In a dramatic breakthrough that brings closure to a decades-old mystery, Pennsylvania authorities have finally identified the killer of nine-year-old Carol Ann Dougherty, whose brutal 1962 murder had remained unsolved for 63 years.
The 1962 Church Murder
The nightmare began on October 22, 1962, when young Carol Ann Dougherty left her home riding her bicycle toward the library. Like many children, she decided to make a quick stop for candy and soda first. She never returned home.
Her worried father launched a desperate search that ended in unimaginable horror when he discovered her small body inside St. Mark's Roman Catholic Church in suburban Philadelphia. The investigation revealed the little girl had been sexually assaulted and then strangled to death.
William Schrader, a factory worker who lived near the church, emerged as a prime suspect from the very beginning. When questioned by detectives, he failed a polygraph test and provided a false alibi. Timecards ultimately proved he wasn't at work on the day of the murder.
A Killer on the Run
Facing increasing suspicion, Schrader fled Pennsylvania, first escaping to Florida, then Texas, before finally settling in Louisiana. He managed to evade justice for forty years, dying in 2002 without ever facing charges for Carol Ann's murder.
The case might have remained closed forever if not for modern forensic technology and determined investigators who refused to give up. The evidence that finally cracked the case had been sitting in an evidence box in the cold case room of a Bucks County building for decades.
Schrader's stepson provided crucial information, revealing that the killer had confessed to him that he "had to kill the girl in Bristol to keep her from talking."
Further investigation uncovered Schrader's extensive history of violence against young girls. His criminal pattern spanned multiple states and included a 1985 conviction in Louisiana for the horrific death of 12-year-old Catherine Smith, whom he killed by intentionally setting fire to his house while knowing she and other family members were inside.
Authorities described Schrader as a psychopath with "deviant sexual arousal for prepubescent victims" who sexually abused nearly every female child he had access to, including his own biological daughter and granddaughters, most between ages six and thirteen.
Other Chilling Cold Cases
While Carol Ann's family finally has answers, other families continue to wait for resolution in their own tragedies.
The case of Tammy Jo Alexander, known for decades only as "Caledonia Jane Doe," remains unsolved 46 years after her body was discovered in a rain-drenched Livingston County cornfield on November 9, 1979. The teenage runaway had been shot in the head and back and left for dead.
Livingston County Sheriff Thomas Dougherty recently made a fresh appeal for information, noting that while investigators have never lacked leads, they still haven't found the crucial lead that would identify her killer. Alexander would have turned 62 on November 2 of this year.
In another heartbreaking mystery, three young brothers from Michigan have been missing since Thanksgiving weekend in 2010. Andrew (9), Alexander (7), and Tanner (5) Skelton were last seen with their father, John Skelton, who was convicted of unlawful imprisonment but has never revealed what happened to his sons.
Skelton, now 53, has provided multiple conflicting stories about his sons' disappearance, including claims that he turned them over to an "underground sanctuary" run by strangers. Their heartbroken mother, Tanya Zuvers, recently had the boys declared dead after 15 years without answers.
In a stunning development, just as Skelton was scheduled for release from prison on November 29, prosecutors charged him with three counts of open murder and tampering with evidence.
These cases highlight both the power of modern investigative techniques to solve decades-old crimes and the enduring pain of families still waiting for answers about their loved ones.
