A new documentary aims to bring to light the horrific details of the chilling case of Sarah Yarborough – a 16-year-old girl who was brutally murdered in the parking lot of her high school, just meters from her classmates and the nearly 30-year-old hunt after her murderer.
On Friday, December 13, 1991, in the small town of Federal Way, Washington, Sarah’s parents said goodbye to their daughter and headed off to her brother’s soccer tournament for the weekend – without realizing that this would be the last time that they would see the teenager.
The next morning, she rushed out of her house with her hair in curlers so she could get to her practice team’s practice on time.
But when she arrived at school, Sarah, a “talented, creative and kind” honors student, was brutally strangled with her own stockings – and left in the bushes, just a stone’s throw from where her teammates were training.
A new documentary aims to bring to light the horrific details of the chilling case of Sarah Yarborough – a 16-year-old girl who was murdered in her high school parking lot
On Friday, December 13, 1991, in the town of Federal Way, Washington, Sarah’s parents said goodbye to their daughter and headed to her brother’s soccer tournament for the weekend
The next morning, she rushed out of her house with her hair in curlers so she could get to her practice team’s practice on time
But when she arrived at school, Sarah was brutally strangled with her own stockings (pictured) – and left in the bushes, just a stone’s throw from where her teammates were training
The devastating murder sent shockwaves through the community – and left everyone worried that the “monster” that killed her could strike again.
Police were desperate for answers, but despite several witnesses seeing a man standing over Sarah’s body and plenty of DNA evidence on her clothing, it would be decades before investigators could close the case.
And when they finally caught the killer, the story was only made scarier by his gruesome history of violence.
The devastating murder sent shockwaves through the community – and left everyone worried that the “monster” that killed her could strike again
Now, CBS’ 48 Hours has delved into the gruesome murder in a new special called “The Hunt For Sarah Yarborough’s Killer,” premiering Saturday at 10 p.m. on CBS and Paramount+.
“Just the innocent nature of this young woman in her school uniform, with her hot curlers still in her hair… That was just pure, unadulterated evil,” Scott Strathy, one of the detectives who worked on Sarah’s case, said in the documentary release.
“Even for experienced investigators, this scene was really difficult to handle.”
In a preview of the special, Sarah’s mother Lori recalled that she was “hesitant” to leave the teen alone for the weekend, but she said she assumed it would be OK because her friend would be staying with her .
“I was reluctant to leave Sarah, but she didn’t want to come because she had her whole weekend planned,” she explained. “A friend came over and stayed with her that weekend.”
Police desperately searched for answers, but despite multiple witnesses and reams of DNA evidence, it would take decades before they could close the case. Your home can be seen
When they finally caught the killer 28 years later thanks to new technology, his horrific history of violence only made the story scarier. Her killer, Patrick Nicholas, is seen
Now, CBS’ 48 Hours has delved into the gruesome murder in a new special called “The Hunt For Sarah Yarborough’s Killer,” premiering Saturday at 10 p.m. on CBS and Paramount+
The friend, named Amy Parodi, explained that they spent the first evening eating “junk food” together and watching a “basketball game.”
“We were only 16, we were carefree. “There was absolutely nothing that made any of us believe that everything would change the next morning,” she said.
Amy remembered Sarah “running out the door” to practice early Saturday because she overslept.
But when she didn’t return home afterward, Amy began searching for Sarah – frantically calling her teammates and anyone else who might have an idea of her whereabouts.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before she received the shocking news that Sarah had been killed – because an hour after her disappearance, two little boys noticed a strange guy lurking in the field next to the school parking lot.
One of the boys, Drew Miller, who was 13 at the time, told CBS in the special, “He just stared at us from the bushes. ‘It was pretty shocking.’
“Just the innocent nature of this young woman in her school uniform, with her hot curlers still in her hair… This was just pure, unadulterated evil,” said investigator Scott Strathy
In a preview of the special, Sarah’s mother Lori recalled that she was “hesitant” to leave the teen alone for the weekend, but she said her friend agreed to stay with her
The friend, named Amy Parodi, recalled that Sarah “ran out the door” to practice on Saturday morning because she overslept
After seeing the mysterious man, he walked away – and as they approached the spot where he had been standing, they discovered Sarah’s body.
“Her body was still in the parking lot, about 100 meters away, still on the school grounds,” described a man whose identity was not revealed in the trailer.
“Some of her clothing was removed, she was wearing nylon stockings tied with a ligature around her neck.”
Sarah’s mother, Lori, said while holding back tears: “I remember thinking over and over again, ‘Not Sarah. Not Sarah. Not Sarah.”
At first it seemed as if it would be easy to catch the murderer. Not only were Drew and his friend able to give police detailed descriptions, but his DNA was also on their clothing.
“They had evidence, they had everything, they had witnesses,” Amy explained. “For a brief period of time I felt like, ‘Of course they’re going to catch him.’”
Sarah’s body was found an hour after Amy realized she was missing, thanks to two young boys who noticed a strange man lurking in a field next to the parking lot. Your school can be seen
“Some of her clothing was removed, she was wearing nylon stockings tied with a ligature around her neck,” a man told the cameras on the 48 Hours special. Her clothes can be seen
At first it seemed like it would be easy to catch the killer because the boys were able to give police detailed descriptions and his DNA was all over their clothing. The police sketch can be seen
According to CBS, investigators examined more than 4,000 tips but were unable to determine who was behind the murder – baffling law enforcement officials and terrifying the entire city.
“You don’t know if it’s your neighbor or a random stranger.” “There was this constant fear about whether it could happen again,” another woman said in the documentary.
“We literally had a monster in the community and we didn’t know who it was,” Scott added.
But in 2019, 28 years after Sarah’s mysterious death, police were able to solve the case through a match with new forensic genetic testing.
The DNA on her clothing leads her to Patrick Nicholas – a man with a long history of raping and assaulting women and who had recently been released from prison when Sarah was killed.
When she was murdered, Patrick had already been convicted of sexually assaulting two women and attempting to rape a third – but had been released from prison on parole.
According to CBS, investigators examined more than 4,000 tips but were unable to determine who was behind the murder. Sarah is seen as a baby
But in 2019, 28 years after Sarah’s mysterious death, police were finally able to link Patrick to the murder thanks to a match using new forensic genetic testing technology
“The system failed.” “It really failed,” Anne Croney, who was held at knifepoint by Patrick eight years before Sarah’s death, told CBS. “He should have been locked up.”
Patrick, who had already been charged with two counts of rape and one count of attempted rape as a result of previous incidents, was on probation when he killed Sarah
Anne had to fear for her life when she met Patrick in June 1983.
She told police at the time that she was sitting on the hood of her car when he approached her and began a conversation with her.
When she noticed he was acting suspiciously, she said she got up to get in her car and drive away – but he pulled out a knife, pressed it to her throat, forced her to take off her clothes and put her in her underwear in the throat Stop her from screaming for help.
He then took her to the river bank, but luckily she escaped by jumping into the water and swimming as fast as she could.
Patrick was convicted of Sarah’s murder in June and sentenced to 45 years in prison.