Nearly 50 years after the brutal killings of two 14-year-old girls, the Broward Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Homicide Unit said it has solved the 1975 double homicide.
Breakthrough came through DNA, witness accounts
BSO Detective Andrew Gianino said advances in DNA testing, new witness information and detailed investigative work led the agency to identify Robert Clark Keebler and Lawrence Stein as the men responsible for the murders of Darlene Zetterower and Barbara Schreiber.
According to detectives, the girls were last seen getting into a van with two men in Hollywood after completing eighth grade. Their bodies were found the next day on the edge of the Everglades.
Detectives said DNA samples recovered from the girls’ clothing matched Keebler and Stein. Both men are now dead.
Case considered cleared
“The case was filed with the Broward State Attorney’s Office for prosecution as though the defendants were alive. However, they had died years ago,” Gianino said.
“So, a case that is exceptionally cleared is because the defendants are dead, and the prosecuting attorney agreed with our assessment that if they were alive, they would be criminally prosecuted for these homicides.”
Gianino said he hopes the resolution offers some measure of comfort to the families of the victims.
“(Keebler and Stein) lived full lives, very violent lives,” Gianino said. “I don’t know if it’s justice. But at least it gives the family some answers.”
Sheriff says commitment to cold cases remains strong
The full-time Cold Case Unit was launched in 2019 to investigate unsolved homicides and sex crimes, some dating back decades. Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony said the department remains committed to closing cases like this one.
“I commend the work of the BSO Cold Case Homicide and Crime Lab units that refused to let Barbara and Darlene’s violent deaths go unanswered and their voices unheard,” Tony said. “Sadly, these two men will not be tried in a court of law, but this outcome should reassure the community that BSO is committed to pursuing justice no matter how long it takes.”
Family expresses gratitude
Kimberly Schreiber, Barbara’s sister, said she is thankful for the efforts of everyone involved in solving the case and wishes her late parents and brother had lived to hear the news.
“They’d be so happy that somebody didn’t give up,” Schreiber said. “That your team didn’t give up. That detective Andrew didn’t give up.”
“It does hurt and it does destroy and it does give us some closure in our days in coming to smile again.”
“I give my thanks to everyone on this team who never gave up, never forgot,” Schreiber said. “This team has done everything to find the people that did this tremendous, horrible thing to my family.”
