Authorities in Pennsylvania say a decades-old church murder has finally been solved, bringing long-awaited closure to the family of 9-year-old Carol Ann Dougherty, who was raped and killed inside St. Mark’s Church in Bristol on October 22, 1962. Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn announced that a grand jury identified William Schrader as the killer, citing forensic evidence, eyewitness testimony, and a family member’s confession.
“For more than six decades, this tragic case has haunted the community and inflicted unimaginable pain on Carol Ann’s family,” Schorn said. The grand jury’s 53-page report concluded that Schrader alone committed the murder, supported by a 1993 forensic comparison linking his hair sample to evidence found clutched in the victim’s hand.
Schrader, a local factory worker at the time, lived just blocks from the church. He failed a polygraph test and lied about his alibi before fleeing to Florida and later settling in Louisiana. Investigators determined that Lucky Strike cigarettes found at the scene matched the brand Schrader “was known to smoke.”
The case turned in 2024 when Schrader’s stepson, Robert Leblanc, came forward. Leblanc told investigators that Schrader twice confessed to killing “a little girl in a Pennsylvania church,” adding, “he had to kill the girl in Bristol to keep her from talking.” The report deemed the confession credible, as Leblanc knew details never released publicly.
Further investigation revealed a disturbing history of violent and sexual crimes. Schrader had “sexually abused nearly every female child he lived with or had access to,” including family members. He was later convicted in Louisiana for killing 12-year-old Catherine Smith in 1985.
“This case has haunted the Bristol Borough community for years,” said Police Chief Joe Moors. “Their pursuit of the truth finally delivered answers for Carol’s family and our community.”
