Two best friends were murdered at 14. Nearly 50 years on, DNA finally caught their killer

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Nearly 50 years after two best friends were murdered, detectives have identified their killer - and are eyeing him as a potential serial killer in a slew of slayings that happened at the time.

In June 1975, Barbara Schreiber and Darlene Zetterower, both 14, were spending a carefree summer together before their first year of high school.

The “inseparable” pair were hanging out on a bench on a busy street in their Hollywood, Florida neighbourhood when a white van pulled up and the girls, who were known to frequently hitchhike, hopped inside. They were never seen alive again.

The next day, a fisherman and his family found the girls’ bodies on the outskirts of the Everglades in an area known as “Andytown.” They had been assaulted and shot to death.

Over the years, the Broward Sheriff’s Office dedicated resources and time to finding their killer.

But Broward Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Homicide Detective Andrew Gianino said that it was a “very hard case to solve from the onset.”

“For two 14-year-old girls to be murdered in such a way, it’s just sad,” Mr Gianino said in a recently released BSO video. “There’s just no other way to explain it. Senseless, actually.”

Detective Gianino was set to retire last year but said it couldn’t leave knowing the case was still unsolved. They tested Darlene’s clothing and developed a full DNA profile of the suspect.

Then finally, they got an answer.

His name was Robert Clark Keebler, and he was a convicted sex criminal who died in 2019.

Detective Gianino, who announced the news last week, explained in the video that it was a combination of DNA testing and “fruitful detective work” that led to a suspect.

“That profile through our DNA analyst and Crime Lab was able to identify a Robert Clark Keebler,” Detective Gianino said. “(Keebler’s) history included armed robbery, sexual assault, aggravated assault from California to South Florida.”

Keebler wasn’t a suspect in the case until the DNA hit. But he had a criminal history in South Florida and California that included sexual assault, aggravated assault and armed robbery charges.

“It was a very hard case to solve from the onset,” Detective Gianino added. “I think what made this case live on and resonate with investigators is the innocence of these kids.”

But the work isn’t done yet.

Detectives are working to figure out the connection between Keebler and the girls.

“We are trying to figure out how, if, their two universes would have crossed paths back in 1975. It’s difficult to reconstruct the past that’s 48 years old,” he said.

Detective Gianino said they are also looking at any possible connection between Keebler and the unsolved killings of several other women in the Broward and Miami-Dade area, from 1975 to 1976, known as the Flat Tire murders.

“We’re looking back at all of the other murders that took place out here to see if there’s DNA evidence to tie [Keebler] into those cases.”

Detective Gianino said he believes someone else may have been involved in the murders and is asking the public to come forward with any information they may have about the possible second suspect, additional victims from that time, and Keebler.

“If anybody remembers Darlene and Barbara, anything about them, anything about what occurred in June of 1975, associations, friendships, I ask them to give us a call. It may mean nothing to them but everything to us.”

Gail Cavaco was a friend of the girls. She told detectives if it weren’t for her father, she might have ended up dead, too.

Ms Cavaco said she recalls seeing Barbara and Darlene on the bench that day, and the white van they got into, and said they asked her to come with them to someone’s house. But her father said no.

“I was scared for them because I didn’t know what was going on,” Ms Cavaco said. “And thank God that I didn’t follow up to go with them.”

“It was hard,” she added, speaking about how it affected everyone who knew them. “It was really hard on all of us because our lives changed,” she said. “It’s been many years, and I would love to see the closure.”

Anyone with information on the murders of Barbara Schreiber and Darlene Zetterower is urged to contact Det. Andrew Gianino at 954-321-4376. If you wish to remain anonymous, please contact Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477), or browardcrimestoppers.org.