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Arrest made in cold case

DNA testing helps solve a woman's decades-old murder.

By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published November 16, 2006

TAMPA - Rene Brewster always wanted a better life for her sister, Donna M. Sheffield.

As a young child, Brewster left her family to live with her grandmother. Sheffield stayed with their mother in public housing, getting in trouble with prostitution and drugs.

On Jan. 23, 1983, someone shot Sheffield and dumped her body alongside a road. No one was arrested until Tuesday, when police accused Albert Leon Dooley, 56, charging him with second-degree murder. Tampa Police credited DNA testing and the newly formed Cold Case Unit with solving the crime.

Sheffield was 23 when she died. Witnesses told police she was leaning into a Mustang in Robles Park when a gun fired several times. Someone wrote down the car's license plate.

Sheffield slumped to the ground. The driver got out and put her in the passenger seat. Her body turned up a few blocks away.

Witnesses could not identify the driver, saying only that he was a 25- to 27-year-old black man with a short afro.

The car belonged to Edna Slaton, Dooley's mother. According to police spokesman Larry McKinnon, Slaton told police Dooley drove the car that day. Slaton now disputes that, telling the Times her daughter had the car then.

Dooley told police he didn't know Sheffield and had nothing to do with her slaying. Blood in the car matched Sheffield's blood type, but at that time they couldn't confirm it was hers.

State records show Dooley has been arrested 14 times.

Researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Abbie VanSickle can be reached at 226-3373 or vansickle@sptimes.com.

[Last modified November 15, 2006, 23:55:53]