HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A cold case suspect’s court appearance painted a graphic and horrifying picture of the murder that investigators accused him of committing 17 years ago.
This week, the Houston Police Department announced 64-year-old Anthony Lankford’s arrest in the November 2007 slaying of Bethel Ann Rawls, whose body was found inside her apartment in the 10200 block of Bissonnet Street.
Inside probable cause court, prosecutors read off the brutal details of Rawls’ death, alleging Lankford beat, strangled, and stabbed the woman in the private areas.
The description was too much for the presiding magistrate, who cut off the prosecutor.
“She was impaled. I am aware of the facts,” the magistrate interrupted.
According to investigators, Lankford, identified as Rawls’ co-worker at Memorial Hermann, was the last person she spoke with based on phone records. In addition, his DNA was found under Rawls’ fingernails on both hands.
SEE MORE: Man charged nearly 17 years after woman was found dead in SW Houston apartment, records show
At the time of the killing, police said several persons of interest were investigated but eliminated via DNA evidence. Then, about six months ago, investigators quietly reexamined the case, leading to Lankford, who they say agreed to a DNA profile that eventually matched DNA from the scene.
Lankford is due to appear in the 180th District Court on Friday.
Rawls, on the day she died
Rawls’ sisters, Janice Delry and Melba Robertson, referred to their loved one as “Burt.”
“I am so glad that his time done ran out,” Delry told Eyewitness News. “He took my sister, and even though she’s gone, she’s always in my heart. But I can’t pick up the phone and shoot the breeze together.”
An interruption in that daily ritual on Nov. 11, 2007, gave Delry the feeling that something was wrong.
“I remember going and washing my car, and I am still thinking about her, and at that point, I start calling ‘Melb.’ ‘Have you heard from Burt? I haven’t been able to get in touch with her,'” Delry recalled.
Later that day, their sister Linda discovered 43-year-old Rawls dead in her southwest Houston apartment.
“I actually saw them when they were rolling her out. I know Burt would want me to be strong,” Robertson said. “So, I am going to try to be strong, but it was not a good day, no.”
Lankford was questioned at the time but was never considered a suspect. Even Rawls’ sisters admitted he wasn’t on their radar.
‘A monster’
As Rawls’ family finds closure, the same couldn’t be said for Lankford’s daughter, who spoke ONLY ON 13. She said she’s questioning everything she knows about her father.
Chewonda Kimbrough said her brother was present when the police took their father into custody on Monday. Her brother, she said, didn’t know what was going on.
According to Kimbrough, she knew her father to be violent.
“That violence has affected a lot of lives,” she said, admitting that it also affected her.
When ABC13 asked her psychoanalysis of her father, she said, “He is narcissistic, he is a womanizer, and he is abusive. Right now, I feel like he is a monster.”
Kimbrough showed up to court on Wednesday, urging prosecutors to keep investigating her dad. She also apologized to Rawls’ family.
“I am sorry that he did this. He’ll never say he’s sorry, but I will, and I hope it is closure for them,” she said.
The remaining question is, why did Lankford allegedly commit the crime? Kimbrough couldn’t offer an answer.
For updates on this story, follow Alex Bozarjian on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Copyright © 2024 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.