A 53-year-old double murder case has been resolved after investigators with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office used advances in DNA testing and genetic genealogy to identify the man responsible for the deaths of two teenage sisters in 1973.
Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM yesterday morning to talk about what’s going on in the county.
The 53-year-old case demonstrates the sheriff’s department’s commitment to continuing to pursue unsolved crimes, even decades after they occurred.
“This was a murder, a double murder, that happened in 1973, 53 years ago,” Ramsay said.
The victims were a 16-year-old girl and her 18-year-old sister who had traveled to the Florida Keys from out of state. Ramsay said the sisters had been hitchhiking and were last seen alive traveling northbound around Stock Island.
Their bodies were discovered a short time later in Key Largo near the 99.5-mile marker in the area of the Wendy’s Bayside.
Ramsay said investigators determined the sisters had been sexually assaulted before they were shot multiple times with a .22-caliber firearm.
The case was investigated in 1973 but was revisited numerous times over the years as part of the Sheriff’s Office’s cold-case efforts.
Ramsay, who has spent decades with the agency, said he remembers the case being repeatedly examined as investigators looked for new evidence and new technology that could help identify a suspect.
“As technology changes, we do resubmittals for DNA,” Ramsay said. “Someone’s DNA profile may not be online today, but three years from now, their DNA could be in the system.”
Investigators recently resubmitted blood DNA evidence recovered from the underwear of one of the victims. Working with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement crime laboratory and using genetic genealogy, investigators were able to identify a potential family line connected to the DNA profile.
Ramsay said investigators then had to painstakingly work through the family tree, identifying and excluding potential relatives.
That process took investigators outside Monroe County and even outside Florida as they sought DNA samples that could eliminate family members as suspects.
Ramsay said investigators would look for discarded items such as cigarettes, soda cans or chewing gum that could potentially provide DNA for comparison.
“We excluded multiple family members to the point in time that we got down to basically the last man standing,” Ramsay said.
Investigators ultimately determined the killer was a man who had been assigned to NAS Key West between 1972 and 1974. Ramsay said investigators concluded the man had picked up the sisters, sexually assaulted them and murdered them.
The suspect is deceased and therefore cannot be prosecuted, but Ramsay said identifying him still provides an important measure of closure for the victims’ surviving family members.
“We wish he was alive, that we could actually put cuffs on, put him in jail,” Ramsay said. “But this is the next best thing: to close the case, get closure for the family, identify the person who double murdered two young ladies back in 1973.”
Ramsay credited the detectives and Sheriff’s Office personnel who continued to revisit the case, as well as state law enforcement partners who assisted with the investigation.
He said the case also reinforces the importance of never giving up on cold cases because advances in technology can eventually provide answers that were not available when a crime originally occurred.
“This case was never, never put aside as it was not going to be solved,” Ramsay said. “It was always, ‘We’re going to keep looking, keep re-examining and keep trying.'”
Ramsay also discussed the Sheriff’s Office’s former use of license plate readers and the ongoing debate over privacy and public safety.
The sheriff said he considers license plate readers one of the most valuable investigative tools available to law enforcement because they can help prevent and deter crime, locate missing people and identify wanted suspects.
He said the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office previously operated a limited number of license plate readers that primarily scanned license plates and checked them against law enforcement databases.
Ramsay said the system had helped deputies locate people wanted on serious charges, including murder warrants, as well as missing elderly people and children involved in Amber Alerts.
The Sheriff’s Office has since removed its license plate readers from rights of way in compliance with an order from Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Ramsay acknowledged there are legitimate privacy concerns surrounding the technology but said law enforcement agencies can establish safeguards to prevent misuse.
He pointed to an incident in which a Sheriff’s Office employee improperly used the system to track a woman in whom he had a personal interest.
Ramsay said the agency identified the misuse, conducted administrative and criminal investigations, suspended and ultimately fired the officer, sought to have his law enforcement certification revoked and obtained a warrant for his arrest.
He said the Sheriff’s Office also publicly disclosed the incident.
“Citizens can’t say that we’re not transparent,” Ramsay said. “We’re policing ourselves, we’re informing the public, and if something occurs, we deal with it.”
Ramsay said the Sheriff’s Office will comply with laws and directives regarding license plate readers, but he questioned the continued use of extensive camera systems operated by the state.
He argued that Florida’s toll-related license plate systems can collect more information about motorists than the limited systems previously used by his agency.
Ramsay said there needs to be a balance between privacy and public safety and maintained that the Sheriff’s Office attempted to use the technology primarily to locate criminals, missing people and endangered children.
The sheriff also discussed a recent pursuit involving a 28-year-old man with multiple warrants from Ohio.
Ramsay said deputies attempted to stop the man after he was allegedly clocked traveling 63 mph in a 45 mph zone in Islamorada. The incident escalated into a high-speed pursuit.
The suspect, who Ramsay said had a suspended driver’s license and multiple warrants involving violent offenses, eventually abandoned the SUV and fled on foot.
Ramsay said the man attempted to enter businesses and a residence, fought with deputies and jumped into the bay before he was eventually taken into custody.
During the struggle and pursuit, the suspect suffered a broken wrist and was transported to Miami for treatment before being returned to face charges.
Ramsay said the incidents illustrate the challenges faced by deputies working to keep the Florida Keys safe.
“It’s our job to be proactive, to continue to try to prevent, deter, investigate, solve, arrest and prosecute bad people,” Ramsay said.
He also discussed a separate incident involving a 24-year-old Tavernier man who was allegedly running naked through a Marathon neighborhood. Ramsay said the man appeared to be suffering from a combination of substance abuse, alcohol use or mental health issues and became combative with deputies.
Ramsay said the man fought with officers and bit one deputy on the arm, requiring medical attention. The Sheriff’s Office is pursuing a warrant for battery on a law enforcement officer.
Ramsay credited residents and business owners who quickly contacted law enforcement when they encountered the man.
“We appreciate the neighbors calling us right away so we can get on scene quickly and deal with it,” Ramsay said.