The Murder of Charlene Puffenbarger
For this case, I watched an episode of Murder in the Heartland. It’s season 6 episode 3, titled ‘Toddlers Terrible Tale.’
A single mother of two young boys is killed in her apartment.
Background
Charlene Puffenbarger was born on August 16, 1965. Charlene had two young sons, Dustin and Derrek, who were only 3 and 2 at the time. Charlene lived in Twinsburg, Ohio, in the Pinewood Gardens Apartments. The apartment complex was home to a lot of single mothers.
Charlene was described as an amazing mother. Charlene liked to cook, and according to her neighbor, made very good snickerdoodle cookies.
Charlene Puffenbarger
The 911 Call
On January 20, 1992, Charlene’s neighbor, Michelle Smitherman knocked on her door around 6:15am. When there was no answer, Michelle asked her brother, Mitchell, who lived there as well, to check on Charlene.
Mitchell knocked on the door, which was locked. Charlene’s sons opened the door. Mitchell entered the apartment, and found Charlene lying on the couch. Mitchell took Dustin and Derrek out of the apartment and called 911.
The police arrived, and discovered Charlene lying on the couch under a blanket. A belt was found around her neck, and she had dried blood on her face. Charlene had some defensive wounds on her arms and hands.
The police believed Charlene had most likely died the night before, and that her children had spent the night with their mother’s body.
A Tale of Two Fathers
Charlene’s mom, Phyllis, was notified by Charlene’s neighbors that something had happened to her. When she arrived at the apartment, Phyllis learned that her daughter had been killed.
The police spoke to Charlene’s family. They said that Dustin and Derrek didn’t really have a father figure in their lives and had two different fathers.
Dustin’s father, Alan Redman had dated Charlene for about a year. Derrek’s father, Willard McCarley, had never been in his son’s life.
About 150 pieces of evidence were collected from the crime scene. The couch was dissembled to be tested, and pieces of the carpet were also removed.
The front door of the apartment had been locked as reported by Mitchell. There was no sign of forced entry, so the police believed that the killer had locked the door on their way out.
The boys, especially Dustin, were terrified. When a police officer had entered the room, Dustin claimed that he had hurt his mommy. It was apparent to the police that one of their own had either hurt Charlene, or the officer resembled the killer.
The Suspects
In this episode, Phyllis said that there was a neighbor named Emma who had threatened Charlene. Phyllis was suspicious as her daughter and this neighbor didn’t get along.
Emma and Charlene had gone to high school together, and Emma was known to pick fights with people. Emma had asked Charlene for money, but Charlene didn’t have any. Emma had also believed that Charlene had been the narc when there had been a drug bust at the apartment complex. Charlene had always denied being the narc.
Emma denied being involved, and was eventually eliminated as a suspect. The police also knew that the killer was most likely a man based on Dustin’s statements.
On January 21, 1992, the police went to the home of Willard McCarley’s parents where he was living. Willard wasn’t home at the time, but Larry and Sarah, his parents, let them into their home.
The police learned from Phyllis that Charlene said Larry had once pinned her down and forced himself on her. Larry denied this, and claimed that Charlene had made it up.
After learning about Charlene’s death, Sarah, Willard’s mom, had made comments about wanting to adopt her grandson. The entire family didn’t seem to show any emotion when learning about Charlene’s death.
Charlene had lived with Alan for about a year before moving out because he was controlling. She then started dating Willard, and became pregnant with Derrek. When she told Willard about her pregnancy, he denied that it was his. Charlene eventually got a paternity test, which confirmed Willard was the father.
A Cold Case
When the police spoke to Alan, he told them that he hadn’t seen Charlene in about a week. He said on the night of the murder, he was with his new girlfriend. There didn’t seem to be any issues between Alan and Charlene, and he paid child support.
The police finally spoke to Willard, who they described as not having a care in the world. Willard claimed he had visited Charlene’s apartment 2 days before the murder to discuss child support. He said he was only there a few minutes.
Willard said he had been with his girlfriend until about 11pm on the night of the murder. He said he then went home and went to bed. Willard’s girlfriend corroborated his alibi.
Larry was also questioned. He and his son had refused to take a polygraph test. Larry claimed he had been at home on the night of the murder, and that his wife had come home later.
On January 28, 1992, a child psychologist interviewed Dustin. Dustin mentioned several things that matched Charlene’s crime scene. He mentioned the blood, bloody pillow, the police jacket with the gold buttons worn by the killer, and that two people were having an argument.
By February 1, the police were out of leads. They had no physical evidence, so the case went unsolved.
The Jacket
No one in Twinsburg had forgotten about Charlene. Phyllis refused to give up. She put up flyers, and ran newspaper ads asking anyone with any leads to come forward.
In January 2002, 10 years after the murder, one of Willard’s co-workers came forward. Willard was working in a Ford factory, and had made comments to one of his co-workers named Charles Kinkaid, about how he had killed a woman and didn’t feel bad about it. Willard also mentioned knowing Charlene. Charles reported these comments to the police.
On February 10, 2002, the police received an anonymous phone call about a domestic dispute. The domestic dispute was at the home of Willard McCarley.
In Willard’s garage, the police found a police jacket with gold buttons and patches with police written on the sleeves. The jacket was confiscated, and the DNA was tested along with the other evidence that had been collected in 1992.
In 2005, the DNA results confirmed that the Willard’s DNA from the jacket matched DNA from the belt that had been found around Charlene’s neck. He was arrested. Emma, Larry and Alan were all eliminated as suspects.
The Conviction
Willard went on trial in 2005, 2007 and in 2017. Each time a new trial was ordered because the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals had overturned his sentences.
On April 14, 2017, Willard was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. He will be eligible for parole in 2037.
The motive presented had always been that Willard killed Charlene because he didn’t want to pay child support.
Willard McCarley
FINAL THOUGHTS
Willard came from a really scummy family it seems like, so I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. He refused to accept that he was the father, which was confirmed by the paternity test. He not only killed Charlene, but left two young children in the home with their dead mom. It’s sickening, and I hope Dustin and Derrek are thriving today. I also hope Phyllis is thriving because she is the reason why Charlene’s case was solved.
Sources
https://thecinemaholic.com/charlene-puffenbarger-murder-where-is-willard-mccarley-now/
https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/5-chilling-details-charlene-puffenbarger-murder
https://www.cleveland.com/akron/2017/04/summit_county_man_sentenced_to.html
