Jeffery Joseph Daugherty
Overview
Jeffery Joseph Daugherty, whose first name also appears as Jeffrey in court records, was an American serial killer responsible for a violent robbery and murder spree in Florida and Pennsylvania during February and March 1976. Born on September 26, 1955, in Detroit, Michigan, Daugherty was only 20 years old when the killings occurred. Within less than three weeks, he murdered five confirmed victims, seriously assaulted several other people, and committed numerous robberies while traveling with his girlfriend, Bonnie Jean Heath. The confirmed murders began in Florida on February 23, 1976, and ended in Pennsylvania on March 11, 1976.
Robbery was a recurring element in Daugherty's crimes. Store clerks, business owners and other people encountered during his travels were targeted for relatively small amounts of money and property. Several victims were killed even after Daugherty had obtained what he wanted. His offenses crossed state lines and involved both firearms and a knife. Daugherty was finally arrested in Virginia on March 12, 1976, one day after his final confirmed murder.
The Murder of Carmen Abrams
Daugherty's first confirmed murder occurred on February 23, 1976, at an Easy Way food store in Flagler County, Florida. Carmen Abrams, a store employee reported to have been 68 years old, was working when Daugherty committed a robbery. During the crime, Daugherty shot Abrams and also shot and seriously wounded her husband. Carmen Abrams died from the attack, while her husband survived.
The Abrams murder became the beginning of a rapid series of killings associated with Daugherty. Years later, on July 31, 1980, he pleaded guilty in Flagler County to the first-degree murder of Carmen Abrams and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Her confirmed date of death was February 23, 1976.
The Abduction and Murder of Lavonne Patricia Sailer
On March 1, 1976, Daugherty and Bonnie Heath encountered Lavonne Patricia Sailer while she was hitchhiking in the Melbourne, Florida, area. Sailer accepted a ride with them. Instead of simply transporting her to another location, Daugherty took her to an isolated area near the Brevard County dump. Once there, he ordered Sailer from the vehicle and robbed her.
Daugherty then used a .22-caliber pistol to shoot Sailer five times at close range. Court evidence established that the bullets struck the right side of her head, causing fatal injuries. Her body was left in the isolated area. The Sailer murder became the most legally significant of Daugherty's crimes because it was the case for which Florida eventually sentenced him to death.
Daugherty later pleaded guilty to charges connected with Sailer's murder, robbery and kidnapping. Although he had already accumulated other murder convictions and sentences, Florida prosecutors sought the death penalty in this case. A jury recommended death, and on April 27, 1981, Daugherty was formally sentenced to die for the March 1, 1976 murder of Lavonne Patricia Sailer.
The Murder of Betty Campbell
Daugherty committed another murder only hours after killing Sailer. At approximately 9:30 p.m. on March 1, 1976, he entered Betty's Pizza Parlor in Volusia County, Florida. The business was operated by Betty Campbell, who was approximately 50 years old. Daugherty later acknowledged that he entered the restaurant intending to rob it because he wanted additional money.
Campbell surrendered money from the cash register. According to Daugherty's later testimony, Campbell then reached into her purse and he saw a small handgun. Daugherty struck Campbell, took possession of the weapon, and stabbed her. His account also implicated Bonnie Heath in the stabbing, although his statements about Heath's role in various crimes were not always consistent. Campbell died at the restaurant. The .25-caliber firearm taken during the robbery was subsequently associated with later violence during the crime spree.
Daugherty pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of Betty Campbell on July 14, 1980, and received a life sentence. Campbell's confirmed date of death was March 1, 1976, making her the second person Daugherty killed that day.
Violence in Pennsylvania
After the Florida murders, Daugherty's group traveled north. By March 4, 1976, they were in the Altoona area of Blair County, Pennsylvania. Daugherty committed additional robberies and serious assaults there. Among the surviving victims mentioned during later court proceedings were an elderly store clerk, Ruth Montgomery, who was severely beaten, and Mary Mock, who was attacked during a robbery at Carrie's Cafe and required an extended hospitalization. These women survived and are not included among Daugherty's murder victims.
Daugherty and Heath subsequently traveled back toward Michigan before returning to Pennsylvania. By March 9, they again needed money, and Daugherty resumed his robberies. The violence culminated in two more murders within three days.
The Murder of Elizabeth Shank
On March 9, 1976, Daugherty robbed Jack's Quick Mart in the Altoona and Hollidaysburg area of Blair County, Pennsylvania. The cashier was 28-year-old Elizabeth Shank, whose surname has also appeared as Shanks in later accounts. Daugherty took approximately $200 from the business as well as Shank's handbag.
Despite having obtained the money, Daugherty killed Shank. Court records describe her as having been shot six times in the head with the .25-caliber handgun connected to the earlier Betty Campbell robbery. Daugherty later admitted shooting Shank after taking the cash and her handbag. He was eventually convicted of her murder in Pennsylvania and received a life sentence.
