After 40 years, Gayla McNeil's Killer has been Identified
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Teams with Othram to Identify the Suspect in a 1983 Homicide
Four days later on October 25, 1983, the woman was identified as thirty-year-old Gayla Ann McNeil of Cocoa Beach, Florida. Investigators launched an investigation to identify the person responsible for McNeil’s death. Investigators learned that McNeil was walking south from coastal Brevard County, Florida to an unknown location in South Florida. On October 19, 1983, McNeil was stopped by police north of Palm Beach in Stuart, Florida. The next day, an officer with the Lake Worth Police Department questioned McNeil and reported that she was attempting to flag down cars on US Highway 1 in Lake Worth. Gayla reported that she was from Cocoa and was headed to Fort Lauderdale.
Gayla was last seen wearing blue jeans, a beige flannel shirt, and a brown sweatband around her head. She was carrying a clear plastic bag with clothing and a brown cutting board. Described as having a slender build, McNeil stood approximately 5'9" tall and weighed only around 100 pounds. She had medium length, dark brown hair.''
Othram's in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile to produce new investigative leads, which were provided to PBSO detectives.
Using these leads, PBSO detectives launched an investigation aimed at finally identifying the unknown suspect. This investigation led to relatives of the possible suspect. These relatives provided reference DNA samples that were compared with the male suspect DNA collected from the crime scene in 1983. Results of the comparison confirmed the identity of the suspect in Gayla Ann McNeil’s murder as James Henderson, born October 24, 1948. Henderson resided at 421 Alegra Avenue in West Palm Beach, Florida. He worked as a mechanic in West Palm Beach and worked on Florida Power and Light Trucks. Henderson died November 24, 1987, four years after the murder of McNeil.''
''Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office detectives now seek the public's assistance to determine whether anyone knew Henderson or may have had contact with Gayla as she traveled down the Florida coast and through Palm Beach County. To report a tip, call 1-800-458-TIPS. This case represents the 21st case in the State of Florida where officials have publicly identified an individual using technology developed by Othram.''
