Convicted Rapist Pleads Guilty to Woman's 1982 Murder

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LAUREL, MD — A man already in prison for kidnapping and rape recently pleaded guilty in the 1982 murder of a Prince George’s County woman whose skull was later found, but whose body is still missing.

John Walsh, 71, was sentenced to 33 years in prison for the murder of Stephanie Watson, reports WTOP.

Authorities say Watson, 27, left her Laurel apartment on July 22, 1982, to work an evening shift as a receptionist at Greater Laurel Beltsville Hospital, but she never arrived.

Her car was later found covered in blood. A man wearing yellow gloves was seen throwing something into a wooded area off Larchdale Road six weeks after Watson’s disappearance. The witness found human bones and teeth, and dental records identified the remains as Watson.

A detective submitted blood samples from Watson’s car to a state police lab, and a state DNA database found a match for Walsh.

Walsh has been in prison since 1989, when his parole for a kidnapping and rape almost two decades earlier was revoked, reports The Baltimore Sun. He is accused of killing Watson while he was on parole.