A child killer taunts girls with threatening letters | Forensic Files

[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
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website today's episode involves crimes against children and won't be suitable for all
[Music] listeners over the Memorial Day weekend in late March 2004 7-year-old Emily higs
left her bright pink bicycle outside her home in greyall Indiana when she went to retrieve it she
noticed someone had left a Ziploc plastic bag in the bike's front basket inside the bag was an anonymous
note written in pencil on Lin yellow paper it read hi honey I've been watching you I
am the same person that kidnapped and raped and killed April Tinsley you are my next
victim if you don't report this to police or I don't see this in the paper tomorrow or on the local news I will
blow up your house killing everyone but you you will be mine the plastic bag also contained a
used condom Emily took the items to her mother Crystal while Crystal was unsettled she
was convinced it was a sick joke possibly the handiwork of one of her teenage son's
friends the author's handwriting was messy and childlike it was also riddled with grammatical
punctuation and spelling errors with simple words like will misspelled as w l l the name April Tinsley didn't ring any
bells for Crystal higs whose family had only been living in the area for a couple of
years but when she told a longtime Community member about the disturbing message they were visibly
shaken they told Crystal you need to call the sheriff and have him come [Music] [Music]
out schools across Indiana closed early on April 1 1988 on account of it being Good Friday a Christian holiday that
marks the start of the Easter break April Tinsley who had recently celebrated her eighth birthday and was
in the first grade left Fairfield Elementary at 11:30 a.m. she returned to her family's home
on West Williams Street in the city of Fort Wayne it had been a cold and dreary morning so when a break in the weather
arrived early that afternoon a sought to make the most of it she asked her mother
Janet if she could go out and play with her friend Nicole who lived just a few blocks away on West suttonfield
Street April had walked to and from Nicole's house many times before Janet said yes but told April to
call home as soon as she got to Nicole's to confirm she'd arrived safely after lunch Janet handed April an
umbrella and sent her on her way a short while later the Tinsley's phone rang it was April calling to check in as
promised before hanging up Janet reminded April to be home by 400 p.m. to avoid the rain that had been
forecast I got my umbrella April playfully replied when April failed to return home
on time Janet Tinsley called Nicole's house seeking an explanation she learned that April and
Nicole had spent most of the afternoon playing with dolls and excitedly discussing all the chocolate they
planned to collect over Easter the girls then walked to a playground halfway between their homes where they met up
with another friend Nicole said they'd left the playground a little after 3:00 p.m. to
go to the third friend's house which was close by as the girls walked together it began
to drizzle realizing she had left her umbrella at Nicole's house April decided to quickly go back there and get
it the others continued on to their destination and when April didn't join them Nicole assumed she decided to go
home instead when Nicole's mother told Janet Tinsley April never did come back here
to get her umbrella Janet felt the blood rush from her body she was overcome with the feeling
that something was very wrong Janet alerted her husband Michael and they immediately began walking the
streets looking for April she was a Carefree child and they knew her to be a little silly with her
favorite game being hide and seek they were also mindful that it was April Fool's Day maybe April was playing some
kind of prank on them yet as time wore on with no sign of April Janet and Michael grew increasingly anxious
at 6:00 p.m. Janet tearfully reported her daughter's disappearance to police officers arrived at the Tinsley
home where April lived with her mother father and infant brother for as long as Janet could
remember she had always wanted to be a mother in her teens she often told people that her first child was going to
be a girl with blue eyes and curly blonde hair and her name would be April Marie J dreams came true on March 18
1980 when April was born a cheerful child April always had a smile on her face and loved to make
others laugh but she was also shy and typically stayed close to her mother her parents adored and doted on her losing
her was devastating the police were sympathetic towards the Tinsley and took their
concerns seriously immediately started retracing April's last known movements carrying a photo of
her to Aid in their search they were also given a description of what April was wearing
that day a blue turtleneck sweater with a pink and red jacket over the top a pair of light blue pants with three love
hearts down one leg and pink gym shoes the area April had been walking covered only a few blocks which she'
navigated many times before houses were door knocked and residents questioned every garage alley and
abandoned building was checked but April was nowhere to be found the search radius expanded into
the city's rural outskirts soon many volunteers were assisting police in their search as news of April's disappearance
spread a local resident came forward to report an incident they'd seen earlier that day
at around the time April went missing they saw a little girl walking along hogland Avenue along long Suburban
street that led to April's home as the little girl crossed the street a Shabby blue pickup truck pulled
up alongside her the witness glimpsed of the man behind the wheel he appeared nonchalant and the girl seemed equally
unfaced when the pickuper drove off the girl was gone the witness didn't see or hear a
struggle so they assumed the driver was the girl's father they described what they
remembered about the girl specifically the light blue pants she'd been wearing that featured several distinctive love
hearts trailing down one leg investigators were certain the witness had seen April Tinsley at the