The Murder of George Karnes
Daugherty's final confirmed murder occurred on March 11, 1976. Eighteen-year-old George Karnes, whose surname has also been reported as Karns, was working alone as an attendant at the Shaw Oil Company gasoline station in Allegheny Township near Duncansville, Pennsylvania. Daugherty entered the station during an armed robbery and took the business's cash receipts.
Karnes was shot five times in the head and died at the scene. There were no eyewitnesses inside the station, but the investigation quickly produced evidence connecting Daugherty to the crime. When Daugherty and Heath were arrested the following day, authorities recovered a handgun associated with the Karnes murder along with other property connected to crimes committed in Blair County.
Daugherty was convicted of first-degree murder in the Karnes case on January 31, 1977, and the jury initially imposed a death sentence. That punishment was subsequently replaced by a life sentence, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court later reversed the conviction and ordered further proceedings because of extensive prejudicial pretrial publicity. The reversal was based on the fairness of the trial rather than evidence that Daugherty had not committed the killing. Daugherty himself admitted killing Karnes during later court proceedings.
Confirmed Victims
- Carmen Abrams, approximately 68 — Killed February 23, 1976, during the robbery of an Easy Way food store in Flagler County, Florida. Daugherty shot Abrams and seriously wounded her husband.
- Lavonne Patricia Sailer, approximately 49 — Killed March 1, 1976, near Melbourne in Brevard County, Florida. Sailer was picked up while hitchhiking, taken to an isolated area near the county dump, robbed and shot five times at close range with a .22-caliber pistol.
- Betty Campbell, approximately 50 — Killed March 1, 1976, at Betty's Pizza Parlor in Volusia County, Florida. Campbell was robbed and fatally stabbed. Daugherty later pleaded guilty to her first-degree murder.
- Elizabeth Shank, 28 — Killed March 9, 1976, at Jack's Quick Mart in the Altoona/Hollidaysburg area of Blair County, Pennsylvania. Daugherty robbed the store and shot Shank six times in the head.
- George Karnes, 18 — Killed March 11, 1976, at the Shaw Oil Company gasoline station near Duncansville, Pennsylvania. Karnes was working as an attendant when Daugherty robbed the station and shot him five times.
Arrest in Virginia
On March 12, 1976, the day after Karnes was murdered, Daugherty and Heath traveled into Virginia. Daugherty committed another armed robbery at a small grocery business in Buckingham County. During that incident, the proprietor survived. Virginia State Police apprehended Daugherty and Heath shortly afterward.
The arrest effectively ended the multi-state crime spree. Their automobile and possessions provided investigators with evidence linking them to crimes in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. The handgun associated with the Karnes murder was among the evidence recovered. Investigators from different states then began assembling the numerous robberies, assaults and murders into a single chronology.
Claims of Additional Victims
Five murders can be reliably identified as Daugherty's confirmed victims. During the later legal proceedings, however, evidence was introduced showing that Daugherty had written a jailhouse letter in which he claimed to have killed seven people and robbed approximately twenty businesses across the United States. That statement has contributed to occasional descriptions of Daugherty as having more than five possible victims.
The additional alleged killings were never established with the same level of documentation as the murders of Abrams, Sailer, Campbell, Shank and Karnes. Consequently, unidentified or speculative victims should not be presented as confirmed murders. The five named victims remain the clearly documented core of Daugherty's serial murder case.
Trials and Sentences
Daugherty accumulated convictions and sentences in several states. Pennsylvania prosecuted him for the murders and other violent offenses committed in Blair County, while Florida prosecuted the three killings committed there. He received life sentences for the murders of Carmen Abrams and Betty Campbell. The Karnes prosecution initially resulted in a death sentence before later appellate proceedings altered the case.
The prosecution of Daugherty for Lavonne Sailer's murder ultimately determined his fate. He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder as well as robbery and kidnapping charges. Florida's sentencing process resulted in a unanimous jury recommendation for death, and the trial judge imposed the death penalty on April 27, 1981. Daugherty spent the following years pursuing appeals in state and federal courts.
Execution
After years of appeals and an earlier postponed execution date, Daugherty's legal challenges came to an end in 1988. On November 7, 1988, the 33-year-old Daugherty was executed in Florida's electric chair at Florida State Prison. The execution was specifically carried out for the murder of Lavonne Patricia Sailer.
Daugherty's documented crimes stand out for their compressed time frame. Five people were murdered between February 23 and March 11, 1976, a period of little more than two weeks. The victims were not linked by personal relationships with Daugherty; instead, most became targets during robberies or because they crossed his path while he was traveling. The resulting investigations stretched across several jurisdictions and eventually exposed a trail of robberies, severe assaults and five confirmed murders across Florida and Pennsylvania.
