Serial Rapist Identified in 1962 Murder Case
This week, authorities finally identified a serial rapist as the person responsible for the rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl in a Pennsylvania church, bringing closure to a cold case that has haunted the victim’s family since 1962.
William Schrader, who was only 20 when he took the life of Carol Ann Dougherty, lived nearby the church and had been dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Army. He was long regarded as the primary suspect in her death, yet insufficient evidence had previously prevented his exoneration.
On October 22, 1962, Carol Ann was riding her bike to return library books when she decided to stop and pray at St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Bristol. Tragically, her father discovered her beaten body later on.
“We are filled with sadness, but also gratitude,” stated Kay Taranka, Carol Ann’s only surviving family member, during a news conference. “Thanks to your efforts, we’ve finally uncovered the truth that we’ve been longing for all these years. While we can’t bring Carol back, we can now lay her to rest with this revelation.”
Taranka expressed appreciation to local journalists and podcasters for keeping the case in public perspective.
Investigators revealed that the critical evidence linking Schrader to the crime came from a conversation his son-in-law, Robert LeBlanc, had with him a year earlier. Schrader had confessed to the crime before he passed away in a Louisiana prison in 2002 at the age of 62. He claimed he killed Carol Ann out of fear that she would report him for rape.
Bucks County District Attorney Jen Shawn announced that the case is now closed based on witness accounts, Schrader’s confession, and a recent DNA match linked to hair found in Carol Ann’s fist.
The grand jury examined the evidence and concluded that Schrader was definitively responsible for her rape and murder.
“Although Mr. Schrader died in 2002, we now clearly associate his name with the tragic crime that extinguished Carol Ann’s young life. This conclusion comes from both old evidence and recent insights,” Shawn explained.
Initially, detectives investigated Frank Zuccello, Wayne Roach, and Reverend Joseph Sabadish, the pastor of St. Mark’s Church, but they were later cleared due to confirmed alibis.
Following Carol Ann’s murder, Schrader relocated to Louisiana and later married, but he committed further crimes, including the rape of his wife’s disabled daughters and other girls they raised.
At the time of his death, Schrader was serving a 21-year sentence for a horrific crime involving murder and arson in Louisiana.
During a domestic quarrel, he had threatened his wife, saying he would return to “burn down the house and kill every woman inside,” according to reports. Later that day, he indeed set their home on fire, resulting in the tragic death of one of their adopted children while she was trying to save her sister.
