AFTER more than six decades, police in Pennsylvania have finally solved the brutal rape and murder of nine-year-old schoolgirl Carol Ann Dougherty.
It has finally closed a case that has haunted investigators and tormented her family since 1962.
William Schrader was dishonourably discharged from the armyCredit: Bucks County District Attorney’s Office
Carol Ann had been cycling to return some library books on October 22, 1962, when she stopped at St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Bristol to pray.
The fifth grader never made it home.
Her father later discovered her beaten to death in the church’s choir loft.
She was the victim of a horrifying crime that would remain unsolved for more than sixty years.
This week, authorities confirmed that the killer was William Schrader, a 20-year-old local man who lived near the church at the time.
Schrader, who was dishonourably discharged from the U.S. Army, had long been a prime suspect in the case but was never charged due to lack of evidence.
The breakthrough eventually came thanks to a confession made decades later.
Before his death in 2002, Schrader admitted the murder to his stepson, Robert LeBlanc, during a conversation in a Louisiana prison.
LeBlanc came forward to police in late 2024, providing crucial testimony that reignited the investigation.
Schrader reportedly told him he killed Carol Ann because he feared she would report him for rape if he let her live.
A grand jury reviewed new evidence – including Schrader’s confession, eyewitness accounts, and a DNA match from a hair found in Carol Ann’s clenched fist – and concluded that Schrader was responsible for her rape and murder.
“While Schrader passed away in 2002, his name is now definitively linked to the crime that took Carol Ann’s young life, a conclusion reached through the combination of decades-old evidence and recent investigative developments,” said Bucks County District Attorney Jen Schorn.
In an emotional statement, Carol Ann’s younger sister, Kay Talanca, expressed gratitude that the truth had finally been uncovered.
“I stand before you with profound sorrow but with such gratitude,” she said.
“Because of you my family has the truth it has sought for six decades.
“Though nothing can bring Carol back, we can finally let her rest in peace, the truth revealed.”
Schrader’s later life revealed a disturbing pattern of violence.
After leaving Pennsylvania, he moved to Louisiana, married, and went on to rape his wife’s disabled daughters as well as two foster children the couple cared for.
In 1970, following an argument with his wife, Audrey, he threatened to “burn the house down and all the bitches inside it.”
On Halloween that year, he made good on his threat.
He set their home ablaze, killing one of the couple’s foster daughters, Catherine Smith, who died protecting her younger sister.
Schrader was sentenced to 21 years for manslaughter and arson and died in prison in 2002.
Initially, investigators had focused on three other suspects – Frank Zuchero, Wayne Roach, and Rev. Joseph Sabadish – all of whom were eventually cleared through verified alibis.
The resolution of Carol Ann’s case follows another remarkable development in 2024, when two sisters missing for nearly four decades were found alive in California.
Jasmin and Elizabeth Ramos had disappeared in December 1989 after their mother, Marina Ramos, was murdered.
Using DNA, investigators traced the women, who had been living under different names with foster parents in Ventura County.
These guardians reportedly never knew about their true identities.
For Carol Ann’s family, the identification of Schrader ends a 62-year nightmare.
It ensures that her story, once a symbol of unanswered questions, now stands as a testament to persistence and justice.
Carol Ann Dougherty had been on way to return some library books