Man confesses to 31-year-old cold case murder of Daytona Beach woman
An Orlando man has confessed to the murder of a Daytona Beach woman nearly 31 years ago. He’s currently serving a life sentence for the murder of a Titusville woman
DELAND, Fla. – A man already imprisoned in Florida for another killing pleaded guilty Tuesday to the long-unsolved 1991 slaying of a woman he met at a bar.
Michael Townson, 53, was sentenced by a judge to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years, state prosecutors said in a news release. Townson admitted striking and fatally choking Linda Lois Little after meeting her at a Daytona Beach nightspot in October 1991. Little’s body was never found.
Linda Little (Photo via Daytona Beach Police Department)
Little was reported missing on October 14, 1991, by a friend, and was never seen or heard from again. The case remained cold for at least 29 years until Townson was transferred to the Tomoka Correctional Facility in Volusia County, where he reportedly asked to speak with Daytona Beach investigators and confessed to killing Little.
“Townson found God while incarcerated and the Lord placed it on his heart to confess, and since he was transferred back to Volusia County, that is what ultimately compelled him to confess,” said Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young during a news conference back in October.
Prosecutors said Townson told them he drove north on Interstate 95 and left Little’s body near a dumpster in rural Camden County, Georgia. Checks of unidentified bodies in that county turned up no match for Little.
During that same Oct. news conference, Little’s sister, Wanda Hinson, said she had forgiven Townson and was thankful he confessed, adding that it was an answer to her prayers.
“I’ve forgiven him. I know that’s crazy,” Hinson said. “This is an answer to prayer. I’ve been praying for closure, and God works in mysterious ways.”
Michael Townson, a man serving a life sentence for the 2008 murder of a woman in Titusville, Florida, was recently indicted in the 1991 disappearance and death of Linda Lois Little in Daytona Beach.
Townson was already serving a life prison sentence for beating Sherri Carmanto to death with a steel pipe in 2007 at her home in Titusville, Florida.
“This defendant is a confessed serial killer. It is gratifying to solve a cold case such as this,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said in the news release.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.