Suspect Identified In Cobb Girl's Kidnapping, Killing 50 Years Later

MARIETTA, GA — A suspect has been identified more than 50 years after the death of Debbie Lynn Randall, a 9-year-old girl who was kidnapped, raped and strangled to death in Cobb County.

Cobb County District Attorney Flynn D. Broady said at a news conference Monday William D. Rose, 24, of Mableton, is the suspect accused of kidnapping, assaulting and then killing Randall in January 1972. Broady said Rose fatally harmed himself two years later in 1974.

Broady said Randall, a third-grader, was a young girl with "a bright smile" who was "gone too soon."

He said she was walking home from a nearby laundromat on Jan. 13, 1972, at the time of her kidnapping and death. Her body was found 16 days later during a community search that included 1,000 residents.

After hundreds of leads, Broady said the case went cold. However, in October 2001, forensic testing was done on the suspect's hair that had been removed from Randall's body and investigators were able to rule out possible suspects.

As forensic technologies improved, Broady said a piece of cloth that had been recovered from Randall's body was then tested in May 2015.

"The results were a partial profile attributed to an unknown male," he said.

Investigators secured funding in 2019 for additional testing, and this year, a suspect profile and sample DNA from Rose's family helped lead to Rose's identification, Broady said. He said the familial DNA matched the DNA that had been left on Randall's body.

Rose's body was also exhumed for confirmation, Broady said.

"Debbie Lynn's family died without knowing who killed their little girl," he said. " ... The answer we're providing today will not bring her back. ... But, I know we must answer to a higher power, and I hope that we will provide some relief and answer the question that has been lingering for more than 50 years."

Investigators said Randall and Rose were possibly unknown to each other though they both lived in the same apartment complex. Investigators surmised Rose potentially saw Randall alone from a nearby playground, where he visited with his children.

They said Rose was not initially a potential suspect in the case. He has not been linked to other cases, investigators said.

Randall's brother told 11Alive he appreciates the work of the investigators.