Editor’s Note: This story contains discussions of rape or sexual assault that may be disturbing. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can find help and discreet resources on the National Sexual Assault Hotline website or by calling 1-800-656-4673.
(NewsNation) — A 43-year-old murder cold case in Pennsylvania has been solved.
According to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, William Schrader has been identified as the man who raped and killed 9-year-old Carol Ann Dougherty on Oct. 22, 1962, inside St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Bristol.
It was determined by a grand jury that “Schrader raped and murdered Dougherty.”
The jury found Schrader, who died in 2002, committed murder in the first-degree. In its findings, it was determined Dougherty was last seen live outside the doors of St. Mark’s on the afternoon of Oct. 22, 1962.
Following interviews with police, including a failed polygraph test, Schrader fled the state to Florida, Texas and Louisiana before settling in Houma, Louisiana.
Investigators’ interviews with Schrader’s stepson in Nov.ember 2024 proved critical in a breakthrough in the case. Investigators also came to learn Schrader had sexually assaulted every female child he ever lived with or had access to, including his own daughter and granddaughters.
Schrader’s stepson told investigators that Schrader confessed to the rape and murder on two occassions and “had to kill the girl in Bristol to keep her from talking.”
Per the release, the grand jury’s finding was based on “several key pieces of evidence, including: Eye witness statements, Schrader’s Confession, Forensic Exclusion, Lies and Flight, Crime Scene and Common Scheme and Design Evidence, [and] Expert Dr. Veronique Valliere.”