On September 25, 1963, 75-year-old female Mary Pawliw, an Austria-born resident of St. Petersburg, Florida, was found dead in her home following a brutal attack. The elderly woman had been sexually assaulted, beaten, and strangled with such force that a bone in her neck was broken. Her slightly decomposed body was discovered the next day by police after neighbors reported concern over her absence.
The crime scene revealed signs of forced entry through an open window, and investigators quickly suspected foul play.
Mary Pawliw’s murder was not an isolated incident. Her death was part of a disturbing pattern of attacks targeting elderly women in the same neighborhood. In the weeks leading up to her death, two other women—aged 52 and 72—had been assaulted in similar fashion. Both survived but were left traumatized. The attacks shared a chilling modus operandi: the assailant entered through windows, assaulted the victims, and left behind fingerprints.
The investigation intensified after the murder of another elderly woman, 67-year-old female Oleeta Lavina Beard McWaters, whose body was found on October 21, 1963. Like Mary Pawliw, she had been strangled, and authorities began to suspect a serial offender. The press dubbed the unknown assailant the “Window-Screen Rapist,” referencing the method of entry used in each attack.
On January 3, 1964, police arrested 15-year-old male Steven Washington Jr., an African American teenager from St. Petersburg. Despite his young age, Washington was charged with multiple counts of rape and murder. He confessed to the crimes, including the murder of 75-year-old female Mary Pawliw, and was later convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. His fingerprints had been found at several crime scenes, and his confessions matched the details of the attacks. Washington’s crimes spanned from August to December 1963 and claimed the lives of three elderly women, all of whom were female and over the age of 65.
Washington remained incarcerated until his death in 2004 at the age of 55. His case remains one of the most chilling examples of juvenile serial homicide in Florida history.
