David Delap will be in prison for seven more years for the 1975 murder of Paula Ethridge.
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OKEECHOBEE- David Delap will be in prison for seven more years for the 1975 murder of Paula Ethridge.
At a parole hearing on March 20 Delap was up for a sentence reduction recommended by the parole investigator. Assistant State Attorney Ashley Albright argued against the reduction, and ultimately the parole commission agreed. Delap will be up for another review in seven years.
Paula Ethridge was a teacher in Okeechobee in 1975. She was reported missing after visiting a local laundromat on June 30. The community cast a wide net in hopes of finding her, with both the police and local residents searching by horseback, on atv’s and by helicopter.
On the day Paula went missing, Lois Huff saw a car in her rear view mirror with a struggle going on between the driver and passenger. She followed the car for a bit, witnessing the man holding the woman in a headlock, before pulling over to call the police. A truck driver on the road at the same time also reported seeing the struggle between a man and woman in the same car.
Police found a car matching that description belonging in Basswood in Okeechobee. The car belonged to David Delap, who just a month before was accused of assaulting a 15-year-old girl in Okeechobee County. He had allegedly ripped the girls blouse and made advances toward her.
Delap had driven the bus at the First Baptist Church in Okeechobee, which Paula also attended.
Police obtained a search warrant for Delap’s car and discovered blood. In the interrogation room Delap admitted to seeing Paula at the laundromat that day, and admitted to pulling a knife on her and forcing her into his car.
He told detectives Paula fought with him, and that eventually he pulled over and he beat her until she quit breathing. He then brought detectives to where he had hidden Paula’s body, 20 miles east of Okeechobee in St. Lucie County.
At the trial Delap’s defense argued that Paula had died after falling from the car during the struggle. But the jury disagreed and he was found guilty of first degree murder.
