Karen was attacked in her home by an unknown assailant. She sustained a severe head wound and died three days later. Her brother, Gordon, was murdered in the same attack trying to defend her. The assailant has never been identified. ~ by James Petersen.

Karen Ann Alexander was a student at College Hill Junior High School, and a member of Trinity Baptist Church. She was in the 8th grade when she passed away.

Of all of the people that I talked to who knew Karen, including her neighbors at the time; they all described her as being a very shy, sweet, and quiet girl, who was genuinely one of the nicest, kindest persons that they had ever known. Many of her friends, and classmates from school said, "they have fond memories of her, and her brother Gordon riding with them on the church bus to their church, Trinity Baptist".

According to the newspaper article that I read,... friends, and teachers described Karen and her brother Gordon as having opposite personalities. According to Glen McDonald (the principal at College Hill Jr. High School) Karen was described as being more of an introvert that nobody knew that much about. He said that she didn't seem to have too many close friends, and didn't have much to do with anybody.

Two classmates, Susan C., and Kelly F., describe her as a close friend who may have gone unnoticed by the principal because she was so quite.

Susan Sanders, Karen's American History teacher, said, "She was a pretty smart little girl who seemed to get along with the other classmates." "She had a soft-spoken voice, and was not a student you really had an occasion to get to know," she said. "If you didn't talk to her, you could go two, or three days without hearing her voice."

I remember reading somewhere in a newspaper article that their father, Weldon told police, detectives, and/or reporters that Karen loved spelling, and English, and wanted to be a nurse. Gordon loved football, and loved watching it with his dad, friends, or family, or all three. I can't remember the details. He wanted to be a football player. He named the position. I can't remember what it was. I know it wasn't the quarter-back. I would have remembered that. If I find the article - I will document it here...

Most of the newspaper articles that I read said that Karen was in critical condition at St. Michael Hospital for about 3 days after the attack, and that she passed away there. One newspaper article on Thurs., 09Apr1981, said she was in the intensive care unit at "Wadley Hospital" when she passed away. Her record at A. O. Smith Funeral Home in Stamps, Ark. said she passed away in Wadley Hospital on Saturday, 11Apr1981. She was only 14 years old.

Officers worked throughout the night on Wednesday, 08Apr1981, when the attacks took place. Detective Capt. Jimmy Cowart said, "We lifted a lot of fingerprints, and they have been sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for identification."

Cowart said, "Every porch light on the hill was left on that night."

I think everyone in Texarkana should leave their porch lights on in honor of Karen, and Gordon every April 8th to show that the people of Texarkana have not forgotten about them, or the fact that no one was ever tried/convicted for their murders...

Why didn't they tell us what the information was that they received back from the Arkansas Crime Lab? As far as I know they have never disclosed the nature of the evidence that they found that was supposed to help solve this case. Why? After all of this time I believe we have a right to know what the evidence was/is, and whose fingerprints, and DNA were found at this horrific crime scene. Note: I wrote this paragraph, and this entire biography on 16April2019 (except for the very first paragraph) which was written by James Petersen on 18June2013. He also created this memorial on 18June2013. His Find a grave ID no. is: 47921494. I also wrote the updates that were written in 2023 under the updates section. My Find a grave ID no. is: 49014495. Wanza (Bryan) Good.

After her passing, funeral services for Karen Ann Alexander of Texarkana were held at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Trinity Baptist Church with the Rev. Wallace Edgar officiating. The burial took place in Macedonia Cemetery under the direction of Smith Funeral Home of Stamps, Ark. A lady in the Fouke, AR. area who knew Weldon, and his brothers/family when they were children - made arrangements for them to receive free headstones. The Headstone business paid for the headstones.

At the time of Karen's death she was survived by her parents, Weldon and Vera Alexander of Texarkana, and her paternal grandmother, Mrs. Avis Alexander of Queen City, Texas.

The Alexander home was at 501 Baden St. in Texarkana, AR. It was on the corner close to Hobo Jungle Park. Many people used Baden Street as a route from the Arkansas side to Texas side.

Police did not know how long the Alexanders had been living in the small 2 bedroom house across the railroad yards from the downtown area.

Some folks told me that the Alexander children's parents moved out of the house after what happened. Sometime after that a family moved into the house who swore that the house was haunted. They said that you could hear the children crying, and the sound of a wheelchair going throughout the house.