exact moment she was taken the pickup driver was described as a white man in his third s he had wavy
Sandy colored hair with darker roots and a few days worth of beard growth seemingly no one knew
him while crime wasn't unheard of in Fort Wayne child abduction was it had been over a decade since the last case
of that nature the thought that a child could be snatched off the street in broad
daylight led to local parents experiencing anxieties they had never felt before as night fell and April remained missing
police settled on a worst case scenario they put out an all points bulletin for April certain she had
indeed been taken the Frantic search continued and the community remained Vigilant fearful
the perpetrator would strike again over that weekend a dozen police officers worked a collective 200 hours
on the investigation but Easter passed with no break bre throughs on the afternoon of Monday
April 4 a male jogger was running along County Road 68 in Spencerville a small unincorporated rural community 20 mi
Northeast of Fort Wayne as he passed by remote farming fields and dense Woodland he spotted
something in a rain swollen drainage ditch 40 ft from the roadside it was the body of April
Tinsley April had been suffocated and strangled to death although she was fully clothed in the outfit she'd had on
when she went missing it was clear she'd been redressed after being sexually assaulted her pants were on backwards
and she was missing a shoe no foreign genetic matter was found on April's body but testing of her
underwear revealed traces of seen in 1988 the role of DNA in criminal investigations was a relatively new and
unknown concept but by chance in the days before April was murdered Fort Wayne detectives
had completed a workshop on DNA evidence it taught them how to correctly collect and store April's Killer's DNA
to ensure its integrity and Longevity DNA testing at the time required a large sample to Ain the
subject's profile the minuscule amount recovered from April's underwear coupled with limitations in forensic technology
prevented authorities from gleaning much still they respected its significance as a means of positively
confirming April's killer once they had him in custody it would remain their one
crucial piece of evidence as a thorough search of the crime scene and its surroundings failed to uncover anything
that immediately identified a April's killer because no effort was made to conceal April's remains detectives knew
they were dealing with an attention seeker who wanted his crime to be discovered the killer seemed to have an
inflated sense of confidence that he wouldn't be found yet he wasn't entirely devoid of
fear April's missing shoe was eventually found around 1,000 ft west of her body on the other side of the
road police suspected that April's killer had dumped her in the ditch then realized as he drove off that one of her
shoes was still in his vehicle scared of being seen if he returned to the dump site he tossed the
shoe out of window as he sped away a medical examiner concluded that April had been killed one or two days
prior to the discovery of her body County Road 68 was not the kind of place someone from out of town would be aware
of however a reason to visit or happened to come across the killer must have been
familiar with it and knew that his chances of being spotted there were slim this meant he was likely from Fort Wayne
or one of its surrounding townships no one sprang to mind as a suspect the tinsel had no enemies and
couldn't imagine who would want to harm their daughter known sex offenders who lived
in the crimes vicinity were questioned by police but were gradually ruled out as having any
involvement when word reached to detectives that there was an alleged sighting of a blue pickup truck near
where April's body was found they took notice that was the same type of vehicle April's abductor had apparently been
driving police examined thousands of blue pickup trucks across Indiana but nothing of value was
uncovered a suspect sketch of the driver depicted a generic looking white man but
Crimestoppers was inundated with calls from people who thought they knew him 140 of these calls implicated a
34-year-old named Everett Shaw Jr sha was a local gang member known as moose when shown a photographic lineup
featuring sha the ey witness from hogland Avenue identified him as April's abductor upon speaking with Sha's
neighbor detectives leared that for several weeks there had been a blue pickup truck parked outside of Sha's
home while sha didn't own such a vehicle he had access to one through a friend sha was also known to loiter
around parks and make crude remarks about children he had been accused of molesting an 11-year-old girl though the
case was ultimately dropped days before April Tinsley was Tak taken sha was allegedly overheard
telling another person that he'd seen two girls playing and that he wanted to grab one of
them the gang Everett schaw Jr belonged to had an interest in the occult prompting rumors that April's murder was
some type of ritualistic sacrifice while this Theory became a Hot Topic amongst gossiping locals police
concluded that it had no merit sha denied knowing anything about April ensle he passed several polygraph
tests and when his DNA didn't match the sample from April's as salent he was released DNA samples from four
additional suspects were tested only to be ruled out detectives continued to investigate
the hundreds of tips that came in from suspicious men seen around the neighborhood to others who had recently
changed their appearance whenever a new lead emerged police dropped everything to pursue it
each time they reached a dead end in the immediate aftermath of April's murder the community struggled
to return to any sense of normaly children now walked in groups and police patrolled streets near
schools 90 locals formed a group called April which stood for abduction prevention reconnaissance and
information League members ranged in AE age from 14 to 52 and their aims were to keep
children safe raise money for victims of crime and educate young people on the importance of avoiding
strangers the group's president insisted that they weren't Vigilantes they were just ensuring another tragedy didn't
