AFTER more than six decades, Pennsylvania police have finally solved the brutal rape and murder of nine-year-old Carol Ann Dougherty.
He finally closed a case that has haunted investigators and tormented his family since 1962.
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.
Later, her father discovered her beaten to death in the church choir.
He was the victim of a horrific crime that would remain unsolved for more than sixty years.
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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 dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Army, had long been the prime suspect in the case but was never charged due to lack of evidence.
The breakthrough finally came thanks to a confession made decades later.
Before his death in 2002, Schrader admitted to the murder to his stepson, Robert LeBlanc, during a conversation in a Louisiana prison.
LeBlanc came forward to police in late 2024 and provided crucial testimony that reignited the investigation.
Schrader reportedly told her that 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 by combining 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 her gratitude that the truth had finally been discovered.
“I stand before you with deep sadness but with great gratitude,” he said.
“Thanks to you, my family has the truth they have sought for six decades.
“Although nothing can bring Carol back, we can finally let her rest in peace, the truth is revealed.”
Schrader’s later life revealed a disturbing pattern of violence.
After leaving Pennsylvania, he moved to Louisiana, married, and raped his wife’s disabled daughters, as well as two foster children the couple were caring for.
In 1970, after an argument with his wife, Audrey, he threatened to “burn down the house and kill all the bitches in it.”
On Halloween of that year, he made good on his threat.
He set fire to their house and killed one of the couple’s adopted 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 the Rev. Joseph Sabadish), all of whom were eventually cleared thanks to verified alibis.
The resolution of Carol Ann’s case follows another notable event 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 the murder of their mother, Marina Ramos.
Using DNA, investigators tracked down the women, who had been living under different names with adoptive parents in Ventura County.
These guardians reportedly never knew their true identities.
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For Carol Ann’s family, Schrader’s identification ends a 62-year nightmare.
It ensures that her story, once a symbol of unanswered questions, is now a testament to perseverance and justice.
