IN IN - Carmen Van Huss, 19, Indianapolis, 22 March 1993

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bessie said:
There's about an hour window from the time she left her dad, and the time neighbors reported hearing her in the hall talking to a guy. She would not have had much time to go to a bar and meet someone on the spur of the moment, and then invite him over to her apartment. It could happen, but I have a feeling the meeting was prearranged, and the excuse about going home to wash her uniform was made up for her father's benefit. JMO.

But that guy didn't just fall out of the sky. She met him at her job, or at a bar, or maybe he was a mechanic who worked on her car. Regardless, someone, somewhere, at some point in time, saw them together, talking, smiling, flirting. Why has no one ever come forward?
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BBM: A co worker? Someone getting off work when she was there? A customer that she was friends with?

They had to have stopped for beer and food.

WC can you tell us what kind of fast food wrappers were found?

Here's a map that shows the distance between Turtle Creek Apartments and where the Pizza Hut was. It's only 9 min. by car

https://goo.gl/maps/mpCkl

Does anyone know how to find a map from that time period? One that shows fast food places and liquor stores or beer marts in the area.
 
The question about the uniform is a good one.
Whether Carmen intended meeting up with the man or not will never be known, but I have no doubt the man intended meeting up with her.
I think the man was a predatory type who would have been "working" on her for a while.
He would have been in her secondary range of friends, not someone her friends would think of. He would have known she was going to visit her grandmother and would be home late, that would give him the opportunity of getting her "off guard".
He would have made sure the alcohol was there, he probably had the take-away food as well. The alcohol would have increased her "off guard" vulnerability.

He is probably someone she knows but would never be interested in as a romantic interest, and he knew it.
The "get off me" screams were because she was not interested, he was not a romantic interest. (He was not an affair).
She saw him differently to the way he saw her, she thought he was a harmless friend, he knew she would never be romantically attracted to him, hence the alcohol.
When she rejected him, he raped her and killed her.

What a tragedy.
 
bessie said:
I'd think you're right, and the wounds were compared to knives in the apartment, assuming the weapon was a knife.

I thought of another possible scenario. Suppose she told the truth about washing her uniform. Did she have to use a laundry room in the complex? Could she have met up with the suspect in there? Did she recognize him because he was a neighbor? So after standing around the hot w/d's for awhile, they go to her apt to wait. Which raises another question, was her uniform found in her apartment? Clean, or dirty?

ETA: One more thought. There's a picture of Carmen with blonde hair. I can't get to it at the moment (on my phone), but it looks as though she's sitting near a swimming pool. I wonder if that was taken at the same complex, or if not, did her complex have a swimming pool. And if so, was it customary for tenants to socialize in the evenings around the pool. I have a hunch this guy either was a tenant, or a friend of a tenant -- part of a secondary circle of friends, as indicated in the article.
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BBM: Turtle Creek Apartments has a pool at least in current pics.

turtle creek pool.jpg
 
I am from Indy, know the area she lived & worked very well & have many friends in common with the friend mentioned in the IndyStar article. Don't remember this particular murder, but remember the mutual friend discussing it recently in a fb group were both part of.
 
Meryl12 said:
The question about the uniform is a good one.
Whether Carmen intended meeting up with the man or not will never be known, but I have no doubt the man intended meeting up with her.
I think the man was a predatory type who would have been "working" on her for a while.
He would have been in her secondary range of friends, not someone her friends would think of. He would have known she was going to visit her grandmother and would be home late, that would give him the opportunity of getting her "off guard".
He would have made sure the alcohol was there, he probably had the take-away food as well. The alcohol would have increased her "off guard" vulnerability.

He is probably someone she knows but would never be interested in as a romantic interest, and he knew it.
The "get off me" screams were because she was not interested, he was not a romantic interest. (He was not an affair).
She saw him differently to the way he saw her, she thought he was a harmless friend, he knew she would never be romantically attracted to him, hence the alcohol.
When she rejected him, he raped her and killed her.

What a tragedy.
Click to expand...

Yes, this makes sense.
 
bessie said:
Oh, no. I came across her name while researching other cold cases from the midwest.

This might be an obvious question, but I ASSume the guy she was seen walking with in the hall has not come forward to be cleared?

And who hears a woman screaming, "Get off of me! Get off of me!", and then leaves an ugly note on the door? Unbelievable.

ETA: To clarify, a neighbor complained to the management office, who in turn left the note on the door.
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That part bothered me the most. How little people worry about others. They mightaswell have written, "Be more considerate to your neighbors while you're getting murdered!" I hope this jerk gets caught no matter how many years its been.
 
Justiceforever said:
They now have a full DNA profile of the suspect, submitted to a national databank. You can watch WC discuss it in the 48 hours extra segment at the bottom of this page.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/amy-weidner-cold-case-a-familys-quest-for-justice/
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Thanks for the link, JFE. So that would rule out Larry Dewayne Hall. It also rules out other known killers, and could mean either the killer got very smart, or died before he re-offended. Or, in an evidence room somewhere sits a bio sample waiting to be profiled that just might be a match.

Fifty plus stab wounds...no words for that.
 