occur and it seemed like their efforts paid off 2 years passed without any further attacks
in late May 1990 a teenage boy who lived on the northeastern rural outskirts of Fort Wayne noticed something peculiar
going on someone had been lingering around his family's Barn the barn was just a few feet from a
thoroughfare named Schwarz Road and backed on to a large secluded field the teen had gone to the barn and
noticed a handwritten message Mage scrolled across the white weather-beaten planks of its exterior doors which faced
the road the message had been written in pencil so it wasn't very clear on several occasions over the
following days the teenager returned to the barn with each visit the writing on the
door grew progressively darker and more legible it seemed the author was returning periodically to write over
their message at first they used a white crayon which still wasn't visible enough to read the
next time the message had been scribbled over with a black marker now the writing was
clear I kill April Marie tisle the message read I kill again unnerved the teenager phoned the
police it appeared as though the message was left by a child or someone with the
mentality of one their handwriting grammar and punctuation were poor they'd also incorrectly spelled April's surname
by forgetting the Yen and ended their message with the juvenile words haha it seemed anybody could have
written it as a prank or to stir up a drama but there was one aspect to the message that gave investigators
pause above the mocking laughter the author had written did you find the other [Music]
shoe by this time all of the detectives originally assigned to the Tinsley case had been taken off to focus on other
work while the case remained open and new tips were explored the investigation had definitely
stagnated April's killer had seemingly fallen off the face of the Earth leaving authorities to assume that he'd fled
elsewhere died or was somehow incapacitated and prevented from being a threat the barn message completely
shattered this Theory and left detectives rattled the Schwarz Road Barn was located roughly 10 mi from where April's
body was discovered the fact that she was found without one of her shoes which was discarded further down the road was
a detail invest tigators had kept close to their chest they had never shared it with the
media or the public and so it was never reported on or widely known this meant that the barn message
must have been written by April's killer after two quiet years he had returned with the intention to kill
again a search of the barn and its surrounds came up dry save for a few crayons strewn across the ground below
the message these were tested for fingerprints but none were recovered and the teenager who reported
the message never saw the person who wrote it yet it had given detectives greater
inside into the perpetrator's psyche his message was intended to mock torment and provoke them in the words of
one case detective it was a slap in the face toward the investigators and to the
Tinley family and to April it made me mad it made us all very upset it was clear to investigators that
the killer relished in spreading fear and gaining notoriety he avoided leaving any clues
as to his identity and made sure he stayed out of sight this was someone who spent a lot
of time strategizing even his terrible writing was deed to be deliberate detectives surmised that the
killer intentionally wrote poorly so they couldn't identify him and would instead think he was young or had a
developmental delay but his carefully plotted actions indicated otherwise investigators had no choice
but to go public with the sample of the barn message to generate leads they knew that by doing so they
were playing right into the Killer Hands by giving him the publicity he craved but detectives were more
concerned that if he wasn't caught he could make good on his threat to kill again the writing sample elicited a few
tip offs they didn't lead anywhere a few weeks later on Wednesday June 13 1990 7-year-old Sarah Baler was
enjoying the pool at her family's apartment comp complex at Stono Village in Fort
Wayne at around 3:30 p.m. after playing in the water with her step sister Sarah headed off alone to visit a friend who
also lived in the complex when Sarah didn't return home for dinner that night her parents
contacted the police it emerged that Sarah had never reached her friend's apartment having
seemingly vanished somewhere along the short and simple Journey the the Bala family was certain
Sarah had been forcibly taken as she had been afraid of strangers ever since the
abduction and murder of April Tinsley 2 years earlier if a car ever drove slowly
towards her Sarah would run to safety and say there's a kidnapper out there Sarah was only one year younger
than April and bore a striking resemblance to her given the threat April's killer had scribbled on the barn
3 weeks earlier police feared the worst multiple squads were called in to search for Sarah when they failed to
find any sign of her a police dog was brought to the scene the dog picked up Sarah's Sant and
followed it south of her apartment complex towards Coldwater Road leading police to a stuffed toy
kitten the toy belonged to Sarah in a drainage ditch on the side of the road Searchers for found Sarah's
body Sarah's clothing was in disarray and it was clear she had been sexually assaulted her cause of death was
Suffocation as a result of having her face shoved down in the mud this appeared to have been done in
an effort to keep her quiet it had taken 16 hours to find Sarah and in the hour before Discovery
the area had been pelted with heavy rain if there had been any foreign hairs fibers or DNA on or around her body
they'd washed away by now witness accounts weren't any more helpful there were reports of an elderly
man near the pool where Sarah had been prior to her disappearance an elderly man was also
seen emerging from the weeds near where her body was ultimately found neither of these men were
identified and descriptions of them were too Limited zero win on anyone in particular Sarah B's murder bore obvious
similarities to that of April Tinsley investigators fronting the Tinsley case took on the file
