In Florida, police say a man romantically pursued a woman, showing a picture of her to coworkers, but that interest ended in murder. Police in North Port, Florida, say 53-year-old Michael Douglas tied her up and stabbed her more than three dozen times.
The police were called out to the 3000 block of South Haberland Boulevard on Sept. 26 before Hurricane Ian hit.
“Once on site, officers found a gruesome scene, with the victim bound and stabbed multiple times,” according to the authorities.
“The victim was found to have approximately 38 stab wounds to multiple areas of the body (head, torso, groin) with her intestines visible on top of her torso,” police wrote in a partially redacted probable cause affidavit. “The victim was on the floor, lying on her back with both hands bound behind her body and her mouth taped.”
Police say Douglas pursued the woman romantically and urged her to end her relationship.
“During interviews with his co-workers at PGT, it was learned that during one of Michael Douglas’ work shifts, a co-worker stated that he used his phone to display a picture of the victim and while waving it in the air, encouraging anyone nearby to look at his ‘beautiful [redacted],’” police said.
Douglas allegedly denied having had sexual contact with the woman. However, Y-STR profiles matching his profile were found in the woman’s vaginal swab samples, according to documents. According to officers, fingernail clippings were a partial match to him.
He said he had only been to her home once before, and he drove by her home on Sept. 26 at approximately 12:30 p.m. Police responded to the murder call at 8:56 p.m.
Douglas’ phone received a call on the street behind the woman’s home at 4:48 p.m.on Sept. 26, according to police.
“Further analysis showed location data confirming Michael Douglas still being present with-in approximately two North Port Lots of 3743 South Haberland Boulevard [the address of the murder] at various times up until 8:50 p.m.,” the officers reported.
A picture of the decorative basket found in the victim’s master bathroom was also on Douglas’ phone, police said. The officers found it in deleted files.
Observing the “distinct” door handles and rearview mirrors, police believe it was Douglas’ Jeep Grand Cherokee parked down the street from the woman’s house at 7:28 p.m., according to a dashcam footage taken by an off-duty officer.
It “was parked off the roadway in such a manner that would disguise it from obvious view, while at the same time being able to directly view the victim’s residence,” the officers stated.
There is no attorney listed for Douglas in the records. As of Sunday, he remains in custody at the Sarasota County Jail.