Disappearance

Date of Disappearance

Notes

At 12:43am on Oct 16, 1989 local volunteer firefighters responded to a report of a house fire at the Worthy home which is located one mile off Interstate 59/20 on Alabama Highway 216. The bodies of both victims were found in the house.
Initial investigation revealed that both victims were shot and killed when they returned home from a Sunday night church service where Mrs. Worthy served as choir director. The house was then intentionally set on fire in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence of the crime.
AC Worthy served as an officer at the local VFW post Bessemer. He was known to carry large amounts of cash on his person.
One month after the murders, investigators were contacted by an agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement concerning a double homicide of an elderly couple in Graceville Florida in January of that same year. On January 29, 1989 Robert F. McRae, Sr. age 72 and his wife, Katherine P. McRae, age 70 were found murdered in their residence in Graceville Florida. The couple was discovered after neighborhood children went to the McRae residence to visit and found two ski masks lying near the back door. The children became frightened and ran to a neighbor’s house to report the discovery. The Graceville Police Department was summoned and, upon entry, found the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. McRae. Mrs. McRae was thumbed cuffed behind her back and both she and her husband had been shot in the head.
Upon comparing the two cases, evidence found at both crime scenes determined that the two cases were linked. The McRae case occurred 9 months prior to the Worthy case.
If you have any information that may help in this case, call Tuscaloosa Homicide Unit at 205-464-8690 or use the Homicide Unit email at Homicide@tuscco.com

Multiple Victims?

Rumored or Actual Sightings