Karen Marie Umphrey of Smiths Creek, Kimball Township, Saint Clair County, Michigan, United States was 21 when she was found dead in Beards Hills, Michigan on November 2, 1980. She is Sylva Umphrey‘s daughter.
Karen graduated from Marysville High School in Marysville, St. Clair County. She worked as a secretary at Marysville Marine Distributors in Marysville.
At 6:30 p.m. on November 1, 1980, Karen left home to attend a party in a residence in Port Huron, St. Clair County. She left between 12:30 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. on November 2, 1980.
At around 12:10 p.m., two hunters found Karen’s body in a wooden section of the State Game Area of Beards Hills. Her 1973 Buick was left parked near the residence in Port Huron where she attended a party.
Fully dressed, Karen was wearing a coat, a turtle-neck sweater, blue jeans and shoes. She had a gunshot wound in her head.
The St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office worked with Othram and the Michigan State Police to investigate Karen’s murder. Based in The Woodlands, Texas, USA, Othram was founded in 2018.
In August 2022, detectives identified Douglas Laming, then 69, of Fort Gratiot Township, St. Clair County as a suspect after using genetic genealogy. In January 2023, he was confirmed to be a genetic match for deoxyribonucleic acid samples.
On December 15, 2023, Laming was arrested in connection with Karen’s death. He was booked into the St. Clair County Detention and Intervention Center in Port Huron.
When interviewed by detectives, Laming made several contradictory statements. He claimed that he and Karen had consensual sex.
On December 17, 2023, Laming was arraigned on a felony murder charge, according to the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office. On December 26, 2023, he will appear in court for a probable cause conference.
CONAN Daily 