Stalker killed workmate after she caught him at her flat on lunch break

Carolyn Byington was unaware of the situation.

Carolyn Byington was working as a market research project manager at Engine US for three years.

On this particular afternoon, the 26-year-old told colleagues she was heading back to her apartment during her lunch hour.

After she had not returned for hours, her co-workers grew concerned and contacted the police.

When police arrived at her apartment, they found her body.

Carolyn had suffered blunt force trauma and had been stabbed.

In his interview with police, her co-worker, Kenneth Saal, was found to be lying about his whereabouts at the time of the murder.

He said he went to a nearby park on his lunch to work on his car, changing his shirt before he returned, however he had previously told his supervisor a mechanic was working on the car.

Additionally, dashcam footage from police cars showed investigating officers footage of Saal driving six miles from the office at around 2pm, which disputed his claims.

In the days following the murder, colleagues noticed Saal acting strange.

He was fidgety and had cuts on his hands.

Police found that Saal had visited Carolyn's apartment on several occasions before she was killed.

It was revealed that he had been stalking the 26-year-old, having copied her house key as well as planting multiple secret cameras in her flat.

He was arrested two months after the murder, and while behind bars, attempted to hire an inmate to carry out a 'copy cat murder' in order to prove that Carolyn's killer was still out there.

In 2022, Saal pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, second-degree burglary and fourth-degree stalking.

He has previously refused a 33-year sentence, and after the copy cat murder plot was discovered, he faced a life sentence, however due to the plea deal, he was given 55 years.