Police: Nearly 50 years later, DNA identifies man who abducted, stabbed 3 girls in Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS — Decades after three young girls survived an abduction and were stabbed in Hancock County, Indiana, they have finally learned who the suspect was.

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The girls, who were 11, 13 and 14 at the time of their abduction and were left in a cornfield after being stabbed nearly 50 years ago, learned the suspect’s identity because of “forensic genetic genealogy,” according to The Associated Press.

The attacker was identified as Thomas Edward Williams. He died at the age of 49 in November 1983 at a prison in Galveston, Texas, police said, according to the AP.

The incident happened on Aug. 19, 1975, according to People magazine. The three girls, Kandice Smith, 13; Sheri Rottler Trick, 11; and Kathie Rottler, 14, went to a gas station to buy some items before they went hitchhiking. The Indianapolis Metro Police Department’s Unsolved Homicide Unit investigator David Ellison said in a news conference Thursday that is when a man in a white vehicle reportedly stopped and offered the girls a ride.

Ellison said that the man told the girls to sit in the front seat of his vehicle, People reported.

The girls then realized the man kept driving past their destination. Police said that they tried to get out of the vehicle but were unsuccessful. That was when the man stopped the car in Greenfield by a cornfield. He forced the girls out of the vehicle and bound two of them. He then allegedly sexually assaulted one of them and then proceeded to stab her. He also stabbed the other two girls multiple times before fleeing the area.

Two of the girls ran for help by the main road and were able to contact police. All three girls were taken to an area hospital and survived the attack, police said.

The case was reopened in 2018. In 2021, Ellison learned that the Indianapolis-Marion County Forensic Services Agency recovered DNA from evidence and had put together a full DNA profile of an unidentified man, police said.

Last year, Ellison sent an application for genetic genealogy to DNA Labs International in Deerfield Beach, Florida, police said.

“The ForenSeq Kintelligence System, the newest Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FIGG) technology, was designed specifically for challenging forensic samples. This testing enabled the development of a DNA profile 48 years later that was then used by DLI’s genealogy team to generate a new investigative lead for law enforcement. DLI was also able to confirm this investigative lead using DNA kinship testing,” said Steve Dubois, a Client Experience Specialist at DNA Labs International.

In April 2023, DNA Labs International re-analyzed DNA from the scene and were able to a suspect profile together and then create a pool of family members. Aug. 2023, with FamilyTree.com, GEDmatch.com as well as DNA from the suspect, officials were able to identify the suspect’s daughter, according to police.

“(Thursday’s) announcement is nearly 50 years in the making, but it shows the dedication and perseverance of our detectives and partners,” Deputy Chief of Investigations Kendale Adams said.

“After 48 years, the three survivors of a horrific attack now have answers. This breakthrough demonstrates the power of science, persistence, and never-ending pursuit of truth,” police said.

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