SARASOTA, Fla. – A Port Charlotte man was arrested Thursday and charged with first-degree murder in the death of a North Port woman in September, police say.
North Port Police are accusing Michael Douglas, 53, of brutally murdering a woman he had been pursuing romantically.
According to the probable cause affidavit in the case, on Sept. 26, police were called to a home on South Haberland Boulevard to find a bloody crime scene. The body of the victim, hands tied behind her back and mouth taped shut, was found to have 38 stab wounds, with her intestines visible on top of her body.
The victim’s daughter told police Douglas has been trying to convince her mother to end her current relationship and begin dating him. Douglas had visited the home in the past and documents show Douglas and the victim were planning to buy a home together.
Josh Taylor, the North Port Police Public Information Officer, stated, “When somebody has that much violence done to them, it’s a pretty good indicator that this was a crime of passion, that this was somebody familiar with our victim that probably wasn’t likely a random act.”
Investigators say that Douglas, an employee at PGT, would show co-workers cell phone photos of the victim, encouraging them to look at his “beautiful wife.”
Police dash camera video taken on Haberland Boulevard a hour before police were dispatched to the home show a vehicle of the same make and model of Douglas’ vehicle parked near the home, the affidavit said.
One neighbor, Deb Kemmerer was shocked at the incident. Deb stated, “Its really startling. I mean this is usually a very quiet neighborhood. Everybody’s friendly. It’s just not something you’d expect here. Especially not here in North Port. We seem to get a bad rep with really bad things happening here”
During an autopsy, DNA evidence partially matching Douglas was found on her fingernails, documents show.
Douglas was booked into the Sarasota County Jail.