18-Year-Old Was Murdered in Florida on Spring Break in 1980. A Serial Killer Has Confessed to Killing Her

Mar. 15, 2025

Carol Ann Barrett.Photo:Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office/FacebookA convicted serial killer admitted to murdering a young woman in Florida in 1980, whose murder had become a cold case.Carol Ann Barrett, 18, from Zanesville, Ohio, was visiting Daytona Beach while on Spring Break when she was abducted from a motel on March 23, 1980, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Barrett’s friends, who were in the room during the abduction, spoke to police and a sketch of the suspect was developed.The next day, Barrett’s body was found in a ditch along I-95 in Jacksonville, the sheriff’s office says. The case went cold, however, and stayed that way for decades.The case was reopened in 2017, and in 2020, Billy Mansfield Jr., a convicted serial killer, was identified as a suspect, police say. Mansfield, now 65, would have been 24 at the time of the murder.Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.Through multiple interviews spanning two years, police say that in 2022, Mansfield admitted to being the suspect in the police sketch done after the abduction and eventually confessed to the crime itself.Despite the confession, authorities decided against pursuing prosecution against Mansfield, who is already serving a life sentence in California for murder, as well as four concurrent life sentences in Florida. Police say Mansfield is continuing to cooperate with investigators on other cold cases.Mansfield was convicted of murdering five women in California and Florida. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1982, reportsFirst Coast News.During the initial Mansfield investigation in Florida, investigators found four sets of human remains in the killer’s home in Hernando County,PEOPLE previously reported. Two of the four were identified immediately, while the other two remained a mystery. In 2022, however, one of the sets was officially identified as Theresa Caroline Fillingim.

Carol Ann Barrett.Photo:Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

A convicted serial killer admitted to murdering a young woman in Florida in 1980, whose murder had become a cold case.Carol Ann Barrett, 18, from Zanesville, Ohio, was visiting Daytona Beach while on Spring Break when she was abducted from a motel on March 23, 1980, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Barrett’s friends, who were in the room during the abduction, spoke to police and a sketch of the suspect was developed.The next day, Barrett’s body was found in a ditch along I-95 in Jacksonville, the sheriff’s office says. The case went cold, however, and stayed that way for decades.The case was reopened in 2017, and in 2020, Billy Mansfield Jr., a convicted serial killer, was identified as a suspect, police say. Mansfield, now 65, would have been 24 at the time of the murder.Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.Through multiple interviews spanning two years, police say that in 2022, Mansfield admitted to being the suspect in the police sketch done after the abduction and eventually confessed to the crime itself.Despite the confession, authorities decided against pursuing prosecution against Mansfield, who is already serving a life sentence in California for murder, as well as four concurrent life sentences in Florida. Police say Mansfield is continuing to cooperate with investigators on other cold cases.Mansfield was convicted of murdering five women in California and Florida. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1982, reportsFirst Coast News.During the initial Mansfield investigation in Florida, investigators found four sets of human remains in the killer’s home in Hernando County,PEOPLE previously reported. Two of the four were identified immediately, while the other two remained a mystery. In 2022, however, one of the sets was officially identified as Theresa Caroline Fillingim.

A convicted serial killer admitted to murdering a young woman in Florida in 1980, whose murder had become a cold case.

Carol Ann Barrett, 18, from Zanesville, Ohio, was visiting Daytona Beach while on Spring Break when she was abducted from a motel on March 23, 1980, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Barrett’s friends, who were in the room during the abduction, spoke to police and a sketch of the suspect was developed.

The next day, Barrett’s body was found in a ditch along I-95 in Jacksonville, the sheriff’s office says. The case went cold, however, and stayed that way for decades.

The case was reopened in 2017, and in 2020, Billy Mansfield Jr., a convicted serial killer, was identified as a suspect, police say. Mansfield, now 65, would have been 24 at the time of the murder.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Through multiple interviews spanning two years, police say that in 2022, Mansfield admitted to being the suspect in the police sketch done after the abduction and eventually confessed to the crime itself.

Despite the confession, authorities decided against pursuing prosecution against Mansfield, who is already serving a life sentence in California for murder, as well as four concurrent life sentences in Florida. Police say Mansfield is continuing to cooperate with investigators on other cold cases.

Mansfield was convicted of murdering five women in California and Florida. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1982, reportsFirst Coast News.

During the initial Mansfield investigation in Florida, investigators found four sets of human remains in the killer’s home in Hernando County,PEOPLE previously reported. Two of the four were identified immediately, while the other two remained a mystery. In 2022, however, one of the sets was officially identified as Theresa Caroline Fillingim.

source: people.com