Woman, 79, Charged with Allegedly Murdering Stepdad 50 Years Ago, Accused of Using His House and His Retirement Benefits

Carol Ann Beall was charged with first-degree murder for the death of William Reginald Sipfle, whose remains were found near her workplace in 1975

NEED TO KNOW

• Carol Ann Beall was arrested and charged with first-degree murder for allegedly killing her stepfather in Arizona
• Investigators identified William Reginald Sipfle’s remains, first found in 1975, using genealogy forensics in late 2025
• Beall allegedly lived in Sipfle’s home for about 50 years while collecting up to $600,000 from his retirement benefits

A 79-year-old woman has been charged with the murder of her stepfather, whose remains were found in the Arizona desert 50 years ago. She is also accused of living in his home and collecting his retirement benefits.

Carol Ann Beall was arrested in connection with the death of William Reginald Sipfle on Thursday, May 28, and charged with first-degree murder for the death of William Reginald Sipfle, NBC affiliate KVOA and CBS affiliate KOLD reported, citing the Pima County Sheriff's Department (PCSD).

Sipfle went missing at age 73, but his loved ones “never made a police report,” Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told KOLD. But the sheriff added, “They knew he had up and disappeared.”

His family went without answers for five decades — until genealogy advancements allowed investigators to crack the cold case by linking human remains found at a waste transfer station in Pima County to Sipfle's family, per KVOA and KOLD.

According to the outlets, investigators had previously determined that remains found at the county waste station in October 1975 belonged to a man, but they could not confirm anything else about them at the time due to technological restraints. “You had no idea what you have in front of you ’cause you don't know who this is, there's no fingerprints to be had,” Nanos told KOLD.

But with genealogy forensics and the help of a third-party lab, the PCSD was able to track down a possible link — meaning distant relatives of the remains — five decades later in late 2025, according to the CBS affiliate. 

The then-potential match had a missing grandpa and no record of what happened to him, and it was later confirmed to be Sipfle's granddaughter, according to KVOA and KOLD. With the new lead, detectives were able to positively confirm that the long-unidentified remains belonged to Sipfle, the outlets reported.

Beall, Sipfle's stepdaughter, entered the picture when investigators learned that she worked at a museum in the desert area where the remains were found, according to KOLD.

Following her May 28 arrest and murder charge, Beall — whose lawyer said she has never been arrested before, per KOLD — was jailed. She is being held on $500,000 bond, according to jail records reviewed by PEOPLE on May 30.

The PCSD did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Saturday, May 30. PEOPLE was unable to reach representation for Beall.

The 79-year-old has been living in Sipfle's home for over 50 years using anywhere from $250,000 to $600,000 from his pension and Social Security benefits, KOLD reported, citing prosecutors. In her first court appearance on Thursday, May 28, which she made virtually, from jail, the state claimed that the primary source of wealth for Beall, a retired U.S. Postal Service employee, came from her stepfather's death, according to the outlet.

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The investigation into Sipfle's death is ongoing, and Sheriff Nanos said he hopes that it will unearth more details for the sake of his family.

“This is somebody's loved one who's vanished from the planet,” Nanos told KOLD. “And because of this science, we're able to put it together.”

“We're smart enough to know that we're not gonna have all of the answers, but they're out there,” he told the outlet, praising the lab for helping authorities learn “who Mr. Sipfle was but also, maybe, how this event occurred.”

In a statement to KOLD and KVOA, the Sipfle family said it “is relieved to have closure regarding the whereabouts of our grandfather, William Reginald Sipfle, with the positive identification of our grandfather's remains.”

“With this new information about our grandfather, we are processing the circumstances around his death and reliving painful memories of his disappearance and of our father's efforts to locate his father,” the family said.

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