October 27th, 1986, Teresa Lee Scalf was killed by identified suspect Donald Douglas in a “sexually motivated attack” in her home in Lakeland, Florida. According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Douglas had “aggressively stabbed her and cut her.” Teresa’s case remained cold until October 2023, when Othram Inc. identified Donald Douglas as her killer.
Teresa Lee Scalf, a 29-year-old nurse at Lakeland Regional Medical Center and a mother to one son, was found dead in her apartment by her mother, Betty Scalf. Authorities had described Teresa’s head nearly cut off and defensive wounds on her hands from trying to defend herself. At Scalf’s murder scene, detectives found two blood samples, only one belonging to Scalf, and was later entered into a Combined DNA Index system. In 2022, the sheriff’s office partnered with a DNA genealogy company called Othram Inc.
American Cooperation Ortham Inc., located in The Woodlands, Texas, specializes in forensic genetic genealogy and testing DNA that has failed other testing methods or is unsuitable for testing with other laboratories to solve unsolved murders, disappearances, and identification of decedents or murder victims.
Othram analyzed the unidentified blood sample and traced it back to distant relatives of Douglas. Looking through genealogies and family histories led them to Donald Douglas’s third cousin, who had a child outside of her marriage in 1949, discovering a “new line of the family tree” where investigators could trace one of Douglas’s sons. The son, who cooperated with investigators and gave up his DNA, was “mortified” after finding the results confirming his father was the killer.
Douglas was an electrician acquainted with Teresa and possibly interested in her romantically. Detectives had interviewed Douglas as part of a routine canvass of the neighborhood, but no obvious evidence was linked to him. He also had no criminal history, so his DNA was never put through a law enforcement database. Douglas died due to natural causes and was cremated at the age of 54 in 2008.
At a press conference on Monday, October 30th, Pam Shade, along with Teresa’s mother and sisters Betty Scalf and Lynn Scalf, spoke out, saying, “The first thing that I would like to say is Teresa was a wonderful person, the most loving person,” and “She didn’t deserve this. Our family didn’t deserve this.”
Betty Scalf, “All I want to say is, I’m 84 years old. I lived to see this done. I think that’s why I lived so long.”
