William Donahue

William Donahue
Information
Name	William Donahue
Date of birth	(1975-05-14) May 14, 1975
Date of death	(2004-10-18) October 18, 2004
Nationality	American
Occupation	Rotborough High School Quarterback, Various Positions at No Questions Pawn Shop and Scarlett's Closet
Education	High School
Known for	Star Quarterback for Rotborough High School, Disappearance, Accused Murder of Luke LaChance
Relationships
Mother	Scarlett Donahue
Father	Howard Donahue
Siblings	Andrew Donahue

William Donahue age 6

Early Life

William Donahue was born on May 14, 1975, to Howard and Scarlett Donahue. From an early age, he showed a strong inclination toward sports and competition, which became a defining aspect of his youth. He was particularly driven by self-improvement and learning through challenge, a philosophy he later summarized in his Rotborough High School yearbook: “There’s no point in being alive, I think, if you can’t struggle, because it’s when we struggle that we learn, and anywhere we can learn is a place we can grow and achieve.”

Sports career and playing for Rotborough High

Donahue attended Rotborough High School, where he achieved his longtime ambition of playing for the school’s football team, the Rotborough High School Cows. He earned a varsity letter as the team’s quarterback. Donahue grew up in relatively affluent circumstances compared to many of his peers in Rotborough. His family owned two successful retail businesses: No Questions Asked Pawn Shop and Scarlett’s Closet, a second-hand/thrift store. William was known for being unable to sit still when he set his mind to something, and it was this he used as the opportunity to get out of the house and into sports. He would develop for himself a rigorous and strict training regiment which allowed him to outperform his peers in sports try outs. William played on or tried out for nearly all the sports teams Rotborough High had to offer, including the swim team, basketball team, lacrosse team, and track and field respectively.

This drive to master any sport he could get into led him to be known as the “Big D”, by his peers as he seemed to push right through to his goals. He in turn became something of a “homeroom hero”.

a trophy given by the Rotborough High Football Team in 1994

Injury and Behavioral Changes

In his second senior year of high school in 1995, Donahue sustained a torn ACL and a concussion following a homecoming football game against rival high school Bloom Heights. In the days after the injury, he told doctors he began feeling “strange in the mind”. Several days later, those close to him observed a marked change in his behavior. He became noticeably more agitated and anxious, a significant departure from his previously headstrong and confident demeanor.

Andrew Donahue age 7 (left) and William age 3

These changes began to affect both his personal life and athletic career. Donahue reportedly expressed increasingly paranoid beliefs, describing residents of Rotborough as distorted or evil versions of themselves and referring to them as demons. Over time, his reasoning grew more fragmented and detached from reality. As a result of his declining mental and emotional state, he was ultimately forced to stop participating in sports altogether. The end of his athletic career was described as deeply distressing for Donahue and appeared to further intensify his fears and psychological decline.

Personal hardship

Following the deterioration of his mental health, Donahue experienced increasing difficulty managing daily life and maintaining personal relationships, which led to growing social isolation. His relationship with his then girlfriend, Roberta Smoley, ended after his school newspaper published a story telling of an argument that took place in his truck outside the Stop’N’Slop on Grace Way. Witnesses later described Donahue’s behavior during the confrontation as unhinged and aggressive, with Donahue accusing his girlfriend of having affairs with his father, his brother, and his close friend Phil Sacksman.

Loss of friends and family

The breakdown of his personal relationships further exacerbated his condition and culminated in a psychotic break that resulted in his institutionalization at the Blue Skies Recovery Group (BSRG). Spearheaded by his father Howard Donahue, his stay at Blue Skies appeared to be beneficial, as his hallucinations and paranoid episodes reportedly diminished for a time.

Assault charges

Donahue later suffered a relapse while working a shift at No Questions Asked Pawn Shop. During an interaction with a customer, he began screaming and throwing miscellaneous objects, prompting his father to terminate his employment there. He was subsequently employed at Scarlett’s Closet as an inventory sorter, a role he performed without incident. Despite this, local patrons reportedly began to avoid the store after learning of his employment. [citation needed]

Death of Howard and Scarlett

Following a series of incidents involving William, the Donahue family’s businesses experienced a significant decline in revenue, as local residents reportedly became reluctant to visit the stores. This downturn was further exacerbated by segments aired on the radio station 90.3 The Secret, which featured gossip and commentary about the incident involving Donahue. Shirts were sold with the phrase “No William, No.” with a crude drawing of Donahue on the front as a means of mocking William.

As financial pressures intensified and debt accumulated, Howard and Scarlett Donahue died by suicide on March 26th 1998. Their deaths shocked the community. In the aftermath, William and his brother, Andrew Donahue, were left to live in the home where their parents committed suicide. Subsequently, legal action was taken against 90.3 The Secret, with the station being sued over its alleged role in contributing to the circumstances surrounding the deaths of William’s parents.

Following the suicide of his parents, Donahue developed a form of selective mutism. He was largely nonverbal in most social interactions and appeared to experience intense episodes of hallucinations or psychosis primarily when alone.

According to family accounts, including that of his brother Andrew Donahue, these episodes could be severe. Andrew later recalled entering a room during one particularly intense episode; once William became aware of his presence, he abruptly ceased the behavior and silently left the room. This pattern further underscored the isolating and episodic nature of Donahue’s ongoing psychological decline.

Arrest and Disappearance

After his arrest and during subsequent detention, Donahue was reported to have died by suicide in his jail cell. Authorities stated that the death occurred shortly after his initial interrogation. It was widely speculated that the absence of his prescribed antipsychotic medication, combined with intense pressure from the public and the psychological weight of his crimes, may have been contributing factors.

Public reaction in Rotborough was sharply divided following Donahue’s suicide. While some residents expressed sympathy for the Donahue family and viewed his death as a tragic outcome of prolonged mental illness, others argued that his death did not constitute adequate punishment for his alleged crimes.

See More

CASE 003: Will Donahue (2004) [collapse/expand]
People:	Evidence:	Outcomes:
•William Donahue  •Howard Donahue  •Scarlett Donahue  •Andrew Donahue  •Phil Sacksman  •90.3 The Secret  •RPD		•The Closure of No Questions Asked Pawn Shop  •Closure of Luke LaChance Missing Persons Case