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Indianapolis police have identified the man who brutally stabbed three girls in a cornfield nearly 50 years ago. Kandice Smith, Sheri Rottler Trick, and Kathie Rottler, who miraculously survived the 1975 attack, can now end this agonizing chapter. Genetic genealogy technology identified Thomas Edward Williams, the girl abductor and assaulter, on Thursday, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. Family DNA led to the breakthrough after Williams, 49, died in prison in Galveston, Texas, in 1983.
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Survivors’ Triumph: After 48 Years, Breakthrough in Cold Case Stabbing of Girls Hitchhiking Home in 1975
The horrific incident occurred on August 19, 1975, when Rottler Trick (11), Smith (13), and Rottler (14) hitchhiked home from an east Indianapolis gas station. After offering a lift in a station wagon, the suspect strayed from their path, scaring them.
Realizing something was wrong, the girls tried to flee but failed. The gunman led them to a Greenfield cornfield. There, he bound two females, sexually raped one, and stabbed all three repeatedly. To escape, the girls pretended to die.
Two girls returned to the road for rescue after the attack. The perpetrator stayed undiscovered for decades despite efforts as the case grew cold. The survivors contacted retired Indianapolis Metro Police Sgt. David Ellison in 2018 to restart the probe.
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Bringing Justice and Closure
After DNA technology advanced, Ellison applied for familial DNA analysis in 2023, leading to the breakthrough. DNA Labs International used the ForenSeq Kintelligence System to create a DNA profile 48 years later and link it to the suspect through genealogy.
Thomas Edward Williams’ daughter was found using FamilyTree.com, GEDmatch.com, and the suspect’s DNA. Indianapolis podcast creator Audiochuck financed the DNA analysis, showing their devotion to justice.
After nearly 50 years, this unprecedented settlement gives survivors closure and shows law enforcement’s persistence and DNA technology’s transformative potential.
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