FL FL - Amanda 'Mandy' Dougherty, 5, Boca Raton, 22 Sept 1994

Amanda Mandy Doughtery

Sadly, there wasn't a lot of info that I can find, and only this one picture.

On September 22, 1994, at approximately 6:30 a.m., Amanda was reported missing at her residence in North Lauderdale by her father and mother. The victim was in bed at approximately 10:00 p.m. The mother claimed to have checked on the victim before she went to bed, between 11:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. At approximately 6:00 a.m., the victim's father and brother found the front door of the house open and the victim missing. On September 24, 1994, Amanda was discovered 28 miles north of North Lauderdale in Palm Beach County. The body had trauma and a wire wrapped around her neck. The victim was found nude, but was not thought to be sexually assaulted nor showed any indication or combative wounds.

http://www.truecrimereport.com/coldcase/victim/unsolved-murder-of-amanda-mandy-doughtery-28496671/

For years, investigators believed that David Dougherty murdered Mandy. With his previous record and the fact that he was the last to person known to have seen her alive, he was naturally a suspect. According to police, David failed two lie detector tests and a voice stress test. As Sherlock Holmes would say, there’s also the fact that the two watch-dogs in the house never barked on the night Mandy went missing.

David had served time for manslaughter and had been placed on probation for attacking his 72-year-old cancer-stricken grandmother. Then, several years after Mandy was murdered, he was arrested for choking his wife during a domestic assault in which he held police at bay with a starter pistol. Cops logically concluded that David Dougherty may have flown into a rage and killed his daughter, then covered it up by dumping her body in a remote area.

However, since there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime, David was never charged. Then, on November 30, 2000, that changed.
For more info - http://kidnappingmurderandmayhem.blogspot.com/2008/09/did-big-boy-bandit-murder-mandy.html

Suspect Confesses To Abduction, Rape Of Girl, 10

November 29, 2000
By ANDREAS TZORTZIS and PAULA McMAHON Staff Writers and Staff Writer Sean Cavanagh contributed to this report.

Covell resembles the description witnesses gave police of the man who kidnapped and sexually assaulted a 3-year-old girl in early August. The girl was later found alive in a dumpsite near West Prospect Road. The man in that case also had a scar on his face and drove a red vehicle, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office.

"We are definitely looking into that case, as we are other cases," Englehardt said.

Detectives in Palm Beach County want to question Covell about the 1994 murder of 5-year-old Amanda Dougherty, his friend's daughter, who was abducted from her North Lauderdale home.

"He was never eliminated as a suspect," said Paul Miller, a spokesman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. "No one was ever eliminated."

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office have questioned Covell "extensively" about Amanda's death since her body was found near Boca Raton in September 1994, said FDLE spokeswoman Page Patterson. He was reinterviewed recently after an intensive effort was launched to examine the case again, Miller said. No charges have been filed against Covell in connection with Amanda's death.

Click to expand...

Much more at the link

I was able to locate several articles in google newspaper archives.

Body of Girl Found
Sept 25,1994

Dozens of volunteers and police officers had searched for 5-year-old Amanda Dougherty
Sept 26, 1994

Body found nearby said to be Amanda
Sept 26, 1994

We stand by as our children die
Oct 6, 1994

Disappearance of second child raises parents' fears
Oct 25, 1994
(The other child was 7-year-old Christina Holt)

Parents not strangers most likely to kill
Nov 4, 1994

Do something, react -- don't "what if"
Oct 6, 1994
(Interesting article by Hal Habib)

Parents stonewall in death of child
Septemer 1995

Detective haunted by death of little girl
March 20, 1996

Kidnapping suspect wants tape thrown out
June 7, 2001

A jogger saw a little girl sitting on a parch bench, crying, around Midnight. A couple of hours later, neighbors noticed he Doughtertys' front door open, and their pit bulls roaming around outside. Why wouldn't the jogger call police, or try to help the little girl? Then another jogger found Amanda's body a few days later.

Since Christina Holt was mentioned, I'll post a couple of links about her murder. Her mother and stepfather were charged.

