Child’s Skull Found In Paint Can

Carol Lynne Sullivan was a 12-year-old girl from Longwood, Florida. She lived with her parents, Herbert and Joanne, and her two brothers. In July of 1978, the family moved to Osteen, Florida, and Carol was enrolled at Deltona Junior High School.

At 6:50 AM on September 20, 1978, Carol left home and walked down Doyle Road to the corner of Courtland Boulevard. She waited by the school bus stop as she normally did, however, when the bus arrived at 7:05 AM, she was gone.

After missing her first two classes, school officials called Joanne to ask why Carol was not attending school that day. When Joanne realized Carol had not got on the bus or returned home, she called the authorities.

Authorities and volunteers searched the area on foot, with cars, motorcycles, and aircraft. Police even went door to door asking if anyone had seen Carol.

Though various motorists had seen her waiting by the bus stop that morning, no one saw what happened to her. One motorist reported seeing a pickup truck parked nearby but didn’t see anything suspicious.

Police set up roadblocks on the corner of Doyle Road and Courtland Boulevard in order to question drivers. Motorists were informed of Carol’s disappearance and asked if they’d seen anything out of the ordinary.

Carol turned 13-years-old eight days after she disappeared. Her birthday party was canceled and Joanne put her gifts away.

Bob Gorman, a 19-year-old from Rochester, New York, was excited to be moving to Florida as this meant he could see alligators. On October 2, 1978, while his parents looked at the progress of the house they were building, Bob decided to go explore the area.

He came across a small pond about 2 miles away from the Sullivans’ house. Among the grass, Bob noticed something odd on a slope near the water. It was a 1-gallon can of paint. Though there were fire ants in and around it, Bob picked it up and was shocked to see a skull inside. He put the can back down and returned to his car. He drove to the nearest convenience store and called the authorities.

It had only been 12 days since Carol disappeared, therefore, no one assumed the skull was hers. It had no flesh and merely a small patch of hair — they didn’t believe a skull could decay so quickly. It was assumed someone had stolen it from a nearby cemetery. However, a month after it was found, an odontologist positively matched the skull to Carol’s dental records.

It was determined that Carol had been bashed in the back of her head. A scalpel or very sharp knife had been used to remove the flesh and the skull had been boiled in order to remove the brain. Some parts of the skull were also polished.

Further, the remnants of paint from the paint can were examined. It had once contained blue metallic paint used for automotive repainting. A piece of duct tape was also found at the scene. It had a different type of paint on it but it was also for painting automobiles.

Carol’s killer has never been caught or even identified. But there is one prominent suspect who was arrested at the time but not charged due to lack of evidence.

Shortly before Carol vanished, 31-year-old Vincenzo Alestra kidnapped a 21-year-old woman at gunpoint from the parking lot of the mall she worked at. The Deltona truck driver took the unnamed woman to a remote location and raped her.

Vincenzo was also accused of exposing himself in front of an 8-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy outside of a library; he forced the girl to give him oral sex. He was arrested for assaulting the woman and sentenced to 30 years in prison but was released in 1999.

In 2014, the Department of Homeland Security discovered that Vincenzo had shared child pornography on the internet and began investigating him. His computer was seized and authorities found dozens of sexually explicit images of minors, as young as 6-years-old. They also discovered he had sexually abused a 10-year-old child for over two years. Vincenzo, who had relocated to Cairo, Georgia, was sentenced to 80 years in prison.

It is still uncertain if Vincenzo killed Carol. There are a couple of other minor suspects.

Henry Lee Lucas is believed to have been in the area at the time but authorities could not connect him to the crime. Lucas’ companion Ottis Toole has also been suggested. Toole is best known for abducting and killing 6-year-old Adam Walsh in 1981— the boy’s severed head was found in a drainage canal in Florida. Adam’s father, John Walsh, became the host of America's Most Wanted.

Authorities searched for the rest of Carol’s body but never found anything. A few weeks after Carol’s murder, Herbert and Joanne moved away with their two sons.

The case is still active; contact the Volusia County Sherrif’s Office at 386–254–1535 if you have any information.

Carol Lynne Sullivan’s murder remains unsolved 42 years later.

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Check out Cat Leigh's Medium publication for more true crime stories: True Crime by Cat Leigh.