RichKelly said:
You da Bess..=;)

Few more things if anyone could answer

1) was she bound ?
2) were her clothes, torn or cut off her ?
3) position her body was found in

If anyone knows, Id appreciate it
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Back at ya! :)

I'm curious about those details, too.

BethAnn777 said:
IMO the prearranged meet up is more plausible than the laundry room scenario. The news article stated fast food wrappers and beer bottles/cans were found. Either he, she or they picked up the food. Where was the food from? Were any fast food employees questioned?
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The fast food could still work. She might have picked it up on her way home, and the beer was on hand. Or he/they ducked out to pick up some food and beer. There's a hospital nearby, and late night, fast food places are often found near hospitals. In any case, I'm sure the food was traced back to where it was purchased, and those employees questioned. I sure hope so, anyway.

Justiceforever said:
BBM: A co worker? Someone getting off work when she was there? A customer that she was friends with?

They had to have stopped for beer and food.

WC can you tell us what kind of fast food wrappers were found?

Here's a map that shows the distance between Turtle Creek Apartments and where the Pizza Hut was. It's only 9 min. by car

https://goo.gl/maps/mpCkl

Does anyone know how to find a map from that time period? One that shows fast food places and liquor stores or beer marts in the area.
Click to expand...
I tried TerraServer, but couldn't find an image going back that far.
 
bessie said:
Thanks for the link, JFE. So that would rule out Larry Dewayne Hall. It also rules out other known killers, and could mean either the killer got very smart, or died before he re-offended. Or, in an evidence room somewhere sits a bio sample waiting to be profiled that just might be a match.

Fifty plus stab wounds...no words for that.
Click to expand...

So I began to think that way - has the offender died or just been very careful in future. However, it could have just been a one off crime and your last point might come true if he ever gets his DNA taken again.

I was thinking that some profiling might help here. Not of the offender, but of Carmen. Consider her background - close to her father but a large age gap between siblings - 19 & a place of her own - love of animals & a kindness towards them - jobs involving the interaction between many new people every day.

I am no expert, be we have the makings of an independent, very trusting, kind person who perhaps was able to make friends with people from all walks of life.

This means that essentially, she could have been befriended by almost anyone.

I assume her former colleagues were all interviewed? Surely one of them would have noticed if there was a regular customer she seemed to always get on her station? What about any social habits with fellow employees? Given that her murderer was known to her, the exhaustive process of eliminating the obvious ones must surely take place first?
 
How long had Carmen's grandmother been in the hospital? Had Carmen been to visit her prior to the night she was killed? Having a loved one near death can make one incredibly vulnerable and working in a hospital could be the perfect way for a rapist to find victims.
 
Was she in any sort of long term relationship that she had ended?

Any problems with co-workers or friends paying to much attention to her to the point that they were stalking her?

Had she been involved in any altercations or any personal problems with anyone before the time of her death?

Hopefully DNA will be the key that catches her killer eventually.
 
bessie said:
Back at ya! :)

I'm curious about those details, too.


The fast food could still work. She might have picked it up on her way home, and the beer was on hand. Or he/they ducked out to pick up some food and beer. There's a hospital nearby, and late night, fast food places are often found near hospitals. In any case, I'm sure the food was traced back to where it was purchased, and those employees questioned. I sure hope so, anyway.


I tried TerraServer, but couldn't find an image going back that far.
Click to expand...

Id also be interested in the placement, and nature of the wounds, (face, neck, chest ..etc)
 
A lot of personal rage in that many stab wounds. JMO
 
EGirl said:
A lot of personal rage in that many stab wounds. JMO
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Thats why i feel she knew her attacker, i asked a few question's above and hopefully someone fits the attacker. Its like a jealous rage after refusal of unwanted advances.
 
I know it's probably a long shot, but at that time, there was a serial killer in that area - a Larry DeWayne Hall - he supposedly confessed to kidnapping and murdering several young women, and it appears he mostly took them off the street, but it was said in some of the articles that he also broke into some of the women's homes......just throwing it out there, could be nothing. I know from what I have read, he confessed to abducting 39 women, but nobody knows for sure how many he took, or if he killed any when he broke into their homes.
 
Kimbreeley said:
I know it's probably a long shot, but at that time, there was a serial killer in that area - a Larry DeWayne Hall - he supposedly confessed to kidnapping and murdering several young women, and it appears he mostly took them off the street, but it was said in some of the articles that he also broke into some of the women's homes......just throwing it out there, could be nothing.
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See post #28. I tried clicking on the article to read about why it couldn't have been him but it takes me to a different story.
 
BethAnn777 said:
See post #28. I tried clicking on the article to read about why it couldn't have been him but it takes me to a different story.
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I just saw that, and you are right, BethAnn777, thank you! I guess it couldn't have been him due to the fact his dna would already be on file.
 
I am a life long resident of Indianapolis. Anything I can help with let me know. Not sure how much the apartment complex has change but i can take pictures of the area and so forth if anyone
would be interested in seeing them.

I thought at first this was going to be the woman whom was found in a laundry faculty at a apartment complex in the general area that was murder also in Indianapolis around this time. Not sure if they solved that case or not? I believe it occurred in the late 90s, and she was stabbed to death i Believe it was while doing laundry. Late at night early in the day, Don't remember now.
 
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