Two teens got into a white van. Police suspect these men killed them.
Five decades after 14-year-old best friends Darlene Zetterower and Barbara Schreiber were found murdered in Florida's Everglades, police have finally identified their suspected killers.
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Homicide Unit announced on May 22 that investigators have identified Robert Clark Keebler and Lawrence Stein as the two men who killed the girls.
On June 18, 1975, days after finishing eighth grade, Zetterower and Schreiber got into a white van with the two men in Hollywood, Florida, police said. Their bodies were found in the Everglades the next day.
Keebler and Stein are dead, police said, so they won't be prosecuted for the murders.
“Justice doesn’t have an expiration date — not in this organization, not in this community,” Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony said at a news conference.
Victims had just received their report cards, police say
The girls, who were best friends, had just received their eighth grade report cards on the day they went missing, BSO Detective Andrew Gianino said at the news conference.
"They were looking forward to going to high school together," Gianino said.
Kimberly Schreiber, Barbara Schreiber's younger sister, expressed gratitude for the investigators at the news conference.
"I give my thanks to everyone on this team who never gave up, never forgot, and I'm so thankful for Detective Andrew and his team and everyone involved — for people like you who never forget people like us," Kimberly Schreiber said.
Suspects have died, won't be prosecuted, police say
Gianino said at the news conference that detectives identified the suspects using advancements in DNA testing.
Both Keebler and Stein had criminal history dating back to the early 1970s, Gianino said. However, since they are dead, they won't be charged in this case.
“The prosecuting attorney agreed with our assessment that if they were alive they would be criminally prosecuted for these homicides,” Gianino said in a press release.
BSO started its full-time Cold Case Unit in 2019, Tony said. Out of 300 cases it aimed to solve when the unit was formed, this is the 31st closed investigation.
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for Paste BN. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com.