FL FL - Rachel Hurley, 14, Jupiter, 17 March 1990

Palm Beach County sheriff's officials still are trying to connect the dots between the murder of Rachel Hurley in 1990 and a suspect, identified as Douglas J. Gross, 32, who was a 17-year-old Jupiter resident at the time of the crime.

Sheriff's Sgt. William Springer said Thursday that an informant from a Sumter County prison wrote a letter stating that Gross confessed to the slaying. But Gross has denied responsibility for the teen's rape and murder.

"I wish I could tell you we'll have an arrest tomorrow or next week," Springer said. "But there still is a long way to go before we make an arrest. When you have a jailhouse informant, you dig into their past and see if they have credibility in other statements they've made."

The spotlight fell on Gross about two years ago, and recent DNA testing of a bloody T-shirt found near the crime scene tied Gross to the shirt, Springer said. But finding a shirt containing Gross' DNA does not mean he killed the 14-year-old Jupiter resident on March 17, 1990, Springer added.

http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/local_news/article/0,2545,TCP_16736_3701640,00.html

Latest DNA tests fail to illuminate Jupiter girl's 1990 murder
By Andrew Marra
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 21, 2006

"Detectives have hit another dead end in their 16-year investigation of the murder of Jupiter teen Rachel Hurley — DNA evidence recovered from a bracelet on her wrist does not match any of their top suspects."

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2006/02/21/m1a_hurley_0221.html

This was the only thread I could find. I knew this girl and it baffles me that they still don't know who killed her. I'll see what I can dig up, maybe the wonderful sleuths here can figure it out!

"On Saturday, March 17, 1990, at approximately 8:30PM, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office was advised of the following discovery. The body of a white female approximately 14-15 years of age had been located in a dense palmetto (palm) clump contained in the borders of a Palm Beach County Park."

http://www.pbso.org/oldpbso/Victims/Unsolved_Homicides/unsolved_homicides.htm

and some more info:
http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/osi/unsolved/ccHurley1.asp

From December: "WHO KILLED RACHEL?"

An extensive look at the investigation, possible suspects and the family & friends who still mourn Rachel's death.

http://palmbeachgardens.floridaweekly.com/news/2014-12-18/Top_News/WHO_KILLED_RACHEL.html

It was Saturday, St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1990, when Rachel left her friends at Jupiter Inlet to meet her mom at Carlin Park. She did not make it. The body of the feisty eighth grader, who said she was going to grow up to be a fighter pilot, was found in the beach scrub, raped and murdered.

Detectives have no eyewitness, no suspect and they have made no arrest. They have DNA and say they have eliminated 127 men whose DNA did not match.

If the killer was already in prison detectives say they would have his DNA. This has led them to suggest maybe he did this just once, maybe he meant to assault her but did not mean to kill her and has done nothing criminal since.

Click to expand...

Recent articles from March marking the 25th anniversary of her unsolved murder:

25 years later, parents, PBSO still search for Jupiter girl’s killer

Rachel Hurley murder: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office asks for public's help to solve cold case

Case involving Rachel Hurley murder in Jupiter remains a mystery 25 year later

Friends of Rachel Hurley still determined to find her killer 26 years after the murder

http://www.wptv.com/news/region-n-palm-beach-county/friends-of-rachel-hurley-still-determined-to-find-her-killer-26-years-after-the-murder

Never losing hope and determined to find a killer.

That's the message from the loved ones of Rachel Hurley.
The 14 year-old was raped and murdered more than 2 decades ago in Carlin Park in Jupiter.

Thursday, on the anniversary of her murder her friends speak out about the latest push to track down her killer.

"Every single day I think of it," said Erin Lodeesen, a friend who was with Rachel that fateful day.

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New plea to solve rape and murder of Rachel Hurley

Reward increased in Jupiter girl's slaying

Year after year on St. Patrick’s Day, friends and detectives make a desperate plea for help to crack a cold case involving the slaying of a Jupiter girl.

On the 26th anniversary of Rachel Hurley’s death, Detective William Springer announced that the reward for tips leading to an arrest is being increased to $15,000.

Click to expand...

http://m.wpbf.com/news/reward-increased-in-jupiter-girls-slaying/38567734

JusticeWillBeServed said:

From December: "WHO KILLED RACHEL?"

An extensive look at the investigation, possible suspects and the family & friends who still mourn Rachel's death.

http://palmbeachgardens.floridaweekly.com/news/2014-12-18/Top_News/WHO_KILLED_RACHEL.html



Recent articles from March marking the 25th anniversary of her unsolved murder:

25 years later, parents, PBSO still search for Jupiter girl’s killer

Rachel Hurley murder: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office asks for public's help to solve cold case

Case involving Rachel Hurley murder in Jupiter remains a mystery 25 year later

Click to expand...