considering the possibility that they were dealing with a Serial child killer one who took pleasure in taunting
them just like in the Tinsley case appeals for information failed to generate any significant
leads the baler and Tinsley cases languished together for 2 years until police received a much needed
[Music] breakthrough to Sarah Bara Ron Hensley was Grandpa even though they weren't
related Hensley was the grandfather of a close family friend and Sarah often encountered him at various events such
as sleepovers dinners and on vacation Hensley was such a presence in Sarah's life that he brought her
presence in the form of toys and clothes and encouraged her to quote just call me
Grandpa Hensley had fought in World War II and his neck was badly injured when a
shell landed in his Machine Gun Nest he suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result whenever he heard anything
akin to gunfire explosive blasts or air raid sirens he would cry and Shake for a Time Hensley was hospitalized in a
psychiatric unit for depression and Suicidal Thoughts outside of this trauma he maintained a charismatic and jovial
facade but he was also known as someone who made women uncomfortable by being overly
touchy he was asked to stop attending church because of the way he interacted with young
girls in December 1992 Hensley left Fort Wayne after a woman accused him of molesting her
daughter he relocated to South Carolina where he lived amongst friends and family until December 1994 when he died
of lung problems at age 75 after Ron Hensley's death those who knew him began sorting out his
Affairs his belongings were rifled through and a shoe box was discovered it was full of small notepads covered in
Hensley's handwriting his expansive written works turned out to be detailed accounts of crimes he had
committed against countless juveniles one tiny notebook had detailed the murder of Sarah
Bala it featured details that only her killer could have known the notebooks were surrendered to
police and given to the detectives overseeing the Bala case they compared Hensley's writings to
the facts of the crime and had no doubt it was clear he had done it Ron Hensley was publicly named as
Sarah bala's killer there would be no justice as he had died 14 months prior investigators nevertheless
officially closed the bker case File however April Tinsley remained open while police weren't confirming any
connections between the cases the public couldn't help but Wonder Ron Hensley had lived about 3
miles from the Tinsley home at the time of April's murder according to Hensley's
son and a woman who had lived with Hensley for several years he donated money to help fund both girls'
funerals he also allegedly carried pictures of the two girls in a keychain and visited their graves
often Janet Tinsley didn't believe Ron Hensley a stranger to her family was responsible for her daughter's
murder detectives working the case shared her skepticism and kept looking into it but as time wore on without any
further actions or words from April's killer speculation ran rough for those willing to believe in
Ron Hensley's guilt it seemed awfully suspicious that April's communicative killer had fallen completely silent
after Hensley died over a decade later in May 2004 7-year-old Emily higs found a plastic
bag in the basket of her Pink Bicycle it contained a used condom and a letter claiming to be from April
Tinsley's killer threatening that Emily would be his next victim the hig's family lived in Grull a
small town 16 Mi north of Fort Wayne that they weren't around in 1988 when April was murdered but after learning of
the case they contacted authorities the police were immediately struck by the similarities between the
letter Emily received and the writing April's killer scribbled on the Schwarz Road Barn 14 years
earlier Not only was the handwriting the same but they featured the same misspellings poor grammar and
punctuation errors worse still Emily Higgs wasn't the only local girl who'd received a
troubling letter that week two other girls aged 5 and nine found disturbing handwritten letters on
lined yellow paper one was placed in a basket used as a flower pot the other had been taped to
the girl's bicycle each began with the greeting hi honey and featured death threats in the
same mistake riddled handwriting in one a ail's name was spelled a p r o i l and in another the
first D in kidnapped was missing they all also contained the words haha the three girls were given what the
author referred to in his letters as a present a used condom the biological material these
contained was tested and was found to be a 100% match to the Sean sample collected from April Tinsley's underwear
16 years earlier there was no doubt Ron Hensley could not have been responsible for
April's murder the killer was still alive and had resurfaced again his DNA was run through State and
National Police databases to no result just as investigators were examining the letters of fourth was sent
it was found in a letter box outside the home of a young girl and was the most personal note of all it detailed the
horrible assault the author intended to commit against his victim this letter didn't include a
condom instead its present was a Polaroid photograph which depicted the naked lower torso of a white man as he
lay on a bed masturbating a bed spread with a unique unque green Paisley type pattern was
visible in the image but little else investigators checked local hotels and lodgings but none had the betting
from the photo this led police to assume the picture was taken inside the man's own
home investigators were again at a Crossroads if they published the letters to request the Public's help then they'd
be giving the killer what he wanted more fear and notoriety as far as the police were
aware the killer had failed to act on his previous threat made on the barn in 1990 but that didn't necessarily mean he
was sitting idly by this time he could be ready to strike after all he had seemingly chosen
new victims by giving in and granting him infamy would they embolden him to act detectives sat on the letters for 2
years during that time the killer didn't appear to strike again in 2006 at yet another standstill
