Nicholas Carney: Plano Kidnappings, DNA Match, Life Sentence

Nicholas Carney, a 65-year-old former ice cream truck driver from Ardmore, Oklahoma, was sentenced to life in prison on January 21, 2026, for the 1991 kidnapping and sexual assault of an eight-year-old girl in Plano, Texas. The case sat unsolved for more than three decades until forensic genetic genealogy identified Carney in 2024 and tied him to a nearly identical 1999 assault in Dallas.¹

What Happened in Plano in 1991

On the evening of August 15, 1991, two children were walking to a neighborhood pool near the 1700 block of Lake Hill Lane in Plano when a man in a car pulled up and asked for help finding a “lost dog.” He forced one of the children, an eight-year-old girl, into his vehicle. She was sexually assaulted over the course of several hours and released roughly 20 miles from her home. She was found about five hours later in Garland, Texas.²

DNA was collected that night. The victim’s friend worked with Plano Police Detective Larry Wilson on a composite sketch. Investigators from multiple agencies chased leads for years without identifying a suspect, and the case went cold.³

A Second Victim in 1999

On March 25, 1999, a nine-year-old girl was kidnapped while walking home from school in southeast Dallas. She was assaulted for several hours and released about 40 miles away, near Rice, Texas. The pattern echoed the Plano crime almost point for point: a young child taken while walking, held for hours, then left far from home.⁴

In 2004, the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences in Dallas developed a DNA profile from the 1991 evidence and entered it into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). It matched the DNA from the 1999 Dallas assault, proving one person had committed both crimes. His name still wasn’t known.³

How Genetic Genealogy Cracked the Case

In May 2023, Plano Police Detective Aaron Benzick opened a review of cold cases that might respond to genetic genealogy, a technique that pairs DNA analysis with traditional family-tree research to narrow in on a suspect. Benzick teamed with Dallas Police Detective Elizabeth DeAngelis and Texas Ranger Jason Shea and sent preserved evidence from both cases to Bode Technology, a forensic lab.³

On October 19, 2024, Bode produced a potential family tree for the unknown suspect. The tree included the suspect’s mother and a brother who had died in a Utah prison. Detectives focused on Nicholas Ray Carney within that tree. He had lived in the Dallas area during both offenses. A 1996 driver’s license photograph resembled the composite sketches from decades earlier, and his vehicles matched the descriptions the victims had given.¹

Surveillance, Arrest, and DNA Confirmation

Detectives traveled to Ardmore, Oklahoma, where Carney was living, and put him under surveillance. With help from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, they pulled discarded items from a dumpster he used, including cigarette butts and soda cans. Testing confirmed his DNA matched the profile from both the 1991 and 1999 crimes.³

Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers arrested Carney on December 19, 2024, during a traffic stop on Highway 70 in Carter County, Oklahoma.⁵ He was held briefly at the Carter County Jail and then extradited to Texas, where he was booked into the Collin County Jail on a $1 million bond.⁴

Prior Record and Why Charges Could Still Be Filed

The 1991 assault was not Carney’s first offense against a child. In 1980, working as an ice cream truck driver in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he was convicted of exposing himself to a six-year-old and attempting to lure the child into his vehicle.³ Over the following decades he moved often, living in Texas, Oklahoma, California, Minnesota, and Georgia, and working in auto body repair, satellite installation, and door-to-door vacuum sales.⁶

A 33-year gap would normally raise a statute of limitations problem. It didn’t here. Texas has no statute of limitations for child sexual abuse offenses, and a separate provision removes the limitations period for cases where DNA evidence is collected, tested, and does not match any person whose identity is readily ascertainable at the time of testing. Both provisions applied.⁷

Trial, Verdict, and Sentence

Carney was charged with four counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one count of aggravated sexual assault.⁸ Prosecutors put on the DNA match linking him to both the 1991 and 1999 crimes, composite sketches consistent with his driver’s license photographs, testimony placing him in the Dallas area during both offenses in vehicles matching witness descriptions, and his 1980 conviction. His defense attorney, Matthew Maddox, signaled before trial that he would challenge the complexity and validity of the DNA evidence.⁴

On January 21, 2026, the jury found Carney guilty of aggravated sexual assault of a child and sentenced him to life in prison. Jurors also assessed a $34 fine, one dollar for each year the case had gone unsolved.³

Investigators Believe There Are Other Victims

Given how long Carney went unidentified and how often he moved, investigators believe he may be responsible for other crimes. In a January 2025 crime bulletin, the Plano Police Department described him as a serial kidnapping and sexual assault suspect and asked the public for help identifying additional victims.⁶ Victims described him as appearing white or Hispanic, with a stocky build and a heavy cigarette habit. Police released an extensive list of vehicles he had owned or driven over the years, from an early-1980s dark blue Oldsmobile Cutlass believed used in the 1991 abduction to trucks, vans, and sedans registered across several states.

Detective Aaron Benzick has asked agencies in every state where Carney lived to check unsolved cases for possible connections. Anyone with information can contact the Plano Police Department tip line at 972-941-2148 or policetips@plano.gov.⁹

1
CBS News. Plano Police Use Genetic Genealogy, DNA To Solve 1991 Cold Case
2
Forensic Magazine. Genealogy IDs Suspect in 1991 Assault of Child; Police Believe There Are More Victims
3
Collin County District Attorney’s Office. DA Greg Willis’s Office Secures Life Sentence for Serial Child Predator in 1991 Cold Case
4
NBC DFW. Man Arrested in Plano, Dallas Child Kidnapping Cases
5
Fox 23. OHP Arrests Suspect in 30-Year-Old Texas Cold Case
6
Plano Police Department. Crime Bulletin: Nicholas Ray Carney
7
Texas District and County Attorneys Association. Cold Case CODIS Hits
8
Dallas Express. Former Ice Cream Truck Driver Nicholas Carney Receives Life for 1991 North Texas Child Assault
9
NBC DFW. Plano Police Make Arrest in 30-Year-Old Cold Case