That was a great article. And she certainly is a beautiful young lady. And always will be.

I have a question for any LEOs that may be here.

Being a Holiday. Any motels/hotels etc that were opened there in and around the area where she was found?

I am wondering perhaps, if a tourist was in town for the holiday and staying near by. Near to where she was found. Perhaps someone staying near by was out and about , in that area when they came upon her. Or she came upon them/him. Could have been someone under the influence of alcohol/drugs whatever. Probably alcohol since it was St pattys day.

Did you check the guest books at these places and retrieve the names of persons staying there? Perhaps they were from out of town.

And maybe thats why there has been no match for the DNA.......

Anyone here, whom can tell us about any hotels/motels etc that were opened back then around the area she was found?

ADD ON........She was found in the area where she was suppose to be, to meet her mother. Not taken anywhere. But raped and killed there. NOT saying she was in fact raped, though i think that is what i read.

Someone staying right there. She may had been strangled to keep her semi-conscious. To keep her from yelling out, but not putting her totally unconscious during the assault. To keep her squirming around.

I think she probably had a heart attack from being rendered semi-conscious and then totally unconscious. He may had held it to long, which caused her to have a heart attack of some kind. Thats what killed her. He may had left not knowing she was in cardiac arrest. And thought she was just unconscious.

A working link for the broken one in post #2 from 2006
http://www.dnalabsinternational.com/email_newsletter/vol_13_mar_06/vol13_ref17.html

A few quotes from it

Previous DNA tests appeared to link Gross to the crime scene. Detectives say his blood was on a partially burned shirt found in a trash heap about 200 feet from Hurley's body. Near the shirt were a few articles of Hurley's clothing.

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Last year, The Palm Beach Post reported that Gross had emerged as the first new suspect in more than a decade.

DNA tests on old evidence more than two years ago linked him to the discarded shirt found in the trash heap. Detectives say it appeared someone had tried unsuccessfully to burn the shirt.

Click to expand...

An investigator interviewed Gross, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for a string of violent crimes. He denied any role in her killing.

But not long afterward, detectives received a letter from one of Gross' fellow inmates. The inmate claimed Gross had confessed to him and had identified one of his childhood friends, Washburn, as an accomplice.

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Here's what Douglas has been up to lately,
http://www.jailbase.com/en/arrested/fl-pbso/2015-12-15/douglas-j-gross-201512150140139

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/c...go-killer-still-large/lrOIR7WaVLgHBefumZK64H/

"Springer said PBSO has “good physical evidence” on Hurley’s killer. What’s needed is a name that matches that evidence."

"On St. Patrick’s Day in 1990, Hurley was with friends at Jupiter Beach Park, just south of the Jupiter Inlet, when she ran down the beach toward Carlin Park to meet her mother. The teen cut through a wooded area and then disappeared, according to reports.

Her beaten body was found under heavy brush later that day. Authorities say she was suffocated.

The public’s help will likely be needed to find the killer because whoever did it “is not going to turn himself in. You can bet on that,” Springer said."

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office has produced a mini-documentary on the events that took place that day. We need your help to solve this case and bring closure to her family, friends and all those who knew her.

Rachel Hurley: Murdered 29 years ago - Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

The 14-year-old girl from Jupiter who was killed while on her way to meet her mother after spending a day out with friends. This took place, exactly 30 years ago on St. Patrick's Day, March 17th, 1990. She was loved by many, but mostly by her family, who are still searching for answers.

32 years after death, investigation of Florida teen's death remains cold

It was St. Patrick's day in 1990, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, Hurley had been out boating with friends and was dropped off at the Jupiter Inlet. Hurley then walked down the beach and cut through the woods to back it back to shore where she was supposed to meet her mother around 3 p.m.


Officials have tested the DNA of more than 100 people.

"We developed some suspects back then, some thought maybe it was a homeless man because there was a homeless camp back there," said Springer.

Officials say the cause of Rachel's death was asphyxiation.

Oct 20 2022 rbbm.
''WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —
A new $500,000 federal grant to Palm Beach County law enforcement may help solve cold case murders going back as far as 1964.

The money will pay for expensive, advanced DNA testing and genetic genealogy at private labs that use technology not normally available to public DNA labs.''

''Others, like the 1990 case of 14-year-old Rachel Hurley, found raped and murdered in Jupiter’s Carlin Park, do have DNA, but no suspect has been matched -- frustrating detectives and prosecutors.

"With new technology we have the ability to increase the DNA profile, to allow law enforcement to test DNA that could not be tested before," said State Attorney Dave Aronberg.''