March 6, 2025

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Arkansas State Police (ASP) Cold Case Unit has successfully identified a homicide victim from 1984 as Earl James McDaniel, a 53-year-old man originally from Kansas City, Missouri. The victim’s body was discovered on October 30, 1984, by Arkansas Department of Transportation workers mowing grass along Interstate 40, about 4½ miles west of Carlisle in Lonoke County.

The deceased was sent to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory for an autopsy that revealed the cause of death was strangulation, and the manner of death classified as a homicide. Unable to identify the man, the investigation remained stagnant for 40 years.

The ASP Cold Case Unit began reviewing the cold case in March 2024. In September of that year, they submitted remains to Othram Labs, a specialized DNA and genealogy testing facility in Texas.

On January 27, 2025, Othram Labs provided a tentative identification of the victim as McDaniel and identified a potential relative in Washington state.

Working with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office Cold Case Unit, ASP investigators located McDaniel’s daughter in Washington. Her DNA sample was submitted to Othram Labs in early February, and on February 24, 2025, the lab confirmed McDaniel’s identity.

The investigation revealed that McDaniel had been incarcerated in Washington state during the 1960s. He was paroled in Oklahoma in the early 1980s and had numerous arrests throughout the United States. McDaniel’s last contact with law enforcement occurred on September 11, 1984, when the Oskaloosa, Iowa, Police Department arrested him for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. The circumstances surrounding McDaniel’s homicide remain under investigation by the ASP CCU.

The ASP Cold Case Unit is asking for any information relating to the death of Earl James McDaniel. Anyone with information should contact [email protected].

To learn more about ASP Cold Cases, please visit the unit’s webpage.