What to do if someone you know goes missing
Tips to follow if someone you know goes missing.
A Delaware man has been charged with murder in a decades-old cold case outside of Tampa, Florida.
Delaware State Police arrested 72-year-old Stephen Ford on Aug. 16 during a traffic stop near his home in Georgetown.
Ford has been charged with second-degree murder with a weapon in the death of 45-year-old Doris A. Korell in December 1996 in Palmetto, Florida, according to Manatee County police. Korell, who was Ford’s girlfriend at the time, was found in a ditch off of U.S. Route 41 and was stabbed 83 times, Manatee County police said.
Ford was extradited and booked into Manatee County Jail on Aug. 30.
Ford and Korell had lived together in St. Petersburg, and Korell had a daughter in Maryland who had reported her missing in December 1996. Later that month, Ford attempted suicide by ingesting bleach, and he continually denied any involvement, Manatee County police said.
“An eye for an eye,” Ford said to Manatee County police in 1997 when detectives asked him what should happen to the person who killed Korell. “If I killed her, I should get the death penalty.”
Soon after, a letter from him to an ex-girlfriend said, “He has no time for you know who, and hopes she’ll leave soon. … I hope she gets the message that I don’t want her here anymore.”
Other than that letter, physical evidence and leads from both St. Petersburg and Manatee County police became sporadic and the case became cold in 1997.
In 2017, the case was reopened by cold case detectives, and six years of investigations found enough evidence to produce probable cause to arrest Ford on charges in Korell’s homicide. During the investigation, people who knew Korell said she feared Ford, and they had financial troubles and common arguments, according to Manatee County police.
Those details and other evidence led Manatee County police to believe Ford was acting on the consciousness of guilt, they said.
More on the investigation: ‘If I killed her, I should get the death penalty’: Man arrested in 1997 Manatee cold case
Shane Brennan covers New Castle County with a focus on Newark and surrounding communities. Reach out with ideas, tips or feedback at slbrennan@delawareonline.com. Follow @shanebrennan36 on X, formerly Twitter, for the latest news and updates.
Delaware Valley picked up five bonus point wins to take a 40-29 home dual win over High Point in Frenchtown.
Luke Cyphert started the dual at 215 with a pin over High Point’s Kaleb DeFalco. Julian Bednar (120), and Tristian Fawthrop (132) also won via pin.
Oliver Paul gave the Terriers (3-0) five points off a 21-6 tech over John McCarthy at 175, Michael Hasson took a 23-7 tech over Tyler Brarman at 144 and state qualifier Sebastian Dobak earned a 7-1 decision over Gerard Empirio at 150. Vincent Rainey outlasted Thomas Jaust at 113 for a 7-4 sudden victory win.
Trey Falkenstein picked up a forfeit at 138 to make it a four match sweep for Del Val between 132 and 150.
Luke Tompkins recorded a pin for the Wildcats (1-1) at 157 while Jack Kitchart picked up a pin at 190. Region 1 third place finisher Gavin Mericle took a 2-1 decision win over Luken Alberdi at 285, Logan Takach recorded a 7-3 decision over Tanner Donaruma at 126 and Jayden Ruplall earned five points at 165 with a 17-1 tech over Rylan Bush.
Primo Maschio won the $110,000 DSBF series championship for sophomore male pacers Thursday at Bally’s Dover
Photos by Quenton Egan Photography
DOVER — Following decisive wins in both preliminary legs, Primo Maschio dug deep to head off Lew Not Lou for a 1:52.3 triumph in the $110,000 Delaware Standardbred Breeders’ Fund (DSBF) series championship for 3-year-old male pacers on Thursday, Dec. 18, at Bally’s Dover.
Primo Maschio and driver Trae Porter landed second-over on the first turn behind Shore Not Beach (driven by Pat Berry), who worked to clear early leader Lew Not Lou (Jason Thompson) for the lead at the end of a :27 first quarter. Left uncovered off the first turn, Primo Maschio drove on to assume control of the terms with a circuit to go, and the Badlands Hanover-Primadonna gelding rolled to the half in :55.
Up the backstretch and through the far turn, Primo Maschio faced sustained pressure from Lew Not Lou, who re-emerged from third to force a :28.2 third quarter and pose an even bigger threat off the home turn.
“I was a little worried,” said Porter of Lew Not Lou taking aim at Primo Maschio off the corner. “He got to my saddle pad, but as soon as we got to the top of the stretch, my colt dug in deeper. He’s such a nice horse.”
Primo Maschio kept Lew Not Lou a neck at bay while Shore Not Beach stayed on from the pocket to finish third, just a length shy of the top pair.
Walter Callahan trains Primo Maschio, now a 19-time winner with $414,618 in earnings from 27 career starts, for Forrest Bartlett. As the overwhelming 1-10 favorite, Primo Maschio paid $2.20 to win.
Tommy Denvir scored a game-high 30 points for Delaware Valley in its 61-51 win over Bernards in Alexandria.
Delaware Valley (2-0) led 40-27 at halftime against Bernards.
Lochlyn Marsh scored 12 points for Delaware Valley. Peter Dubljevic had eight points.
Ryan Frame and Richie Jobs each scored 16 points for Bernards (0-3). Ricky Giebel tallied 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and five steals. Casey Hoeckele recorded 12 rebounds with four points and three blocks.
Addy Brown motivated to step up in Audi Crooks’ absence vs. UNI
How much snow did Iowa get? See Iowa’s latest snowfall totals
Elementary-aged student killed in school bus crash in southern Maine
Frigid temperatures to start the week in Maryland
The Game Awards are losing their luster
Nature: Snow in South Dakota
Family clarifies why they believe missing New Mexico man is dead
Nebraska lands commitment from DL Jayden Travers adding to early Top 5 recruiting class
