One family’s decision to speak up just solved a murder that haunted a community for over 60 years

After more than 60 years, police in Pennsylvania have finally figured out who killed a young girl inside a church. Investigators say William Schrader was the man who raped and murdered 9-year-old Carol Ann Dougherty at St. Mark’s Church in Bristol back in 1962.

According to Fox News, Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn has recently shared the news with the public. A grand jury looked at everything they had, including what people saw, evidence from the crime scene, and a confession that Schrader made to someone in his family.

The big break in the case happened last November when Schrader’s stepson, Robert Leblanc, came forward and told police what he knew. Leblanc said Schrader admitted to him twice that he killed a little girl in a Pennsylvania church. According to Leblanc, Schrader said he “had to kill the girl in Bristol to keep her from talking.”

The clues were there from the start

Carol Ann’s sister, Kay Dougherty Talanca, got emotional when she talked to reporters about finally getting answers. “Our family lived without answers and the uncertainty surrounding Carol’s death became a part of who we were,” Talanca said. “After so many decades of unknowing, this finding finally brings closure and truth to a wound that never healed.”

The grand jury report says Carol Ann was last seen riding her bike to the library after she stopped to buy some candy and a soda. When she didn’t come home, her dad went looking for her and found her body inside the church. Police determined someone had raped her and killed her by strangling.

Schrader worked at a factory and lived just a block and a half away from the church. Police talked to him right after the murder and took a sample of his hair. He didn’t pass a lie detector test, and police found out later that he wasn’t telling the truth about where he was that day.

His work records showed he wasn’t at his job when the murder happened. Not long after police questioned him, Schrader took off to Florida and bounced around different states before settling down in Louisiana, where he stayed until he died in 2002.

When experts compared Schrader’s hair to hair that was found in Carol Ann’s hand back in 1993, they found major similarities. Police tested 141 different men over the years, but Schrader was the only one who matched. They also found Lucky Strike cigarettes at the crime scene, which was the same brand Schrader smoked.

The report also talks about how Schrader hurt other people throughout his life, especially young girls. He was convicted in Louisiana in 1985 for killing 12-year-old Catherine Smith when he deliberately set his house on fire while she and others were inside. Police later learned he had sexually abused almost every young girl he lived with or had contact with, and most of them were between 6 and 13 years old.

District Attorney Schorn said, “For more than six decades, this tragic case has haunted the community and inflicted unimaginable pain on Carol Ann’s family.” Her office said they hope this answer brings some peace to Carol Ann’s family and everyone who has been affected by what happened.