Indiana authorities to release more information on 1988 murder case

[July 17, 2018]  (Reuters) - Indiana authorities were expected on Tuesday to release more details about a cold case they say has been solved after DNA led them to a man who they arrested and charged for the assault and murder in 1988 of an 8-year-old girl.

John Miller, 59, of Grabill, Indiana has been arrested and preliminarily charged in nearby Fort Wayne with murder, child molestation and confinement of someone under 14 years old, 30 years after April Tinsley was found dead in a ditch.

Miller appeared briefly in court on Monday and ordered held without bond. A judge gave the Allen County Prosecuting Attorney's Office until Thursday to file formal charges against him, Fort Wayne's News-Sentinel newspaper reported. A news conference about the case is scheduled for Tuesday morning.

DNA evidence and records on publicly accessible genealogical websites helped investigators track down the suspect, the Fort Wayne police department said in a court filing on Sunday. That followed a pattern similar to that used to track down the "Golden State Killer" in California earlier this year.

Tinsley's mother reported her missing from her family home on April 1, 1988. Investigators found her body three days later, about 20 miles (32 km) away.

Police asked Miller at his residence before his arrest if he had any idea why the police wanted to talk with him. Miller replied, "April Tinsley," according to the affidavit.

John D. Miller appears in a booking photo provided by the Allen County Sheriff's Department in Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S., July 16, 2018. Allen County Sheriff's Department/Handout via REUTERS

Police say Miller confessed to raping and then choking April Tinsley to death in April 1988 at his mobile home.

The arrest affidavit said that police, using outside labs, compared DNA evidence with information on genealogical websites, which narrowed the search to Miller and his brother.

Earlier this month, police began to watch Miller, and took three used condoms from his trash, the affidavit said.

The court records did not disclose whether Miller had retained an attorney. Calls on Monday to the prosecutor's office were not immediately returned.

According to court papers, police in 1990 discovered writing on a barn wall near Fort Wayne that said: "I kill 8 year old April M Tinsley did you find her other shoe haha I will kill agin'."

(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Peter Graff)

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