police released samples from the Killer's letters as well as cropped images of his bedspread hoping to
Kickstart a Manhunt these updates led to a wave of fear washing over Fort Wayne Not only was April 10th 's killer
still out there but he'd been actively stalking local girls honing in on his next
victim when Gareth Evans not his real name saw the notes being circulated by the media he couldn't help but
Wonder back in 1988 gareth's Father David also not his real name had driven a blue pickup truck and lived within
blocks of hogland Avenue curiously in the days after April's murder he had spray painted his
truck a different color since then he had become a registered sex offender for crimes
against children he often greeted women and girls by saying hi honey and was prone to saying
haha he also took lewd photos of himself with a Polaroid camera Gareth contacted police to
implicate his father David in the murder of April Tinsley during questioning David denied
knowing April personally but recalled that his daughter used to play with her although he admitted to having owned a
blue pickup truck David said he'd sold it to a neighbor shortly before April's murder and the neighbor was responsible
for painting it when asked to provide the neighbor's details David only gave a first name he
said he didn't know the last David claimed that he'd been working on Friday April 1 1988 the day
April was abducted his confident assertion immediately stood out to investigators how could David
immediately remember what he was doing 16 years earlier on a specific day they spoke to his employer and
discovered David had not worked on April 1 he also wasn't working on Monday April
4 the day April's body was found investigators obtained a search warrant for David's home where they discovered a
notepad with lined yellow paper and a Polaroid camera investigators were certain they
had finally found their man all they needed was David's DNA to confirm it they collected a sample from David to
their shock it wasn't a match for April's killer with that they were back at square
one the publicity about the Killer's recent activities had failed to generate the leads investigators were hoping
for detectives who had been working the case for years were starting to suffer they struggled to sleep and
became obsessed by the desire for justice April's case was always at the Forefront of their
minds three kept a picture of the 8-year-old on them at all times while another had her photo on his desk at
home whenever they weren't working on regular duties they pulled out the Tinsley case File it was
maddening they felt they had what they needed to catch the guy he had even willingly provided them with significant
evidence they just couldn't link it to anyone many detectives ultimately left the unit or retired without
closure but the case was never given up on there always remained hope that a breakthrough would eventually
materialize even as the years started to once again we on without any further action from April Tinsley's
Killer by 2009 believing the case was highly solvable the Federal Bureau of Investigation officially stepped in
their behavioral analysis unit created a comprehensive profile of the suspect whom they believed was now aged in his
40s or 50s they referred to him as a preferential child sex offender this meant he had a long-term
and persistent sexual desire for children specifically little girls and that interest would not go
away he could be married but the vast majority of preferential child sex offenders were not if he was married his
partner might be aware of his interesting girl but in denial about the extent of his
interest or his willingness to act on it although the killer was probably socially awkward he would Endeavor to
build relationships that gave him access to girls or he might seek out employment
or volunteer activities that provided proximity to them he was drawn to places where
children gathered such as playgrounds swimming pools and Parks quote wherever he goes if a little girl
is nearby his eyes will follow her the FBI profile warned this offender has demonstrated
that he has strong ties to Northeast Fort Wayne and to alen County this is where he likely lives
works and or shops you may be sitting beside him in the pew at church working beside him on
the production line or standing next to him in line at the grocery [Music] store that same year of 2009 a deck of
cards was distributed to prisons across the United States each card highlighted a cold case with April Tinsley appearing
on the seven of Hearts it was hoped that an inmate somewhere might hold key information
about the crime but no leads were generated meanwhile the case was covered on a segment of the weekly television program
America's Most Wanted while this exposure attracted more tips than any other story on the
show that night it didn't relaunch the investigation the show reexamined the case again 3 years later at which point
they revealed a piece of information that the police had kept secret from the public found a few feet from April 10 's
body was a bag from the Department Store Sears inside was an adult toy made of wood that worked manually via a hand
crank detectives withheld this discovery believing it to be incriminating information that would help them
identify April's killer but they were desperate and decided to publicize the Obscure object
now in the hopes someone might recognize it show host John Walsh held up a photo
of April and told viewers look at this picture just look at this girl now think about this
somebody kidnapped her raped her and murdered her there's no telling how many other children this killer may have
taken from this world this guy is a monster he's a coward he's out there more than likely he's in this area
somebody's got to have the courage to come forward and say I can't look at this face and not do the right thing by
leaving a tip but the Breakthrough detectives were desperate for didn't arrive in 2015 the Fort Wayne Community
rallied together to create a Memorial Park in April's honor called April's garden over the years that followed
events were periodically held at the park to revive awareness about the case a cr's mother Janet was often in
