FL FL - Debra O’Quinn, 18, Murdered, Jacksonville, 7 May 1979

[Gardener1850]

UNSOLVED: 39 years after a local teen's violent death police continue investigating

What happened to Debra O’Quinn was a question that plagued Jacksonville for months. But the questions did not begin until the following morning after Debra was dropped off.

When Debra’s roommate came home between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., she found her own brother asleep on the couch. She asked where Debra was and he didn’t know. But as Debra’s roommate looked around she knew something wasn’t right.

There was a lot of blood; blood on the walls, drag marks on the carpet, in the bathroom.

She asked her brother what happened and he said he thought there had been some kind of accident. He had attempted to clean up some of the blood in the bathroom but abandoned the task and fell asleep on the couch.

Homicide Detective working the case at the time, Jerry Parker, was quoted in an old newspaper article, "He [Debra's roommate's brother] thought it was menstrual blood and decided to clean it up. He's just awfully naive."

A knife was confiscated from inside the roommate's brother's truck. Its serrated edge tested positive for bone fragments, but there was not enough to prove that it was human, let along Debra’s, according to Janson.

An article from 1979 stated that the brother had said he had been in the apartment since 3 a.m. and he had not seen Debra, despite Debra’s father confirming he dropped her off at 9 p.m. that night.

One headline read: ‘Foul play feared in disappearance of local girl, 18’ with a photo of Debra smiling. Another headline read: ‘Clues to girl’s fate sought.’
And another: 'Body found in woods.'
Then a final headline, dated Dec. 12, 1979, read: ‘Police launch search for murderer.’

Two men who had found Debra’s body, badly decomposed, in a wooded area off of Mount Pleasant Road. Her skeletal remains confirmed police suspicions: she had been stabbed to death.

Authorities tracked down every lead, including a palm print found in Debra’s room that didn’t match anyone who lived or had been in the apartment at the time of the incident.

“Did that occur at the time of the murder, that palm print? Or was it from a previous visit? We don’t know,” said Janson.

Her case ran cold.

Then, a few years later, serial killer Henry Lee Lucas came forward with a confession. He was known for murders in the southern part of the United States and had spent some time in Jacksonville.

Police took the confession seriously and interviewed him, but it became apparent he was not familiar with parts of the case which were pivotal and his confession was deemed false.

It is not uncommon for killers to try and take credit for murders they did not commit. But with this false confession, there was no solace for the O’Quinn family.

Her case ran cold once more.

Debra’s father died in 1996 without knowing who murdered his daughter.

Read More: http://www.firstcoastnews.com/artic...th-police-continue-investigating/77-516740341

 

[PayrollNerd]

Such a beautiful life gone too soon.


Debra Lynn O'Quinn (1960-1979) - Find A Grave...

 

[PayrollNerd]

Interesting. I wonder if they can use DNA off the knife now.


Debra O’Quinn (18) worked as a secretary in an... | Amateur Sleuth

Snip:
The thing is, there was clear evidence something bad had happened. There was blood not only in Debra’s room, but also in the bathroom and some smears on the walls and the carpet, which also had drag marks. Thomas said he thought there had been some sort of accident, but apparently it wasn’t enough to get him to call someone. One of the detectives later said Thomas had explained he thought it was “menstrual blood” and had attempted to clean it up before going to sleep. The cop is quoted in an old newspaper saying “he’s just awfully naive.”

One of Debra’s neighbors told police that on that night she’d noticed a lot of movement over at her apartment. The lights were on and a male figure was walking all over. The neighbor later saw the man carrying something out of the apartment, and it could have been Debra.