The tragic case of Sarah Yarborough, a high school student who was murdered in 1991, shook her community and led to a long and challenging investigation. Sarah was on her way to a drill team event when she mysteriously disappeared. Her body was found partially nude and strangled near her school, shocking her friends, family, and the community.
Initially, investigators struggled to find leads or suspects. Despite receiving over 3000 leads over nearly 30 years, the case remained unsolved until advancements in DNA technology led to a breakthrough in September 2019. DNA evidence collected at the crime scene found a familial match in the CODIS system, connecting the crime to Edward Nicholas, a registered sex offender. However, the DNA was a full match to Edward’s brother, Patrick Nicholas.
Patrick Nicholas had a history of sexual assaults, having previously raped two young women as a juvenile and attempted to rape another. He served only three years of a 10-year sentence for these crimes, being released from prison in 1987. Sadly, had he served his full sentence, he would have been incarcerated during the time of Sarah Yarborough’s murder.
After more than 30 years, Patrick Nicholas finally went on trial for Sarah Yarborough’s murder. While found not guilty of premeditated first-degree murder, he was convicted of murder in the 1st and 2nd degree due to the sexual motivation behind the crime. At the sentencing hearing, Anne Croney, a survivor of Nicholas’s attempted assault, pleaded with the court to keep him in prison. He was sentenced to 46 years, bringing some closure and justice to the Yarborough family.
The case shed light on the failures of the justice system and the devastating consequences of criminals slipping through the cracks. The Yarborough family continues to advocate for better systems to ensure justice for victims and their families, hoping to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.
