More than thirty years after an Indiana college student was found brutally slain in her apartment, a Missouri man has been charged with her murder.
Dana Shepherd, 52, was arrested in Columbia, Missouri, in connection with the 1993 killing of 19-year-old Carmen Van Huss, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department announced Tuesday.
Shepherd has also been charged in Carmen's rape.
"For 31 years, the family of Carmen Van Huss has been searching for answers and justice. While nothing can ever replace their loved one, we hope that today's arrest brings them some measure of peace. We remain dedicated to bringing justice to all victims and will continue to pursue every lead, no matter how much time has passed," Deputy Chief Kendale Adams said in a statement.
On March 24, 1994, Carmen's father allegedly found his daughter dead and naked, lying in a pool of blood.
Police said there was evidence of a struggle.
"She was raped and stabbed over 60 times and my dad had to see her like that, blood everywhere, blood on walls, his daughter was naked, laying there ... he had to see that," the victim's brother, Jimmy Van Huss, told WTTV-TV. "That changed him forever."
Detectives followed up on hundreds of leads and conducted dozens of interviews over the years, but Carmen's case eventually went cold. Her case was reopened in 2018 when a detective submitted a DNA sample from the crime scene to a DNA tech company.
In the summer of 2023, using genetic genealogy, Shepherd was identified as a suspect, according to police.
"This arrest, more than 30 years after the senseless murder of Carmen Van Huss, demonstrates the dedication and perseverance of IMPD detectives, the Marion County Forensic Services Agency, and the Marion County Prosecutor's Office. It also is a testament to the power of genetic genealogy and analytic capability," Adams said.
Carmen was studying art at Indiana University when she died.
"She was an art lover, an animal lover, she picked up stray cats all the time," recalled Jimmy. "We were really getting close and spending more time together because I was now a freshman in high school and our six-year age difference was not as prominent. She was always happy and everyone loved her.
"Her murder changed everything about all of us. Especially my father, he was never ever the same," he explained. "I learned about her death really after seeing my dad hugging my mom and crying on the balcony of Carmen's apartment on the news. I could see their pain, and we were never the same."
