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‘Confessed serial killer’ pleads guilty in 1991 cold case murder, gets life sentence

Michael Townson, 53, pleaded guilty to the 1991 murder of Linda Little

Michael Townson (Volusia County Sheriff's Office)

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A man who is already serving a life sentence for a brutal murder in Brevard County pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to another murder in Daytona Beach that has gone unsolved since 1991.

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Michael Townson, 53, pleaded guilty to the 1991 murder of Linda Little, according to a news release.

Daytona Beach police previously said in October that Townson provided a complete confession to Little’s murder.

According to prosecutors, Townson said he met the woman in October 1991 at the 701 Club inside the old Texan Hotel. The killer said the two left together but got into an argument in which he hit and choked her, according to a news release. Townson said he drove to Georgia and left the victim’s body behind a dumpster; however, Little’s body was never recovered.

Investigators said, despite not finding the body, other details of Townson’s account match with known facts about Little’s death.

Linda Little. (Daytona Beach Police Department)

Townson was immediately sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. However, he is also serving another life sentence for the 2008 murder of Sherri Carman, who was beaten to death in her own home with a pipe.

“This defendant is a confessed serial killer. It is gratifying to solve a cold case such as this,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said in a statement.

The CBS affiliate in Memphis, WREG, interviewed Townson in 2019 after he claimed to have killed at least nine people, including two women in Tennessee, according to the station’s reporting.

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About the Author
Thomas Mates headshot

Thomas Mates is a Streaming Executive Producer for News 6 and ClickOrlando.com. He also produces the podcast Florida Foodie. Thomas is originally from Northeastern Pennsylvania and worked in Portland, Oregon before moving to Central Florida in August 2018. He graduated from Temple University with a degree in Journalism in 2010.

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