Chilling cold case finally solved after 51 years

In 1972, a nine-year-old girl was brutally raped and murdered in cold blood just metres from her home. The killer has never been found – until now. Warning: Distressing

Debbie Lynn Randall was abducted, raped and murdered in 1972. Picture: Supplied

WARNING: Distressing

The man who brutally abducted, raped and murdered a nine-year-old girl had finally been identified after 51 years.

Just after sunset on January 13, 1972, Debbie Lynn Randall slipped on her brand new lavender-coloured slippers and ran across the road to the local ‘Duds & Suds’ laundromat that sat across from her apartment block in the US town of Marietta, Georgia.

She was thrilled to have been given the very important task of collecting her family’s clean clothes and bringing them back home, a mere 90 metres away

It was a regular chore that many children in the area would do for their parents, and one that Debbie had happily done many times before.

Debbie was just nine years old when she was abducted, raped and murdered. Picture: Supplied

She even made friends with the other little girls in the laundromat, who would all bring their barbie dolls to play together while they waited for their loads of washing to finish.

So when she failed to return home, her parents assumed she was just playing with her friends and lost track of time.

But the truth was far more sinister.

Her frantic mother Juanita and stepfather Frank burst out of the apartment to search for her when they come across a worrying sight.

Debbie’s box of laundry detergent had been dropped on the ground, with washing powder sprinkled all over the footpath next to a Volkswagen parked 25m from the laundromat door.

It was at this moment that they knew something was terribly wrong.

A file photo shows the washing powder spilt on the ground where Debbie was kidnapped. Picture: Cobb Country Police Department

“Our daughter has been kidnapped”

After two hours of searching the neighbourhood without any luck, Debbie’s parents reported her sudden disappearance to the police

Local self-described “street kid” Sandra Moody recalled witnessing the little girl being ripped off the street by a person wearing a white tee, blue jeans and dark work boots, according to 11 Alive.

Debbie was reportedly punching, kicking and yelling at the man, as he rushed to shove her into his pick-up truck.

But 12-year-old Sandra assumes he is the girl’s father, and that she is in deep trouble for something.

Another teenage girl in the area, Carol Clayton, lived next door to Debbie’s family, and told police that she noticed a man driving past the building just before she went missing.

Debbie was simply going to help with her family's washing when she was abducted. Picture: Supplied

Morris Wells, who also resided nearby, conveyed to police that an erratically-driven, dark-coloured pick-up truck nearly crashed into his car around the same time.

He noticed a white man, around 30 years old, with dark hair, wearing a light-coloured shirt, driving the truck.

He also spots a little girl, who he said was aged between 5 and 10 years old with dark hair in the passenger seat.

She is fighting with the man, who appears to be holding her by her left ear.

Based on these witness statements, detectives are able to create a sketch of their suspect and begin their search for not only him, but for Debbie.

Police drew this picture of the suspect after talking with witnesses. Picture: Cobb Country Police Department

A devastating discovery

A gruelling 16 days after her disappearance, the nine-year-old’s body was tragically found on November 29 in a deeply-wooded area, located 9km from where she had been abducted.

She was still wearing the long-sleeved purple dress adorned with yellow flowers that she had worn on the day she vanished, while her little feet still had white socks on them.

Her beloved lavender slippers were nowhere to be found.

She was taken to the nearby Kennestone Hospital where Dr. Larry Howard, with the Georgia State Crime Lab, examined her corpse.

Marietta is a small suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. Picture: iStock

He determined that she had been “violently raped” and suffocated, likely by her own coat in an effort to muffle her screams.

A dark brown hair is found on her body and sent to the crime lab to be tested, where it is determined to be from a white male, approximately 18-30 years old.

But despite the best efforts of detectives, Debbie’s mother Juanita Wheeler and father John Randall would never know who the monster was that killed their daughter.

Her mother passed away in 2018 after a battle with leukaemia, while her father died in 2022.

Her parents died before their daughter's killer was found. Picture: 11Alive

“Someone took my baby. It tears you up, literally, tears you up,” her father John told 11Alive back in 2018.

“I was like a zombie around here for a while. It’s just like taking a big chunk out of your body. And it ain’t never come back, and never will come back.

“It’s a lonely world when you love someone like that for nine years and then lose them. It’s more than I can take at times.

“I hurt so deep inside. I still love her today. I don’t have her, but I still love her today.

“She is my baby. I miss her, I love her; and I’ll never forget.”

Her mother Juanita told the outlet just weeks before she died that she longed to know who killed her daughter before she passed away.

But sadly, she died still waiting for answers.

Debbie was beloved by all her friends and family. Picture: Supplied

“She was a sweet little darling,” she told the outlet.

“She was my baby and I loved her so much. I couldn’t understand why it was her instead of me. It was the way she had to go that hurt me so bad. And it still hurts.

“I would at least like to know who done it before I pass away.”

A break in the case

A test on the hair that was found on Debbie’s body was conducted by the FBI in 2001, which significantly narrowed the pool of possible suspects.

Another test conducted in 2015 on a piece of cloth found at the crime scene produced a partial profile of a man who could not be completely identified.

A DNA test carried out in 2019, which was made possible by extra funding, as well as a reanalysis of the cloth, brought investigators even closer to finding Debbie’s killer.

Debbie's father, John, pictured here in 2018. He died in 2022. Picture: 11Alive

In 2022, more testing brought authorities in touch with people who were likely related to the suspect, and these relatives supplied DNA samples to assist in the investigation.

This all lead detectives to one man: William B Rose.

Rose was a young man who had family living in the same apartment block as the Randalls, and had not been a suspect in the case until recently.

He died by suicide in 1974, two years after Debbie’s murder. He was 24 years when he committed the crime.

After exhuming his body and running more DNA testing, it was confirmed that he was the man who brutally raped and mercilessly murdered the nine-year-old girl more than 50 years ago.

William B. Rose killed Debbie in 1972. He died by suicide two years later. Picture: Cobb Country Police Department

Ron Alter, a cold case investigator, told reporters that he did not believe Rose knew Debbie.

He said what most likely happened was he saw her alone, perceived that to be a chance to abduct her and then acted on that opportunity.

“If he drove by, I’m sure he saw her. I believe that it was a crime of opportunity,” he said.

“He saw her by herself and abducted her.”

Rose had prior arrests for alcohol-related incidents.

Investigators added that it was possible Rose took his own life due to the guilt of what he had done, or it may have been due his fear of being caught.

Debbie's brother Melvin spoke at a press conference after her killer was identified. Picture: Cobb Country Police Department

Debbie and her mother Juanita are now buried together. Picture: Find A Grave

“The loss of a loved one, especially one of such a tender age is difficult to comprehend,” said Cobb District Attorney, Flynn D. Broady, Jr.

“This family has waited for decades for an answer. This information will not replace the pain of losing Debbie Lynn.”

Debbie’s brother, Melvin Randall, said finding out who killed his sister came as “a relief”.

“It’s a relief to my family that it was no one that we knew, and it’s just great that it’s over,” he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“Maybe we can rest about it and not worry about it, wondering who it was. It has weighed heavy on us for a long time.”

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