Who was Richard Darress? His connection to the George Carroll case explored from ID’s The Secrets We Bury

Richard Darress was a handyman from Long Island, New York, hired in 1963 by George Carroll to assist with a home construction project. Darress married Carroll's widow, Dorothy, shortly after George's unexplained disappearance that same year. Richard Darress became the stepfather to George's four young children and fathered a son with Dorothy.

Over time, family members described him as abusive with reports of physical harm to the boys and s*xual assault on the girls. Darress died in Mexico in June 2018 at age 77, just months before key evidence in George's case surfaced.

Today, Richard Darress stands as the prime suspect in George's murder, based on family accounts, a psychic's vision and the timing of his involvement. George's skull showed signs of blunt force trauma, pointing to homicide, though no charges were ever filed.

The George Carroll case spans over five decades of silence and speculation. In 1963, the 30 year old Korean War veteran vanished from his Lake Grove home, leaving behind his wife and children aged under 10. Dorothy told her kids he had gone out for cigarettes and never came back, but no missing person report was filed.

The family grew up believing in abandonment, only to learn in 2018 that his remains lay buried under their basement floor. This revelation, detailed in Investigation Discovery's documentary The Secrets We Bury, the episode that premiered on December 16, 2025, on ID, with streaming available on Max. 

The Secrets We Bury: The disappearance of George Carroll in 1963

George Carroll had been a U.S. Army veteran during the Korean War and had once given a ride to Marilyn Monroe during a USO tour. George and his wife, Dorothy, had four children and had moved to Lake Grove, Long Island. George had been supporting his family through his job at the age of 30 in his humble dwelling on Olive Street.

At the beginning of 1963, George decided to hire a local handyman named Richard Darress to assist him in the renovation of his basement to increase the living area. The renovation included the laying down of fresh concrete, an important aspect that the police would later investigate.

One day in 1963, George left his house on an errand that Dorothy said was quick, perhaps for cigarettes. He was never seen again. Dorothy was in her early 30s and told their children that their father had abandoned them. The eldest son, Steven, was 11; his brother Michael was only 8 months old.

No member of the family reported George’s disappearance to the police, and his final paycheck was never collected. There were whispers that he had begun a new life somewhere in the world related to his war service, as per People.

Dorothy dismissed questions about him, calling him "not a good guy" and focusing on raising the children alone. The home's construction work wrapped up soon after, with Richard Darress staying on as a live-in helper.

This sudden shift left the family in quiet upheaval, marking the start of years without answers. George's brother later shared with relatives a growing suspicion of foul play, but it remained family talk, unspoken to outsiders, according to People. 

The Carroll family's enduring questions

For over 50 years, the Carroll siblings carried the weight of their father's absence. Steven, Patricia, Jean, and Michael grew up hearing the same story: George had walked away, leaving them behind. Dorothy remarried Richard Darress soon after, bringing stability but also hardship.

The children recalled Darress as strict, with the boys facing physical discipline and the girls enduring unwanted advances. Despite this, Dorothy and Richard Darress welcomed a son, Rich Jr., in the mid-1960s, blending the families further. The marriage ended in divorce in 1983, but the past lingered, as reported by People.

As adults, the siblings pressed Dorothy for details, especially after she fell ill with cancer. On her deathbed in 1998 at age 63, she offered no confession, only a knowing wink to Michael. Questions mounted: Why no police report? Where was George's body if he had truly left? In the mid-2000s, Michael, now a respiratory therapist, met an uncle at a hospital who revealed the extended family's belief that George had been killed and hidden under the house during the basement work.

This matched old whispers from their grandmother, who had quietly hired a detective decades earlier. Jean, a firm believer in the spiritual, sought help from a psychic named Angela Heil in 2010. Joined by skeptical Michael, the session brought chilling clarity: George was murdered, struck on the head, and buried in the basement near a former gun target on the wall.

The psychic named Darress as the killer and described a silver wrench as the tool. Though Michael bought the house from Dorothy in 1993, doubt held him back until persistence grew. Rich Jr., now in his 50s, joined interviews, grappling with his father's shadow while supporting his half-siblings, according to People. 

Unearthing the truth in the basement

In 2018, Michael Carroll, then 55, faced health challenges after a stroke. Yet, the psychic's words and family lore drove him to act. He purchased ground-penetrating radar to scan the basement floor, spotting an anomaly under a concrete patch from the 1963 project.

With sons Chris, 33, and Mike Jr., 35, Michael began digging in the spring, sifting through dirt for months. The work was grueling, unearthing old toys, tools, and fibers from 1960s clothing.
On October 30, 2018, Halloween eve, Chris's shovel hit something hard. Brushing away soil revealed bones, including a human pelvis, as per Fox News. 

Michael, steadying himself on the stairs, confirmed it was no animal remains. Police arrived, initially skeptical, but excavated deeper, finding a skull fractured by blunt force and personal items like shoes matching George's size. The site was about six feet down, sealed in a makeshift vault.

Forensic tests in December 2018 identified the skeleton as George's through dental records. Suffolk County authorities ruled it a homicide, reopening the case after 55 years. The discovery brought mixed relief. The siblings gathered, touching the bones for the first time, feeling a tangible link to their father.

On October 25, 2019, they held a military funeral at Calverton National Cemetery, with honors for the veteran. Items recovered, like a belt buckle, offered small comforts. Police noted they would have questioned Richard Darress, but his recent death closed that door. The basement, once a play space, now symbolizes buried pain exposed to light, according to Fox News.

 Richard Darress: The suspected killer

Richard Darress entered the Carroll home as an employee but stayed as family. Hired by George for the basement expansion, he was in his 20s and known for his handyman skills. After George's vanishing, Richard Darress comforted Dorothy, leading to marriage and the birth of Rich Jr. He worked as a trucker, providing for the blended household, but tensions rose.

The Carroll children later described a home marked by fear; boys like Michael and Steven endured beatings, while Patricia and Jean faced sexual abuse from Darress. These experiences strained family bonds, though Dorothy remained his defender, as reported by People.

The psychic's 2010 reading directly implicated Richard Darress, claiming he bashed George's head with a silver wrench during an argument over the construction. Family timelines support this: Darress finished the concrete pour alone after George disappeared. Michael's uncle had long suspected Richard Darress, citing odd behavior like avoiding basement talk.

When police reviewed the case in 2018, they aimed to interview him, but Darress had died months earlier in Mexico, and his body was returned to Texas for burial. No evidence tied Dorothy to the killing; her children view her as a protector under pressure. Rich Jr. acknowledges the claims, prioritizing sibling unity over denial. Suffolk County detectives continue probing, but with key figures gone, closure rests with the family, according to People.

Stay tuned for more news and updates.