Advancements in DNA technology and other forensic measures have helped re-open hundreds of cold cases around the country.
There have been both arrests of suspects after decades, and the clearing of some falsely imprisoned for crimes they did not commit.
And one Florida man did not see it coming after authorities made a major move in this brutal 30-year-old cold case murder.
Just a few days before Christmas in 1996, Manatee County deputies found a woman’s body in a drainage canal in Palmetto, Florida.
Victim identified but no suspect for decades
The body had been floating face down in the canal before divers recovered it.
Authorities were unable to identify the victim for months.
Finally, they were able to identify her as 45-year-old Doris A. Korell of St. Petersburg.
Unfortunately, the investigation into her brutal murder would remain unsolved for nearly 30 years.
But then, in August of this year, a 72-year-old man that deputies identified as her former boyfriend was arrested in the case.
The day the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) found Korell in the canal all deputies knew was that she was wearing a gold ring on her right index finger and had suffered trauma to the right side of her neck and face.
More horrifying information came the next day when an autopsy revealed she had been stabbed a total of 83 times.
At the time, MCSO detectives were not aware that the St. Petersburg Police Department was already looking for Korell, who was living with her boyfriend, Stephen Ford.
Korell’s daughter, who lived in Maryland at the time, reported her missing on December 11 after Ford called her and asked her if she had seen her mother.
Ford allegedly claimed that Korell left in her car to go shopping after they had an argument.
Seemingly overwhelming evidence but no arrest for decades
Then, on December 18, St. Petersburg detectives found Korell’s red Maza RX-7 at the Pinellas Square Mall.
They did not find any evidence of a struggle or attack inside the vehicle.
MCSO detectives said they believe that her boyfriend Ford parked it there and wiped it down.
They later learned that he rented a storage unit a day after Korell went missing.
Ford kept her jewelry, clothing, and photos inside the unit because Ford “didn’t want Doris’ daughter to have it.”
Detectives returned to Ford’s duplex days later and noted that it smelled like “decomposition” inside his home.
They said they also found stains on the bedding and a mattress that had not been present during an earlier search.
And they said they found a suicide note from Ford.
The note was addressed to Ford’s two sons and in it, Ford wrote he wanted to be with Korell if she was dead.
It was determined the stains were from an attempt by Ford to hurt himself.
Despite all the evidence, Ford denied any involvement in her disappearance.
And when detectives asked him what should happen to the person who killed Korell, Ford allegedly said, “An eye for an eye. If I killed her, I should get the death penalty.”
On Christmas Eve that year, detectives went to Ford’s home for a follow-up interview.
When he did not answer the door, they entered through an unlocked window and found him semi-conscious and foaming at the mouth.
Ford had ingested bleach to try and commit suicide.
Korell was finally identified in May 1997 using dental records, which also caused MCSO and St. Petersburg Police to realize they were working on the same case.
However, due to a lack of physical evidence, the investigation went cold.
Ford moves north and the case goes cold
Ford ended up moving to Delaware, and the case remained unsolved until it was reopened by Cold Case detectives in 2017.
A detective re-examined files from both Manatee and St. Petersburg Police.
Over the next six years, detectives said new information came to light.
Detectives said they also noted Ford’s behavior showed a “clear pattern of consciousness of guilt.”
The new evidence was enough for MCSO to believe that Ford murdered Korell and disposed of her body in the canal.
Ford’s decades-long run from the law ended in Georgetown, Delaware, where he was arrested for second-degree murder with a weapon on August 16.
He was then extradited and booked into the Manatee County Jail on August 30.
While he has not been convicted of any crime yet, authorities, and Florida residents, are hoping there may soon be justice for Korrell.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