attendance haunted by the lack of answers during one event she told the crowd I never thought it would go this
long investigators revealed that at this stage they were still receiving roughly
5 to seven tips about the case each week but the leads gradually fizzled out with
one FBI agent remarking nothing's breaking there's nothing new the media routinely ran stories about
the crime making it the highest profile unsolved case in Indiana by the late 2010s more than 700
suspects had had their DNA tested this was a massive undertaking with police required to prove probable
cause for every individual who refused to provide a sample willingly hopes were often raised only
for a seemingly likely suspect to be ruled P out by DNA investigators couldn't help but
wonder if the killer had passed away and they were literally chasing a ghost when asked if they would ever know
for sure who killed April Tinsley a detective replied eventually I believe so we'll
get to the bottom of it by now the Killer's original DNA sample from the crime scene in 1988 had
been used up and the rest had degraded but because he had provided more samples in the used condoms he sent
in 2004 there was more than enough DNA in pristine condition for investigators to work with as forensic technology
evolved Fort Wayne detectives sent the samples from April Tinsley's killer to DNA technology company parabon nanolabs
who specialized in using genetic genealogy to to investigate cold cases through the use of DNA phenotyping
which predicts a person's appearance based on their DNA they were able to ascertain several of the Killer's
observable traits these included his eye hair and skin color and even how many freckles
he'd have on his face the results were not absolute but established the highest probability of
his specific characteristics it enabled the creation of two digital composite sketches that
were as accurate as possible one of what the suspect would have looked like in 1988 and the other aged to demonstrate
his current appearance both depicted a fair skinned man with brown hair and Hazel or green
colored eyes both matched the original 1988 sketch of the man driving the blue pickup truck that was seen approaching
April still he remained unrecognizable to the Tinsley and the greater Fort Wayne
Community it appeared investigators had reached yet another dead end then as covered in episode 53 of
case vile the trajectory of decades Long Cold cases drastically altered in 2018 when the Golden State killer was finally
apprehended after 44 years the Breakthrough came via a public Genealogy website called J
match Jed match customers voluntarily submitted saliva swabs in exchange for An ancestry report based on their
genetic profile they could then connect with family members and distant relatives via
online databases similarly investigators fronting the Golden State killer case uploaded his DNA to the same databases
with the intention of identifying him through his familiar lineage and it worked this new investigative tool was a
GameChanger for law enforcement it opened a new line of inquiry for many old cold cases including the unsolved
murder of April Tinley two weeks after the major breakthrough in the Golden State killer
case detectives had parabon nanolabs upload April's Killers DNA on the jet match.com the work was over seen by CC
Moore the head of parabon nanolabs genetic genealogy unit in her television series the
genetic detective CCE explained that at the start of an investigation she performed a personal assessment as to
how likely it was that genetic genealogy would lead to the suspect's identity she ranked the difficulty
between one being extremely promising and five being pretty much impossible for cc the Tinsley case
ranked 4 plus within 8 hours the website had found the man's relatives which were
mostly third cousins and Beyond CC determined two of the relatives were siblings and they formed
the starting point she scoured public records of obituaries marriage licenses and birth
announcements to fill in the blanks and facilitate a family tree the of the family tree was filled
in first which encompassed the subject's ancestors from the 1800s the tree expanded from there
moving forward in time and identifying each descendant along the way at one point CeCe reached a couple
that had had 11 children not only did she have to identify them but all of their
descendants to see if the suspect was among them it was a long and painstaking process but CCE was determined and
wasn't going to give up eventually she uncovered a couple who had three sons by 1961 at that point they moved from their
home in Florida to Fort Wayne Indiana by 2004 when April Tinsley's killer left the threatening letters one
of their sons had passed away CC Moore zeroed in on the two surviving Sons 59-year-old John Miller lived alone
at a trailer park in the small town of Kel 16 Mi Northeast of Fort Wayne Miller was a loner who lived in the same
trailer since he was 19 he kept to himself and never said hello to anyone he never had a
girlfriend and during his few fleeting encounters with neighbors his expression was and his comments were laced with
profanities at a fiberglass Factory where Miller had once worked he was known for his bad hygiene lack of
friendships and His short temper in fact he had been fired for punching and breaking the time
clock at home Miller's neighbor had seen him throw his lawn mower in a fit Miller's family believed his anger
stemmed from being bullied during his youth it impacted him so drastically that he ended up in a reform school his
family also suspected he was sexually abused after losing his Factory job Miller began working at a Walmart a
30-minute driveway in the city of Kendallville where he was rusted on the overnight shift stacking the electronics
department his colleagues who nicknamed him John John knew little about him he walked around the store hunched over see
brething with rage and hardly speaking once Miller was overheard beating on equipment because it wasn't
working right whenever other staff or customers asked him for help he'd complain about
it the only time people saw Miller Outdoors was at a softball field down the street where he would watch children
play he was relatively unknown to police except for two separate incidents in 2002 and 2003 three when he was reported
