Indianapolis, IN
Cold Case: Indiana ‘Slasher’ has a name 48 years after three girls left for dead in cornfield
Left for dead by the ‘Slasher,’ these three Indiana women share their story
The man, suspected to be in his 40s, drove the girls past the teen hangout and continued east into Hancock County, eventually heading off a county road and into a cornfield.
Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar
Thomas Edward Williams has been named the suspect behind the 1975 cold case that involved three girls and a man who detectives at the time said was ‘hunting.’
Williams — dubbed the ‘Slasher’ by police and the victims — died at age 49 in November 1983 inside a prison in Galveston, Texas. At the time of the abduction, Williams lived near the site of the kidnapping. DNA from pieces of evidence further confirmed through testing against Williams’ daughter led to his identification as the suspect, police said Thursday.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police announced the major break in the nearly 50-year-old case Thursday.
Background of the ‘Slasher’ case
In 1975, three girls trying to reach an amusement center hitchhiked along the 800 block of East Washington Street when a man picked them up. They soon realized something was wrong when the front passenger door was missing an inside door handle.
The man, suspected to be in his 40s, drove the girls past the teen hangout and continued east into Hancock County, eventually heading off a county road and into a cornfield.
There, he raped the youngest girl, 11 years old at the time, stabbed her three times in the throat and another 15 times in her chest. He then slashed the throats of the 13-year-old and 14-year-old and left them all for dead.
“I heard him wrestling around, the car door shut and the car start,” the oldest victim told IndyStar during an interview in February 2018. “I was trying to see which way he was going to go because I wanted to get the heck out of there and (13-year-old) grabbed my leg and it scared me so I fell down, I didn’t know which way he went.”
The two couldn’t find the youngest victim, who was the oldest victim’s sister. The man had dragged her further back into the field. The oldest two girls said they thought he took her.
“He picked me up and tossed me into the cornfield,” the youngest victim told IndyStar. She then passed out.
The two oldest victims crawled out of the field and onto US-40 in an attempt to wave down help. Three men pulled over to pick them up, took them to a motel and phoned authorities.
One officer, who arrived first on the motel scene, compared the cuts to the girls’ necks as appearing similar to that of an accordion.
Law enforcement then returned to the field to find the youngest victim.
A manhunt ensues, but the case goes cold after charges dropped
A manhunt for the assailant ensued for years. Newspaper clippings shared leads and provided suspect sketches from what the girls relayed to artists. A police detective in one news article stated the picture matched the description of a suspect known for abducting and raping girls from east-side schools. The Marion County Sheriff at the time detailed 12 detectives to the case.
In December 1975, roughly four months after the attacks, Marion County prosecutors told The Daily Reporter that they had identified a Homer man as a suspect but no charges had been brought.
The search continued but the case eventually turned cold.
Marisa Kwiatkowski and Mykal McEldowney contributed to this report.
Contact Sarah Nelson at 317-503-7514 or sarah.nelson@indystar.com
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — It was another busy week in high school sports in central Indiana and ‘The Zone Extra’ has it all covered.
Athlete of the week and Guerin Catholic senior outfielder Ian Taylor is off to a scorching hot start to the young season. Check out his interview as well as Guerin Catholic head coach Dave Schrage talk about Taylor’s success.
The Johnson County baseball tournament came to a close. See highlights from Center Grove’s tournament victory.
The 4A baseball coaches poll was released as well as the 3A softball coaches poll.
The former Columbus North gymnastics coach, John Hinds, passed away at 88 years old.
Center Grove head softball coach Alyssa Coleman joins the show for a coaches corner conversation.
See highlights from the Colts Local Pro Day, featuring several former Hoosiers and Purdue’s Devin Mockobee.
Girls lacrosse is in the first season as an IHSAA emerging sport.
All of that, and more, can be found in the full The Zone Extra show above.
(WISH) — A tornado watch was issued until 3 a.m. EDT Saturday for counties northwest and west of Indianapolis, and into Illinois.
Indiana counties in the watch area are Boone, Carroll, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Elkhart, Fountain, Fulton, Howard, Kosciusko, La Porte, Marshall, Miami, Montgomery, Parke, Pulaski, Putnam, St. Joseph, Starke, Tippecanoe, Vermillion, Vigo, Wabash, Warren and White. The watch area includes the cities of Crawfordsville, Elkhart, Lafayette, Lebanon, South Bend, Terre Haute, and West Lafayette.
The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center has issued two watches in Indiana. The other one until midnight EDT Friday includes the Indiana counties of Benton, Jasper, Lake, Newton and Porter. That includes the city of Gary. That watch also extends into Illinois.
Storms on Friday night in central Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Minnesota led to dozens of confirmed tornado warnings. The storms in central Illinois has gusts up to 80 mph, and tornadoes embedded in heavy rain.
An alert issued after 10:30 p.m. Friday from the National Weather Service at Indianapolis said, “A line of strong thunderstorms is nearing the state line with a history of widespread damaging winds and tornadoes. The line is expected to continue to produce damaging winds as it moves into Indiana with the potential for additional tornadoes. The line is then expected to gradually weaken as it moves further into the state.”
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Athenaeum in downtown Indianapolis is getting ready to welcome spring with its annual St. Benno Festival this Saturday.
Organizers say it’s one of the longest-running cultural festivals in Indianapolis.
St. Benno Festival is based on the German tradition of “Frühlingsfest,” the springtime version of Oktoberfest, Athenaeum Foundation President Craig Mince says.
“It would always be the festival that would open up the beer garden,” Mince said. “So that was kind of their kickoff of the spring and that warmer season. “
The Athenaeum’s celebration focuses on St. Benno, the patron saint of anglers and the city of Munich, Germany.
There’s a lot of folklore surrounding St. Benno. He’s said to have created Bach beer. He also had a sidekick, “Einbeck,” which means “billy goat” in German.
Legend has it that when the invaders were coming to Munich, he threw the key to a church into a body of water. Years later, he caught a fish that had eaten the key and retrieved it.
“When the German immigrants came here to central Indiana, Indianapolis in particular, they started to organize,” Mince said. “They celebrated Benno. They celebrated Bach beer. So that was kind of the beginning of this institution.”
St. Benno Fest will include lots of beer, pretzels, and Gomez BBQ’s doner kebab.
Francene Thomas, the Athenaeum’s event and festivals manager, says there’s a lot of thought that goes into the menu.
“We want to definitely bring the tradition of this festival and continue that, but also, just bring some fresh flavor to it, too.”
The celebration serves as a fundraiser for the Athenaeum. Money raised will go back into maintenance and other events that promote German culture.
Tickets are $25 and can be bought in advance on the Athenaeum website. St. Benno Fest is a 21+ event and runs from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
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