington, New Mexico, in July 2023.

At Canales’ sentencing, Villareal’s sister-in-law Jennifer Dunderman thanked Garland detectives, who she said “never stopped looking for the person that so violently took Barb,” and the Dallas County DA’s Office for making sure the victim’s “93-year-old mother will never again have to worry about who killed her daughter,” according to the release.

“The life you lived should be considered a gift. You didn’t just kill Barb, you killed a little piece of everyone she knew,” Dunderman said to Canales at the hearing. “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.”

Lead prosecutor Leighton D’Antoni said, “What really stands out to me about this investigation was the never give up attitude by everyone involved over the past four decades. Starting with the dedicated members of the Garland Police Department in the 1980s to working these last few years hand and hand with the FBI, no one gave up seeking the truth in this horrific murder.”