Sarasota sheriff cracks cold case involving 1988 Collier arrest

SARASOTA, Fla. — A more than 30-year-old cold case was solved when Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office investigators discovered a man arrested in Collier County in 1988 was the same man detained three years earlier in Sarasota, the sheriff’s office said Monday.

Allen Schultz was accused in 1985 of a severe beating that left his girlfriend, Doris Walker, a paraplegic. He was taken to jail and released on his own recognizance. An arrest warrant for aggravated battery was issued shortly thereafter, but he was never found, according to the sheriff’s office.

Collier County records show a man named Allen Sherwood with the same Social Security number and date of birth who was arrested in connection to an unrelated case in 1988.

Their mugshots appeared similar, and when investigators compared fingerprints, they found a match. It’s unclear what tipped investigators to the link between the two booking sheets.

“This is a huge break in a case that’s been lingering for more than 30 years,” said Sarasota County Sheriff Thomas M. Knight. “The investigators in this case worked tirelessly to seek resolution and bring closure to Doris Walker’s family and today, they’ve done just that. I am immensely proud of the work that went into this investigation.”

Walker died from complications related to the beating in 2004. Schultz, aka Sherwood, would have faced homicide charges for her death had he not died of cancer in 2003, the sheriff’s office said.