Dorothy Blanchard Thomas: The First Case, the Long Investigation, and the Limits of Closure
Florida Unsolved began with Dorothy Blanchard Thomas. The first overview of her murder appeared on May 25, 2019, followed by examinations of the crime scene, the claims circulating about the case, and Dorothy’s life. Those articles established the approach behind this project: return to the records, examine what they actually establish, and remember the person whose name appears on the file. [1][2][3][4]
The original reporting described a murder that had remained unresolved for more than six decades. On February 21, 2024, Tallahassee authorities announced a different status. Following a task-force review, they attributed Dorothy’s murder to longtime suspect Harry Barth and cleared the case by exceptional means because he had died. No arrest or trial followed. [5]
This retrospective brings those two periods together. It begins with Dorothy, then examines the original investigation and the distinction between identifying a suspect, establishing probable cause, and proving guilt.
Two Unsolved Florida Murders That Deserve Another Look
Two young men. Two Florida murders. Thirty-four years apart — and no answers. Deqwan Markell Chester was just 19 when he was gunned down near his Apopka home in 2024. Richard MacDougall was 23 when a confrontation on a St. Augustine street ended with his murder in 1990. Both cases remain unsolved. Someone knows what happened. Is it finally time they talked?
Mary Alice Pultz St. Johns County | Homicide | 1985 | Active Investigation
The Discovery
Crescent Beach, April 10, 1985. Construction workers building a new beach walkover discovered human remains buried in a shallow grave. The victim, buried for years, was a white female estimated to have been between 30 and 50 years old at the time of death. Her death was ruled a homicide. For almost 40 years she was just one among many Jane Does.
The Face Without a Name
In 2011, the victim’s skull and mandible were sent to the Florida Institute for Forensic Anthropology and Applied Science at the University of South Florida. There, forensic experts were able to produce a facial reconstruction. While new leads are said to have surfaced, she would not get her name back for another 13 years.
In 2022, SJSO detectives attended training on cold case homicides in which forensic genetic genealogy was presented. They brought their newfound knowledge back to the Major Crimes Unit (MCU) and, after consulting with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), submitted portions of the remains to Othram, a Texas-based laboratory specializing in advanced DNA techniques. The lab was able to successfully extract a viable DNA profile. This sample was then processed against the consumer-facing genealogy databases, the results of which identified potential relatives.