'We're all very very grateful,' Family of woman slain in 1993 finally get closure in case

INDIANAPOLIS — A piece of paper can't sum up even a fraction of the love Jimmy Van Huss Jr. has for his big sister. But the few words on it were all he could give at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. His thoughts on the update in his sister's case, however, kept everyone in the room hanging on his every word.

He took a deep breath at a podium before speaking.

"She wasn't able to experience her college graduation or have a wedding or any life events," Van Huss said. "She was taken from me when I was a freshman in high school and I'm thankful that finally the man that did it is where he needs to be."

Joined by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police, along with other agencies, it was announced that an arrest was made 31 years after the unsolved murder of 19-year-old Carmen Van Huss.

Indiana Unsolved: A new look at rape, killing of Carmen Van Huss, 19

Carmen Van Huss

The date was March 22, 1993.

Van Huss had spent the evening with family visiting an ailing grandmother at Community Hospital South . The teen gave her father, James Van Huss Sr., and youngest brother, who had just turned three, a ride to their southside Indianapolis home, arriving around 9:30 p.m.

Her father asked her to stay, but she said she had to get home to wash her Pizza Hut uniform. She was a waitress for the restaurant chain at the time.

Around 11:30 p.m., neighbors told police they heard her and an unidentified man talking and laughing as they entered Van Huss’ Turtle Creek North apartment in the 8200 block of Harcourt Road, just south of St. Vincent Hospital .

In the early morning hours of March 23, neighbors heard a loud commotion from the apartment. One heard Van Huss yell, "Get off me! Get off me!" About 1:30 a.m., hurried footsteps were heard leaving the apartment.

No one called police, but someone complained to complex management, who left a handwritten note on Van Huss' door, chiding her for the noise and telling her to be more considerate of her neighbors.

On March 24, Pizza Hut managers were worried after Van Huss missed days of work and didn't answer her phone. They looked up the emergency contact on her employment application and reached her father.

James Van Huss Sr. went to his daughter's apartment, found the scolding note on her door and inside, a horrific scene.

"For my dad to have to find his daughter after what was brutality done to her makes this day bittersweet. I wish he was here to see it," Van Huss Jr. said at the news conference Tuesday. His father died years back.

Van Huss family infuriated: Indy detective off case after his Internet plea to pay for DNA test

According to court documents, Marion County Sheriff's deputies were called to Van Huss' apartment on a report of an unconscious person. There, they found the teen dead, lying naked on her back, on the floor next to a bed.

There were signs of a struggle including a knocked-over table, clothing thrown on the floor, a large pool of blood near Van Huss' head and blood splatter around her body. She had over 60 stab wounds to her head, face and body. She was missing her left earring, which appeared to be torn from her ear.

Investigators believe the assault took place in the living room with the suspect going into the kitchen to possibly wash himself.

Marion County Sheriff's Sgt. Dave Wilks told IndyStar at the time, "Several people, including some ex-boyfriends," were questioned but there were no suspects.

31 years later, suspect arrested

Deputy Chief Kendale Adams said detectives in their Unsolved Homicide Unit used genetic genealogy and advanced analytic capabilities to identify and arrest her alleged killer.

In 2000, detectives requested to add Van Huss' DNA to state and national databases.

In 2013, forensic scientists obtained a partial DNA profile of a man from evidence found in a bag at Van Huss' apartment, but they were unable to find a match.

In 2023, a DNA analysis company contacted Indianapolis Metropolitan Police with information on an identified user possibly related to a person of interest in the case — Dana Shepherd.

According to court records, he used to live in the same apartment complex even after the killing.

The now 52-year-old Columbia, Missouri man, who would have been 21 at the time, was working as a janitor at the University of Missouri when he was visited by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police detectives earlier this year. Shepard was visibly shaking as he read the warrant for his DNA, investigators wrote in an affidavit.

Police obtained a DNA swab that allegedly matches that found at the crime scene.

Shepard was arrested in connection to Van Huss' killing last week on two counts of murder and one count of rape with deadly force. His extradition hearing is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Missouri.

A family finally getting closure

An archived IndyStar newspaper story highlights how family and friends were seeking contributions to help bury Van Huss and offer a reward for information about her killer. At the time, Van Huss' grandmother had just died and the family couldn't afford another funeral.

But now they have peace of mind.

"I do have hope that any similar case with DNA can get this same treatment," her brother said. "With the genealogy and everything we have available today. I want all of them to get the same attention we got. Maybe we can have some more outcomes like this."

Jade Jackson is a Public Safety Reporter for the Indianapolis Star. Email her at Jade.Jackson@IndyStar.com and follow her on X, formally known as Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON .

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 'We're all very very grateful,' Family of woman slain in 1993 finally get closure in case