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Karen Slattery's brutal murder in March 1984 shook the entire community of Delray Beach, Florida. The teen was baby-sitting for William and Carolyn Helm when an intruder entered the home and stabbed her to death.
Slattery was stabbed nearly 18 times all over her body before her unconscious body was s*xually assaulted, and she was left to die. Police found her body in the Helm's bedroom after the couple came home to see a pool of blood in the house and called police. Although Karen was killed, the kids she was baby-sitting were unharmed.
The investigators tried their best to find the teen's murderer but the case eventually went unsolved for a few months when an unexpected confession led them to the perpetrator. Police discovered that Duane Owen was the man behind the killing after he was arrested for an unrelated crime a few months later.
The case will be detailed in Investigation Discovery's true crime series Your Worst Nightmare in an episode titled, He's Out There. The episode is set to be released on January 19, 2023, at 7 pm, and its synopsis reads:
"Florida teenager Karen Slattery gets brutally murdered while babysitting a neighbors' children; the violent intruder vanishes without a trace, and the case goes cold."
Karen Slattery's murderer killed another woman a few months after he murdered Karen
1) Karen was stabbed in the back and neck multiple times
Karen Slattery was babysitting William and Carolyn Helm's two kids when an intruder snuck into the house and killed her. She was stabbed 18 times in different parts of the body, including her back and neck, before being dragged to the bedroom.
When the Helms couple returned, shortly after midnight, they were shocked to find Slattery's belongings scattered on the floor. In the kitchen, they noticed a pool of blood, and they immediately informed the police.
2) The teen was s*xually assaulted while she was unconscious
Forensic reports suggested that Slattery was s*xually assaulted after she became unconscious due to excessive blood loss from the stabbing. While she was unconscious, the intruder also dragged her to the bedroom. This was the trail of blood that the Helms saw when they returned home.
3) A few months later, Owen committed another murder in a similar fashion
Police tried hard to find Karen's murderer but after a few months, they found no evidence of the killer at the Helm house. They said that the killer hadn't left any solid evidence behind him.
A few months later, Duane Eugene Owen was arrested for an unrelated burglary, and on the same day, another woman was murdered in the same manner as Karen. As investigators joined the dots, Owen told police that he wouldn't confess a thing until they came up with solid proof against him.
At the time, he had killed a 38-year-old mother, Georgianna Worden.
4) Owen claimed he wanted hormones to become a woman
During his trial, Owen claimed that he was in search of women hormones on the night he killed Karen as he wanted to become a woman. The jury, however, didn't believe a word he said, and sentenced him to death.
5) Owen was convicted for two separate cases
Duane Owen was charged with first-degree murder in the two cases. He was sentenced to death. However, he has applealed to the court several times over the years.
He is currently serving a sentence at the Union Correctional Instituion in Florida.
