FL FL- Teresa Lee Scalf, 29, nurse, sexually assaulted & throat slit @ home, Polks County, 1986, DNA identified killer as Donald Douglas (deceased), 2023

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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

dnasolves.com

"In 2022, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office teamed with Othram to determine if advanced DNA testing could help identify in new leads in the case. Forensic DNA evidence from the crime was sent to Othram’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas. Othram scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to develop a comprehensive genealogical profile from the DNA of the unknown male suspect. Othram's in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile to produce new investigative leads, which were provided to PCSO detectives.''

''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.''

Teresa Scalf - Google Search

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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.

news.yahoo.com

“I think she was killed around 3:30 in the afternoon, and by the time I got there at 8 or 9 o’clock at night, all the evidence had been washed away by the rain,” Betty Scalf said.

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''.

 

[PayrollNerd]

Cold case murder of nurse solved by linking killer's DNA to distant out-of-wedlock cousin

After almost 37 years, deputies say they solved a nurse's brutal murder, and although it's too late to arrest the now-dead suspect, family members say they have some degree of closure.

lawandcrime.com

 

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37 years after Florida nurse "brutally murdered" in her home, DNA analysis helps police identify killer

The killer had no criminal history, officials said, but was identified through family DNA analysis.

www.cbsnews.com

 

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Teresa Lee Scalf

<p>Around 10:20 p.m. on October 27, 1986, 29-year-old Teresa Lee Scalf, a nurse at Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center, was found by her mother dead in her apartment. Her throat had been cut and she had defensive wounds on her hands. Scalf lived alone with her young son, who was not home at...

www.polksheriff.org

 

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Published in 2003.

New evidence may help solve 1986 murder case

LAKELAND -- Detectives are hoping new evidence will help solve the murder of a Lakeland Regional Medical Center nurse found dead in her Lakeland home 17 years ago. Teresa Lee Scalf was 29 years old…

www.heraldtribune.com

 

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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.

www.wbtw.com

Snip
Investigators looked for a DNA match through genealogies and family histories, which eventually led them to the suspect’s third cousin who had a child outside her marriage in 1949, the Miami-Herald reported. The affair pointed them to a “new line of the family tree,” the newspaper explained.

From there, investigators were able to trace the suspect’s son.

 

[fred&edna]

Amazing teamwork for this solve!

 

[imstilla.grandma]

So, despite an extensive initial investigation, the case went cold for over three and a half decades. Then, in 2022, the sheriff’s office partnered with Othram, Inc., a private lab that specializes in forensic genetic genealogy, to analyze the blood sample, according to CBS News.

With the blood evidence from the crime scene, Othram was able to narrow the investigation to distant relatives of the not-yet-known suspect. The investigation finally led to the Douglas’s family. Douglas’s son gave a blood sample that was used to positively identify Douglas as the killer, PEOPLE explained.

Teresa’s family takes comfort in the identification of her killer. “All I want to say is, I'm 84 years old,” Teresa’s mother Betty said in a press conference. “I lived to see this done. I think that’s why I lived so long.”

After 37 Years, The Cold Case Murder Of Florida Nurse Teresa Lee Scalf Is Finally Solved

After nearly four decades, blood found at the 1986 murder scene has helped investigators positively identify Teresa Lee Scalf's killer.

www.investigationdiscovery.com

 

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https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/17/us/polk-county-florida-cold-case-solved/index.html

Now, thanks to new DNA analysis, Scalf’s family has an answer – and some semblance of closure – because investigators say they have solved the 1986 murder case.


Donald Douglas, who was 33 at the time, is responsible for Scalf’s death, Polk County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Monday. Douglas died of natural causes in 2008 at the age of 54, the department said.

 

[LadyL]

thank goodness for DNA, scientists, cops, and Othram

 

[dotr]

Dorian Geiger Oct 19, 2023,

DNA From “Illicit” Family Affair Links Nurse’s Unsolved 1986 Killing to Dead Florida Neighbor, Authorities Say | Oxygen Official Site

Read about Donald Douglas being identified as the killer of Teresa Lee Scalf, a Florida nurse who was murdered in 1986.

www.oxygen.com

“We believe it was a sexual rejection,” Judd said. “We saw a lot of defensive wounds. She never had a relationship with him. So we believe that he was angry and upset because she wouldn’t have a relationship with him.”

''Her other sister, Lynn Scalf, said Teresa shared that she had some uncomfortable experiences with a neighbor, but didn't fully describe him, offering that up as a cautionary tale for present-day stalking victims.''

“Teresa had told us about some creepy neighbor that had showed up at her house with what looked like he had yanked a flower up out of the ground and slapped it into a pot,” Lynn said during the news conference, according to the Miami Herald. “He was sort of stalkerish, and she had told us about him, but she never described him. So anybody, but especially ladies, if someone’s being creepy, don’t just tell your sisters, tell them what he looks like.”