Megan Curl

Megan Curl was a trusting and outgoing young woman who, despite facing challenges, was determined to live an independent life. Diagnosed with a mild intellectual disability in the first grade, Megan attended special education classes and was not always accepted by her peers. Her mother, Sherry McClung, remembered that Megan would always have a kind word for those who made fun of her. After her family moved to Lufkin, Texas, a city about 175 miles southeast of Dallas, Megan married at 18. The marriage was abusive, and after it ended, she returned to Lufkin, insisting on getting her own apartment. Her mother believed Megan’s eagerness to please and her loneliness made her an easy target. The day before she died, Megan, a 26-year-old female, had a happy shopping trip with her mother, excited to buy new clothes and makeup after getting her paycheck.

On the night of Saturday, March 25, 2000, Megan went out to local nightclubs, including the Electric Cowboy and later the Sports Shack. At the Electric Cowboy, she was seen talking to a man who bought her a couple of drinks; he was a stranger to the club's regulars. After visiting the Sports Shack, she got a ride home to the Fox Run Apartments from an employee, arriving shortly after 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 26. A close friend who also lived in the complex was waiting for her. As they talked outside, a car sped up and stopped abruptly. The driver was the man Megan had met at the club. Believing him to be a friend, she went with him to her apartment.

The friend was concerned and went to check on Megan. When Megan answered the door, the man was inside with her. Megan reassured her friend, saying, "I was right. It was my friend from the club." The man, who wore gold-rimmed glasses and had blond hair and a light mustache, simply nodded his head slowly without speaking. The friend left after Megan insisted she was fine. It was the last time anyone is known to have seen her alive. Around 4 a.m., the Lufkin Fire Department responded to a fire in Megan's apartment. After breaking down the door and extinguishing the flames, they made a horrific discovery.

Megan Curl’s body was found on her burned bed. An investigation by the Lufkin Police Department revealed the fire was a brutal attempt to cover up one of the most gruesome murders in the city's history. Megan had been tied to the bedposts, suffocated with a plastic bag, and her throat had been deeply cut on both sides. Lieutenant David Young of the Lufkin Police Department described it as "absolutely the meanest thing I’ve ever seen one person do to another." Investigators believe Megan knew her killer, as there was no sign of forced entry, and she was found wearing a nightgown, which she reportedly wore only when preparing for an intimate evening.

The investigation focused on identifying the man last seen with Megan. A police sketch was created and circulated based on the neighbor's description of a white male with blond hair, glasses, and a light mustache. The case was featured on the television series "Unsolved Mysteries," which generated several tips, but none led to a suspect. Detectives questioned several men from Megan's past, but all had verifiable alibis for the night of the murder. Investigators hoped that DNA evidence collected at the scene would one day help them solve the case.

For years, Megan’s mother has lived with the pain of not knowing who killed her only daughter. "I would just like to be able to know who it was, know for a fact, know beyond a shadow of a doubt, who it was," Sherry McClung said in an interview nearly ten years after the murder. The grief sent her into a deep depression, but she found the strength to carry on, determined to see justice for Megan. She appealed to the public for help, urging anyone with information to finally do the right thing.

As of November 2022, the murder of Megan Curl remains an open cold case with the Lufkin Police Department. No arrests have ever been made, and the man last seen in her apartment has never been identified. The case has been covered by podcasts like "The Trail Went Cold" in an effort to bring new attention to the brutal crime. Lufkin Crimestoppers continues to ask for information regarding the case. Anyone with information is asked to call 639-TIPS or the Lufkin Police Department at (936) 633-0356.