MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — A man has been arrested in connection with the 1996 murder of his girlfriend, Doris Korell, whose body was found with 83 stab wounds in a drainage ditch in Manatee County.
Stephen Ford, who was recently arrested in Delaware, is now facing murder charges after Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Cold Case Investigations Unit (CCIU) worked with multiple agencies to test additional DNA evidence and compile information. The investigation reportedly helped rule out other suspects and clarified key elements of the case.
“Cold cases are some of the most difficult crimes to crack. I am proud of our Cold Case Investigations Unit, bringing information together from multiple law enforcement agencies and working with State Attorney Ed Brodsky’s Office on this case,” said AG Moody.
“The defendant is correct when he said after his arrest, ‘My past has come up to haunt me.’ My office and our partners will continue to seek justice for Doris Korell.”
Korell was reported missing in December 1996 after she failed to return home or show up for work. Her daughter reported her missing on Dec. 12, 1996. A week later, her body was found face down in a drainage canal, but it took seven months to confirm her identity using dental records.
During the initial investigation, Ford made statements to law enforcement, including, “If I killed her, I should get the death penalty.” He also attempted suicide twice, leaving behind a note during one attempt. Detectives later found him semi-conscious after he drank bleach.
In July 2024, CCIU conducted further testing on bed sheets and other evidence, corroborating Ford’s multiple suicide attempts. The unit also retested swabs collected during Korell’s 1997 autopsy, finding no foreign DNA and eliminating the possibility of sexual assault by another suspect.
Attorney General Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution, in partnership with the State Attorney’s Office in Manatee County, is handling the case.
