After 37 Years, Teresa Scalf's Killer has been Identified
Polk County Sheriff’s Office Teams with Othram to Identify the Suspect in the 1986 Murder of Teresa Lee Scalf
''Using these leads, PCSO detectives conducted interviews with distant relatives of the unknown suspect. These interviews allowed PCSO detectives to narrow their search to a now deceased man who lived directly behind Ms. Scalf at the time of her murder. The suspect’s son cooperated with the investigation and provided a reference DNA sample that was compared with the male suspect DNA collected from the crime scene in 1986. Results of the comparison confirmed a parent-child relationship, thereby confirming that the blood found at the murder scene belonged to Donald Douglas.''
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An ‘illicit’ affair helps police crack cold case murder of nurse killed 37 years ago
Investigators in Florida said they have solved the 1986 cold case murder of a nurse after nearly 37 years.
The Polks County Sheriff’s Office said Teresa Scalf’s throat had been slit and she had “defensive wounds” on her hands. Detective Matt Newbold said there was no sign of forced entry before the victim’s mother got there.
“He cut her head almost off,” Sheriff Grady Judd said.
After years of investigation, detectives identified the murder suspect as Donald Douglas, who lived behind Scalf at the time of her murder. They said the murder was sexually motivated.
The 29-year-old nurse, who worked at what is now Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center, lived alone with her 8-year-old son at her apartment. However, the child was at his grandmother’s home at the time, deputies said.''
“When this occurred in 1986…there was no DNA genealogy,” Judd said.
The sheriff said in the 2000s, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office put the unknown blood sample into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), but there was no result.''
''Donald Douglas, the man who deputies say murdered Teresa Scalf (Photo provided by Polk County Sheriff’s Office)
“Detectives talked to Donald at the time of the event as they were doing neighborhood canvases, but there was nothing at all out of the ordinary,” he said.
Then, in 2022, the sheriff’s office teamed up with Othram Inc., a DNA genealogy company that works with law enforcement agencies. Othram analyzed the blood sample and narrowed the scope of the search to distant relatives of the suspect, the sheriff’s office said in a press release''.
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