Mother won't be released on bond
December 1994

Christina Holt's Hometown ready for closure
Dec 3, 1994

Witness says she heard the girl sob
Oc 31, 1996

Christina Holt suffocated
Nov 1996

Rest in Peace dear Amanda. You will never be forgotten.

In the news articles it is mentioned that Stephen Covell was a friend of Amanda's father. Since there were two guard dogs there could not have been an intruder who was not known in the house.

I hope and pray that there is a confession in this case. I applaud the law enforcement officers who have worked so hard on this case. I am sure that many of them, retired now, still wish for this case to be solved.

Dear little Mandy - your light shines on.

Posted 5/27/2013

The Forgotten Cases

UNSOLVED CHILD HOMICIDE PLEASE SHARE!!!

Amanda Mandy Doughtery
September 22, 1994

Victim: Amanda Mandy Doughtery
White Female, 5

On September 22, 1994, at approximately 6:30 a.m., Amanda was reported missing at her residence in North Lauderdale by her father and mother.

The victim was in bed at approximately 10:00 p.m. The mother claimed to have checked on the victim before she went to bed, between 11:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. At approximately 6:00 a.m., the victim's father and brother found the front door of the house open and the victim missing.

On September 24, 1994, Amanda was discovered 28 miles north of North Lauderdale in Palm Beach County. The body had trauma and a wire wrapped around her neck. The victim was not sexually assaulted nor showed any indication or combative wounds.

Contact Special Agent Floy Turner Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Broward Office 1475 NW 62 Street, suite 203, Fort Lauderdale, Fl 33309 telephone 954-958-5426 or 1-800-226-3024

So many red flags with this former roommate.....the dogs knew him, that is huge.

SUSPECT CONFESSES TO ABDUCTION, RAPE OF GIRL, 10
11/29/2000
Detectives in Palm Beach County want to question Covell about the 1994 murder of 5-year-old Amanda Dougherty, his friend's daughter, who was abducted from her North Lauderdale home.

"He was never eliminated as a suspect," said Paul Miller, a spokesman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. "No one was ever eliminated."

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office have questioned Covell "extensively" about Amanda's death since her body was found near Boca Raton in September 1994, said FDLE spokeswoman Page Patterson. He was reinterviewed recently after an intensive effort was launched to examine the case again, Miller said. No charges have been filed against Covell in connection with Amanda's death.

Law enforcement officials have always maintained that Amanda's father, David Dougherty, was the main suspect in the little girl's death. He has a history of violence and failed lie detector and voice-stress tests when questioned about Amanda's disappearance. No charges were filed against him in connection with the murder.

But Amanda's parents, David and Laurie Dougherty, have always said that Covell was their main suspect. The couple denies that David Dougherty had anything to do with the death of the girl they called Mandy.

"[Steve] is who I felt in my heart was the one who did it," said Laurie Dougherty on Tuesday. "Me and my husband have been through the wringer with this, I hope it comes out now."

Covell lived with the Dougherty family until about two years before Amanda's abduction. He was a school friend of David Dougherty.

The couple asked him to move out because they suspected he was doing drugs and stealing from them, said Laurie Dougherty. She said Covell "hated" Amanda and threatened them both.

Investigators said there were no more than six suspects in the case. They think that a family member or friend abducted the child because she was taken from a house guarded by two fierce dogs. Laurie Dougherty said that Covell used to sleep with the dogs when he lived in her home and that they were very familiar with him.

And Laurie Dougherty said that Covell's neighbors reported seeing him removing the carpet from his van and washing out the vehicle shortly after the girl's death.

Cundari said Covell was about the only family friend who did not volunteer to look for the child when she was reported missing.

Posted 9/9/2008

Kidnapping, Murder, and Mayhem: Did the Big Boy Bandit Murder Mandy Dougherty?

Police have never stated whether they collected foreign DNA from Mandy or her clothing. But they never charged Covell or David Dougherty with the crime. Covell was given three life sentences for kidnapping and sexual assault of a child under twelve.

Since her killer has yet to be brought to justice, Mandy Dougherty was recently featured as the three of hearts on the third issue of Florida’s Cold Case playing cards.