An Indiana mother searching for justice in her daughter’s unsolved killing says years have passed with little communication from Indianapolis prosecutors.
As the 10th anniversary of Angie Barlow’s disappearance approaches, her mother, Christina Kramer, is still seeking answers about what happened to her daughter and where the investigation stands.
Barlow, 23, vanished on Oct. 26, 2016, after sending her roommate the location of a private dancing job at Landmark Apartment and Townhomes in Indianapolis.
Angie Barlow, 23, disappeared on Oct. 26, 2016, in Indianapolis. Her remains were discovered nearly eight months later. (Courtesy of Christina Kramer)
“About to work this private party in case I go missing LOL,” Barlow wrote in the text, according to Kramer, who spoke with News Outlet.
Nearly eight months after Barlow disappeared, searchers discovered her remains in the backyard of a home near Harcourt in Indianapolis, WISH-TV reported. Kramer said her daughter had been shot and killed.
Kramer said her frustration has deepened since the special prosecutor handling the case left the office. She estimates it has been roughly two years since she last received an update from the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.
“I had been sending a bunch of emails for I don’t even know how long to absolutely nobody,” Kramer told News Outlet. She said she no longer knows whom to contact at the prosecutor’s office.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said the investigation into Angie Barlow’s death remains open. (Courtesy of Christina Kramer)
Kramer said she has made several attempts to contact Marion County Prosecuting Attorney Ryan Mears, but has not heard back.
The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office did not answer multiple requests for comment from News Outlet.
Surveillance footage and GPS tracker
According to Kramer, surveillance video from the apartment complex captured two vehicles leaving around 3:30 a.m. on Oct. 27, 2016. One of them, she said, was Barlow’s blue Pontiac G6.
A black sedan appeared to follow the Pontiac. Kramer believes it belonged to a woman who knew Barlow and had worked with her at Club Rio in Indianapolis. The woman was at the private party with her boyfriend, she said. However, WISH-TV reported that tinted windows prevented investigators from determining who was inside either vehicle.
When days passed without an explanation, Kramer contacted the dealership that had sold Barlow the car. Using its GPS tracking system, she helped locate the vehicle about eight miles from the apartment complex.
Kramer said Barlow normally kept the Pontiac spotless, but the recovered vehicle was badly damaged and littered inside. It appeared to have been driven beneath a fence, she said.
“That car had been on some kind of journey,” Kramer said.
Alleged taunts
Several months later, Kramer said, she received a call from the female acquaintance who had attended the private gathering with her boyfriend. Kramer said Barlow knew the couple, although they were not close friends.
“She needed some quick cash, and this was the way to do it,” Kramer said. She added that Barlow would never have taken the job if she had known who would be there.
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During the January 2017 conversation, Kramer said she asked the woman what she and Barlow had talked about at the party.
No charges have ever been filed in Angie Barlow’s Indianapolis killing. (Mark E. Gibson via Getty Images)
“Oh, you want to know what her last words were,” Kramer recalled the woman saying.
Kramer said the remark stayed with her because she interpreted it as a taunt. The woman denied making the call and having that conversation, according to what Kramer told News Outlet.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said that no criminal charges have been filed in Barlow’s death.
IMPD told News Outlet that the investigation remains open with Detective Jose Torres as the lead investigator but declined to comment further.
‘I’m her voice’
Despite standing less than 5 feet tall, Barlow excelled as a softball catcher, her mother said. She also competed in basketball, shot put, volleyball and bowling.
“She was a very gifted athlete. There was not a sport that she did not do,” Kramer said. “Whenever I talk about her, especially the good things, it just, it makes you happy.”
She was the eldest of four sisters, whom she remained close to after she left the family’s Muncie home.
“My daughter was the victim,” Angie Barlow’s mother, Christina Kramer, said. “She can’t speak for herself. I’m her survivor. I’m her voice, and I speak for her.” (Courtesy of Christina Kramer)
Kramer said Barlow’s death continues to affect the family, particularly her youngest daughter, who was 4 when Barlow disappeared.
The youngest child turned to violent video games to learn “how to escape the bad people,” Kramer said.
Kramer said she will continue pressing authorities to solve her daughter’s murder.
“When you remain silent, you’re a victim. When you have a voice, you’re a survivor, and I refuse to be a victim of my circumstances,” Kramer said.
“My daughter was the victim. She can’t speak for herself. I’m her survivor. I’m her voice, and I speak for her.”
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department urges anyone with information to contact its homicide office at 317-327-3475.
Tipsters can also contact Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-TIPS (8477), where callers can remain anonymous.