Folks who visited this family said that they heard the same thing. The family who was living there sold everything they had just to get out of that house. Then the owner of the house said that no one should ever live there ever again, and he had the house torn down in dedication of the children. All that is left there now is an empty, open, vacant lot with some cane break, pecan trees, and other works of nature.

One lady told me that she had seen the ghosts of the children walk through the area where they used to live. She said it was no joke. She said you heard about ghosts with unfinished business. She said, "Well I have seen with my own eyes Karen and Gordon Alexander walk down the street in front of their house."

There is a lot of mystery revolving around the Alexander Children's case that seems to me to be similar to the unsolved Phantom Killer case.

There was evidence pointing to who the assailant was but it seems that it was somehow over-looked, ignored, covered up, lost, or in some other way dismissed for unknown, and mysterious reasons...

For more information regarding what happened to Karen, and her brother Gordon you can go to the public group on Facebook called, "Remember in Texarkana," and type their names into the search bar.

You can also look up, and see the newspaper articles/stories in the Texarkana Gazette Newspaper on these dates: (April 9th, 10th, 11th, 12, 13th, 14th, 15th, 17th, 18th, & 20th, & May 1, 1981 & April 8, 1995). There was a sketch of the suspect in the newspaper on May 1, 1981. There is very important information in the April 8, 1995 newspaper on page 10A. The first part of this article was on page one. "There might be more dates that I am not aware of in various papers with more information on this story...

UPDATE: There is also a Facebook group called: "JUSTICE FOR KAREN AND GORDON ALEXANDER." I think that as of now (Oct. 19, 2023) the name has been changed to: "In Memory of Karen and Gordon Alexander. "

UPDATE: "Fast forward to (May 1, 2022) KTBS 3 ABC, Texarkana Police, DNA Genealogist Working to Solve 1981 Cold Case (To Shine the Light). (April 8, 2023) Texarkana Gazette, 'We Will Not Give Up': Anniversary of Texarkana Children's Knife Attack Brings Renewed Calls to Find Killer by Mallory Wyatt. (Oct. 4, 2023) Texarkana Gazette, Investigators of 1981 Alexander Murders Consults With Prosecutor on 'Only Viable Suspect' by Mallory Wyatt, Karl Richer. (Oct. 19, 2023) KTBS 3 ABC, Shreveport, LA., Father Named As Lone Suspect in Texarkana Children's 1981 Deaths. (Oct. 19, 2023) KTAL/KMSS, Texarkana, AR. "Father Killer in 1981 Cold Case Murder of Alexander Siblings." (Oct. 20, 2023) Texarkana Gazette, "Investigators: Alexander siblings' father killed them in 1981." (Jan. 1, 2024) Texarkana Gazette, "Father named as Killer 42 years after Alexander siblings" murder." There might also be other articles that I missed, or don't know of.

Those who worked on this case in the 1980's are the same people who worked on this case in 2020-23. (Cold Case #00254-8774). The DNA was not sent off to a private lab for testing. At this point (Oct. 19, 2023) I can't completely trust the findings in this case for various reasons that I can't go into here. They need someone impartial, and unbiased to come in and take over this case, instead of having people who are related to a police officer that lived right next door to Karen when she was killed, and are also related to a second one that lived just down the street in Karen's neighborhood - to do it. The main cause of Karen's death was a severe head injury. She was stabbed in one eye with a dull butter knife that went all the way through to her brain. This sounds just like something that Henry Lee Lucas would do. The investigator that I talked to said that the DNA found at the crime scene was never tested to see if it was a match to Lucas's, and it was not tested to see if Weldon's brother's DNA matched the DNA that was found at the crime scene to prove that it was Weldon's DNA. None of this sounds right to me. I am very concerned. I hope someone can help us.

Lastly for more information you can click on all of the photos, and read the info. that is written there, or to do more research. They need someone impartial to come in and take over this entire case, and to re-do the DNA testing.

Only God knows the real truth...

I'll leave the light on. . .

Thank you for visiting Karen Ann's memorial, and for respectfully remembering and honoring her...

*Psalm 74:19-21~KJV* & *Psalm 39:7~NKJV*

I hope this information will be helpful to those who are searching for answers...