UNSOLVED: Fire set to conceal Aurora White’s 1990 stabbing death

AMARILLO, Texas — More than 35 years after Aurora White was found inside her burning apartment, Amarillo police are still searching for the person who stabbed her and set the fire to conceal the murder.

At approximately 9:30 p.m. on March 1, 1990, neighbors and passersby noticed smoke and flames coming from White’s apartment at 1417 S. Jackson Street.

People approached the residence and called out to anyone who might be inside but received no response.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze and discovered White’s severely burned body on a daybed along the western side of the apartment. She was 24 years old.

Investigators initially believed the fire was accidental, possibly caused by a cigarette igniting a mattress.

Because officials thought White had died in the fire, the Potter-Randall Special Crimes Unit was not immediately called to investigate.

An autopsy performed the following day changed the direction of the case.

The medical examiner determined that White died from a stab wound to her chest and was already dead when the fire began.

Investigators found evidence that an accelerant had been poured around the area where White’s body was located.

Police concluded that her killer deliberately set the apartment on fire in an attempt to destroy evidence and disguise the homicide as an accidental death.

Three-hour gap in White’s final movements

Investigators traced White’s activities until approximately 6:30 p.m., about three hours before the fire was reported. What happened during that period—and who may have been with her—remains unclear.^[1]

Police considered several possibilities. White may have been killed during a robbery, or she may have known and willingly admitted her attacker into the apartment. Investigators developed several people of interest, but never obtained enough evidence to charge anyone.^[2]

The initial belief that White’s death was accidental delayed the homicide investigation by approximately 24 hours. The case later prompted law-enforcement agencies to change how they handled fire deaths, including notifying homicide investigators sooner when someone is found dead at a fire scene.^[3]

When the Amarillo Globe-News revisited the case in 2011, Potter-Randall Special Crimes Lt. Gary Trupe said investigators found no indication White was alive when the fire was set. Although the fire badly damaged her remains and the surrounding scene, the stab wound—not the burns—caused her death.

The case remained active in March 2025, when the Amarillo Police Department’s Cold Case Unit renewed its request for information. No arrest or resolution has since been publicly announced.

Anyone with information about White’s murder can contact the Amarillo Police Department Cold Case Unit at 806-378-6468.