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You are here: Home / Cold Case News / Follow-up #I Karen Caughlin

Follow-up #I Karen Caughlin

April 14, 2011 By Alice

Karen CaughlinYesterday, we posted the first in a series of articles about Karen Caughlin who was killed in 1974, Sarnia, Canada.

In one day, that post soared to the top of popular posts but what is far more important: people are talking.

Comments and emails are coming in and I am sorting through the information right now. One thing is clear: many important details were missed. I will start to discuss those in follow-up posts.

Expect discussions about alternative explanations for the facts (AEF). As DCC reader, you know by now that AEF is my battle cry. There are alternative explanations in the Caughlin case and they have not been explored or, I have not been able to find out yet that they have been investigated and can be checked off the list. Let’s go over the first pieces of information that came in. They shed a whole new light on the case:

Karen’s real plans for March 15, 1974

We read on the web, in newspaper articles, on crime forums, on blogs, and on OPP’s website that Karen had made after-school plans that would include sleeping over at friend A’s house. Karen indeed went to A’s house after school, ate supper there, and then they went to the roller rink but:

I: Karen and A did not take the bus to the roller rink nor did they walk to the rink. They hitch hiked.

This is a piece of information that has not been explored in full. Around 7pm, Karen and A left A’s house. They went to the corner of Mitton & Devine and were picked up by a 4-doors car, make, model and colour unknown.

Please note that I do not consider this driver to be a suspect but, he should be interviewed. He was in contact with a homicide victim in the last 72-hours of her life. So, if you know who this driver was or, if you were the driver and picked up Karen and A, please contact police.

II: Karen’s plans for the night changed.

We do not know exactly when she changed her mind or why but, her ultimate destination for the night was not the first friend’s house but the second friend’s house. Was she struck by a car when she walked towards the second friend’s house?

We know she got a lift to the first friend’s house but that’s not where she wanted to stay. At this point, we also have to wonder what stopped Karen from going back to her own home which was close by. Whatever the reason, Karen does not walk over to her own home and this is where the previously mentioned gap in the timeline starts.

There is a possibility of a complete stranger attacking Karen. There is a possibility that Karen was hit while walking to the second friend’s house.

To be continued.

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Filed Under: Cold Case News, Forensics Tagged With: Autopsy, Canada, Crime Scene, DNA, Forensics, hit-and-run, Identification, Karen Caughlin, Sarnia, touch DNA, Unsolved Homicide

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Dina Fort

Author Notes

Since 2009, I write about unsolved cases that need renewed media attention. I only do research and leave active investigations to the authorities.

My posts cover homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to unsolved cases.

On book reviews: I only review select works of true crime, crime fiction, and historical fiction/mysteries. The stories have to fit my website's theme, tone, and research. It is my prerogative to not review a book. Please check the FAQ page for more.

My databases are free to the public. Cases are sorted by the victim’s last name.

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Thank you,

Alice de Sturler

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