Michael Douglas
A Florida man allegedly sought a woman romantically, even showing off a picture of her to his coworkers, but police say that interest ended in murder. Michael Douglas, 53, tied her up and stabbed her more than three dozen times, according to cops in North Port, Florida.
Police said they were called out to the 3000 block of South Haberland Boulevard on Sept. 26, before the arrival of Hurricane Ian.
“Once on site, officers found a gruesome scene, with the victim bound and stabbed multiple times,” authorities wrote.
“The victim (later identified as [redacted]) 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,” officers said in the 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.”
Douglas had been pursuing the woman romantically and urging her to end her current relationship, police said.
“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],'” cops said.
Douglas allegedly denied to police that he ever had sexual contact with the woman. But a sexual assault kit turned up a Y-STR profile matching him in the woman’s vaginal swab samples, according todocuments. There was a partial match to him from the fingernail clippings, officers said.
Douglas allegedly said that he was only in her home one previous time, and he said he drove by her residence on Sept. 26 at approximately 12:30 p.m. Cops were dispatched to the murder call at approximately 8:56 p.m.
Phone records showed Douglas’ phone receiving a call on the street behind the woman’s home at 4:48 p.m. on Sept. 26, officers said.
“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.,” officers said.
Douglas’ phone also had a picture of the decorative basket found in the victim’s master bathroom, police said. It was in the deleted files, officers said.
Citing the “distinct” door handles and rearview mirrors, police believe that was Douglas’ Jeep Grand Cherokee parked down the street from the woman’s home at 7:28 p.m., as allegedly seen on an off-duty officers’ dashcam footage.
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,” officers said.
Records show no attorney for Douglas. He remains at the Sarasota County Jail on Sunday.
[Image via North Port Police Department]
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