for exhibiting lwd Behavior towards women and [Music] girls on Sunday July 15 2018 two
detectives overseeing the April Tinsley homicide investigation stood outside a faded yellow trailer at Lot Number Four
at the greyall mobile home park it was a short distance from where April Tinsley's body was discovered and
the barn where an ominous message from her killer was found it was also the home of John
Miller the genetic genealogists had traced Miller through his lineage and concluded that either he or his brother
was April's killer for the past 2 weeks police had covertly observed the Miller Brothers at
their respective homes they rarely saw John Miller when he was home except for when he dragged
his rubbish bin out to the curb Indiana Law allowed police to legally take that rubbish for evidence
as long as they had the probable cause to do so which they did officers approached the bin on foot
being as quiet as they could so Miller wouldn't be alerted to their presence they dug through his rubbish and found a
used condom in the search for DNA evidence this was considered a jackpot the condoms contents were compared to
the samples from April Tinsley's killer after 30 years they finally found a match this resulted in a jubilant
celebration not only for detectives but all the analysts and experts who had assisted in the
case Miller returned home after a brief outing to a grocery store to discover two detectives waiting for
him upon seeing him him up close the detectives fully appreciated the accuracy of the composite sketch by
parabon nanolabs they introduced themselves and suggested Miller take his groceries
inside but he said no the detectives then requested Miller's assistance with something they
were working on and asked him to accompany them to Fort Wayne for questioning he
agreed in the 20-minute car ride Miller seemed to enjoy chatting about his interest in crossword puzzles and spoke
of how much he liked to live PD a television show where analysts examined the workings of us
police Miller said he never missed an episode once they reached the station Miller was ushered into an interview
room and read his rights he was then told we want to talk to you a little bit about a case that we've been working on
for a while somebody brought your name up into this and we wanted to see what you had to say about that do you have
any idea what we need to talk to you about after a moment of silence Miller responded I think probably the Tinsley
case the detectives were stuned but maintained a calm and collected front they hadn't once mentioned or
alluded to April tins while Miller was in their company him volunteering her name of his
own valtion was massive one of the detectives asked what made you say the Tinsley
case Miller thought for a moment before replying DNA the detectives asked him to take
them back to 1988 Miller drank some water before saying I can't sensing he wanted to speak further
the detectives encouraged him John it's time to get this out you've had to have known that this day
was coming with that Miller started talking and the floodgates opened on the afternoon of Friday April
1 1988 Miller was in Fort Wayne looking for a child to abduct it was a desire he'd felt for a while he
was trolling the streets in his car when he saw April Tinsley walking alone down
hogland Avenue Miller had never met or seen April prior to this encounter there was no one else around
so he drove a little further down the road and waited outside his vehicle as she
approached wielding a sharp letter opener he then confronted April who said don't hurt me I'll do whatever you
say he ordered her to get in his car unfortunately the witness who happened upon the abduction as it was
unfolding had made a mistake they thought Miller had been in a blue pickup truck when in fact he
drove a blue Mercury Lynx which was a sedan Miller drove April straight to his trailer in grael where he sexually
assaulted her during his police interview Miller was asked why he couldn't have just released
April somewhere after the attack Miller casually replied I thought about it I was afraid
she'd tell the detective pressed on saying but April didn't even know you Miller didn't reply and just
silently stared blankly ahead his mouth a gape Miller had choked April to death to
prevent her from speaking out about the assault the process took 10 minutes he molested her once more then drove to
County Road 68 in the early hours of the morning and left April's body in the ditch the next day Sunday he realized
that one of April's shoes was in his car he drove past where he'd left her body and tossed the shoe out the window
as he sped away April wouldn't be discovered until the Monday 3 days after she was
taken from then on Miller kept a low profile he remained living in the same trailer park but stayed a very private
person he did the same thing day in day out went to work during the quiet midnight shift and returned straight
home occasionally he go out for breakfast at the local Inn where he was in the presence of many people including
gel's Town Council president yet he offered a little else to others aside from a grunt when they
said hello no one in the community came close to knowing or suspecting him at all in the years after killing April
Miller thought about abducting another child he scrolled the confession on the bun in 1990 and deposited threatening
letters in his local area during 2004 he loed in neighborhoods and parking lots waiting to cross paths with
another lone girl but the opportunity never arose Miller was questioned in relation
to other unsolved missing or murdered children cases he maintained he had no involvement in any and his DNA didn't
match evidence obtained from other crime scenes after Miller's confession to the murder
of April Tinsley he was immediately taken into custody and work began in preparation for his
trial it was a laborious process over the years the many investigators who worked on the case had
produced boxes and boxes of information the first month alone was spent scanning old VHS and cassette
tapes to update them for digital storage speaking of the chance encounter April had with her killer a case detective
