CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – A Sandusky, Ohio man was recently arrested in Polk County, Florida for the 1987 murder of a 1963 Clarion Area High School graduate.
Karen Ann Watson was found stabbed to death in March, 1987 at her Florida home, according to the Polk County Sherrif’s Office. She was 41 years old at the time of her murder.
Her murder was unsolved for 27 years until police in Sandusky, Ohio, arrested Carl McCauley, 64, a friend whose DNA matched bodily fluids found at the scene, according to Polk County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Carrie Horstman in an Orlando Sentinel report.
According to the affidavit, on March 24, 1987, Charles Watson, Karen’s husband, arrived home from work around 1:30 p.m. and found his wife’s body on the living room couch in their home (located at 1103 Old Polk City Road in Lake Alfred) with multiple stab wounds. Her death was ruled a homicide, and the autopsy revealed that Karen had had sexual intercourse just prior to her death. The crime scene was processed and evidence was collected. Eyewitnesses reported possibly seeing a white male wearing some sort of uniform shirt in the neighborhood during the time frame of the murder, and a beige-over-gold car at the Watson home.
In 1989, detectives interviewed Jacqueline McCauley, whose name had come up as a friend of the Watsons. When she was interviewed, she told detectives that both she and her husband knew the Watsons and had been to their home. Carl McCauley was employed by Adam’s Lumber Company at the time. The company confirmed that Carl did not come to work on March 24, 1987. Employees of the company also wore blue uniform shirts. Carl drove a beige-over-gold Chevy Nova at that time.