Jacksonville police solve 43-year-old cold case, suspect related to other cold cases

JACKSONVILLE, Fla — On Sunday, March 23, 1980, 18-year-old Ohio teen, Carol Ann Barrett, was visiting Daytona Beach while on Spring Break with a group of high school friends.  

At approximately 2:00 a.m., police reports state that Carol was abducted from the Treasure Island Motel, in Daytona Beach Shores. 

After interviewing Carol’s friends that had been in the room at the time of the kidnapping, a police sketch of the suspect was completed.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

The very next day, Carol’s lifeless body was discovered in a ditch line along I-95 near Pecan Park Road in Jacksonville, Florida.  Following an autopsy, Carol’s death was ruled a Homicide. 

Tragically, the case went “cold” after years of work by detectives with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office along with the original jurisdiction.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

In 2020, a person of interest that had been discovered.

Identified as 65-year-old Billy Mansfield, Jr., Authorities ultimately believed him to be the suspect in Carol Barrett’s murder. 

Mansfield would have been 24 at the time of Carol’s Murder.

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

In September of 2022, after multiple interviews lasting over two years, Billy Mansfield confessed that he was in fact the suspect in the police sketch following the abduction. 

He went on to confess to the abduction from the Daytona Beach Shores hotel, as well as to her murder shortly thereafter.

Following the more than quarter-century investigation into Carol’s murder, the State Attorney’s Office will not seek prosecution, as Billy Mansfield already remains imprisoned in California.

He is serving one life sentence for murder, as well as four concurrent life sentences related to murders in separate Florida cases.

Billy Mansfield continues to cooperate with detectives in other jurisdictions regarding additional Cold Cases.

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.