remarked it's scary to think there are people in our society capable of doing this had she been 5 minutes earlier or 5
minutes later we probably wouldn't be here today it could have been anybody any little kid in that area that day and
that was probably not the first time Miller had gone looking [Music] his arrest was a huge relief to the
residents of Fort Wayne who had felt haunted by April Tinsley's killer for decades one FBI agent praised the
dedication of the case detectives stating this investigation illustrates the dogger determination of the
investigators who never wavered never gave up and kept moving forward for the last 30
years in the late late up to his trial John Miller began walking unsteadily and started using a
wheelchair he appeared too feeble to handle Court proceedings detectives were dubious
however pointing out that no matter how frail his physical condition Miller was mentally
sound he knew right from wrong and was fully aware of what he'd done in the end Miller opted to forego a
trial and accepted a play deal in dead detectives believed he'd realized the strength of the DNA evidence was
impossible to argue against during Miller's sentencing Janet Tinsley purposefully sat at the front of
the public Gallery so her daughter's killer could see her she wanted him to see what he had
destroyed when Janet spoke she described the tremendous impact that April's abduction and murder and the ensuing
Decades of UN certainty had made on her family she spoke of the health problems they all faced due to stress and turmoil
and how April's brother and cousins grew up sheltered and overprotected they all developed trust
issues especially towards men whenever Janet went out she found herself wondering every time she passed
a man are you him looking directly at Miller she said said I'll never forgive and never forget
what you took from us for pleading guilty to criminal confinement child molestation and felony
murder John Miller was sentenced to 80 years in prison with no chance for appeal the deal enabled him to avoid the
death penalty Miller is due for release in July 2058 6 days after his 9th birthday for Emily higs one of the
children who received a threatening letter from Miller in 2004 the terror never abated Miller lived close to her the
entire time Emily had slided down a hill and played in a park near his home she visited the softball fields he
was known to loiter at her mother Crystal was grateful the torment was over it was like this is over with this is
over with she said finally the detectives who solved the Tinsley case received an award from the
National Association of police organizations which paid tribute to law enforcement officers who went above and
beyond the call of duty while investigators were glad the case was finally closed they were
puzzled by the fact that no one had ever named John Miller as a suspect he fit the description of
April's killer in every way possible his appearance age location history behavior
and personality detectives were stunned that no one recognized his highly unusual
handwriting or the unique bedspread he'd taken lwd Polaroids against in 2004 it was ultimately settled on that
this must have been due to his extremely inclusive lifestyle April Tinsley's murder was the
fifth case solved using genetic geneology but certainly not the last in the words of one County
prosecutor today we're at a point where if you're a criminal and you've left your DNA at the scene you may as well
turn yourself in now the previous decades had been torture for the Tinsley family
whenever they believed an end was in sight their hopes were dashed and they were left with the agonizing realization
that the case might never be solved after 30 years they finally had the answers they needed though for Janet
Tinsley true resolution would only arrive after John Miller's death now she finds Peace by spending
hours in the public garden planted on behalf of her [Music] daughter on Sunday July 15 2018 the
television series on the case with Paul Azan aired an episode on April Tinsley's
then unsolved murder Janet Tinsley featured in the program unaware that the case was about
to be solved that same day John Miller was confronted outside his home by detectives who' concretely linked him to
April's murder when journalist Paul aan asked Janet what she missed most about April
Janet answered I miss her growing up what would she look like act like would she
be married it would have been nice to see that but my memory of her is when she was just a little
girl that's when it ends [Music] [Music] [Music] for

Case 282: April Tinsley

*** Content warnings: Child victim, sexual assault *** In 2004, several young girls around Fort Wayne, Indiana, received handwritten letters threatening that they would be the next victim of a child killer.

Authorities were immediately concerned. DNA from the letters matched samples they had stored from an unsolved crime that was committed more than a decade earlier – the murder of eight-year-old April Tinsley.

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Milly Raso Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources, please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-282-april-tinsley

Brief Summary

April Tinsley was abducted and murdered in 1988; John Miller was identified as her killer through genetic genealogy in 2018.

Key points

The Disturbing Note. Emily Higs finds a threatening note linked to a past crime.
April Tinsley's Disappearance. April Tinsley goes missing on April Fool's Day, leading to a frantic search.
The Barn Message. A message found on a barn reveals the killer's taunting nature.
Sarah Baler's Disappearance. Two years after April's murder, another girl goes missing, raising fears.
The Discovery of Hensley's Notebooks. A box of notebooks reveals detailed accounts of crimes, including Sarah Bala's murder.
The Killer Resurfaces. In 2004, letters threaten new victims, linking back to April Tinsley's case.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I am the same person that kidnapped and raped and killed April Tinsley.

A chilling note left for Emily Higs.

1:13WatchMay 4, 2024

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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