August 13, 2024 - Charges have been filed against a suspect arrested in the death of a female found at 10225 Bissonnet Street about 11:35 a.m. on November 12, 2007.

The suspect, Anthony Darrell Lankford, 64, is charged with murder in the 180th State District Court. A booking photo of Lankford is attached to this news release.

He is accused in the death of Bethal Rawls, 43.

HPD Homicide Division Sergeants M. Burrow and R. Watson reported:

Officers responded to the above address in November, 2007 after a concerned family member entered the apartment to check on Ms. Rawls and discovered her deceased. Ms. Rawls had suffered multiple injuries, and according to the family member she had stopped answering calls the previous day.

The HPD Homicide Division conducted an extensive investigation and collected unknown male DNA evidence from the scene. At the time of the homicide, several persons of interest were investigated but were eliminated via DNA evidence.

Earlier 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, 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.

On Monday (August 12) Lankford was arrested at his residence without incident and charged for his role in Rawls' death