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Florida man charged with 21-year-old woman's killing nearly 40 years later

Carla Lowe, a woman who was killed in 1983 finally has justice.
Credit: Delray Beach Police Department

TAMPA, Fla. — A Delray Beach family says they finally have closure after 38 years in the death of their loved one.

Carla Lowe was just 21 years old when she was found dead on Nov. 13, 1983, in Delray Beach. Her beaten body was found in Palm Beach County, where her murder took place. 

Detectives said at the time they searched the area for hours but never found anyone who had seen or heard anything suspicious, the South Florida SunSentinel reported.

At the time there wasn't enough evidence to find her killer, but now because of UK advanced technology, a fingerprint recovered at the site was able to link the killer to Lowe's murder, the SunSential said.

Ralph Williams, 59, was arrested the day of Lowe's murder on grand theft auto and burglary charges, and was a person of interest in the case but could not be connected by evidence to her death, according to police. 

Last week, Williams was finally arrested in Jacksonville for Lowe's death.

Credit: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

The killer's record has also been stained with other incidents.

Williams' criminal record shows more than 20 arrests across Florida, on charges like burglary; resisting an officer with violence, and robbery with a gun or deadly weapon among others. 

 Lt. Mark Woods and Detective Todd Clancy of the Delray Beach Police department are credited for helping solve the case with "recovery machine" technology. 

You can watch the full news conference here:

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