63-Year-Old Cold Case Solved, Tesla Submerged In Lake: 2025 Top Lower Bucks Co. Crimes

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA — A 63-year-old cold case was solved by the Bucks County District Attorney involving the death of a 9-year-old girl. Meanwhile, a longtime Catholic school teacher was found in possession of child pornography images.

This is a summary of some of the biggest crimes of 2025 in Lower Bucks County:

A Girl's Murder At A Bucks Co. Church Went Unsolved For Years. Now, Police Know Who Killed Her

In late October, after 63 years, the cold case of a 9-year-old Bucks County girl was solved. Authorities revealed that 9-year-old Carol Ann Dougherty was killed in 1962 by a man who was not one of the three initial suspects, but a sexual predator who lived near the Bristol Borough Wharf. (Read More)

Longtime Bucks Co. Catholic School Teacher Facing Child Porn Charges

In June, a longtime Bucks County school teacher and youth sports coach was charged with collecting hundreds of sexually explicit images of prepubescent girls, authorities said. (Read More)

Bucks Co. Beheader 1st Found Guilty Under PA Terrorism Statute

In July, the man who killed and beheaded his father in their Middletown Township home in 2024 was the first person found guilty in the state under Pennsylvania's terrorism statute. (Read More)

2 Found Dead In Bucks County Park

In November, two people were found dead in a Bucks County park in separate incidents. The body of a homeless man was discovered at Delaware Canal State Park in Falls Township in ankle-deep water. Lower Makefield Police found a woman dead in a vehicle near the Delaware Canal. (Read More)

Man Found Dead In Tesla Submerged In Bucks Co. Lake

In July, a 33-year-old New Jersey man was found dead after his Tesla was discovered submerged in Lake Luxembourg at Core Creek Park, authorities said. (Read More)