'Blood everywhere': Man stabbed neighbor 61 times, left body in pool of blood for her dad to find

A 53-year-old antheral successful Indiana volition walk respective decades successful situation for killing his neighbor, stabbing her 61 times successful her location past leaving the mutilated assemblage for her begetter to find.

Marion County Superior Judge James K. Snyder connected Friday ordered Dana Jermaine Shepherd to service 45 years successful a authorities correctional installation for the 1993 slaying of 19-year-old Carmen Van Huss, tribunal records show.

"While nary transition of clip tin ever heal the unimaginable nonaccomplishment Carmen's household has endured, we are grateful to unafraid a Murder condemnation much than 30 years aft this heinous crime," Prosecutor Ryan Mears said successful a connection pursuing the sentencing hearing, per Indianapolis NBC affiliate WTHR. "Our anticipation is that this solution brings a measurement of justness and bid to her loved ones, aft 3 decades of waiting for answers."

Shepherd reached a woody with prosecutors past period and pleaded blameworthy to 1 number of murder. In speech for pleading guilty, prosecutors dropped an further complaint of rape with a limb and deadly force.

Van Huss connected March 22, 1993, visited her grandma successful the infirmary and past dropped disconnected her begetter and 3-year-old member astatine their Indianapolis location earlier driving to her flat successful the 8200 artifact of Harcourt Road, the Indianapolis Star reported.

Witnesses told constabulary that astatine astir 11:30 p.m. that evening, they could perceive Van Huss and an unidentified antheral talking and laughing successful the apartment. However, astir 2 hours later, 1 neighbour reportedly said she could perceive Van Huss yelling "Get disconnected me!" arsenic good arsenic footsteps rushing from the apartment.

The pursuing day, Van Huss' manager astatine a section Pizza Hut called her begetter aft respective unsuccessful attempts to interaction her. When her begetter was besides incapable to interaction Van Huss, helium went to her flat and made the grisly discovery.

Deputies with the Marion County Sheriff's Office responded to the location and reportedly recovered Van Huss lying bare connected the level of her chamber successful a ample excavation of humor from dozens of stab wounds to her face, head, and body. There were besides signs of a struggle, including apparel and different objects strewn astir the location and furnishings knocked over.

A consequent autopsy determined that Van Huss suffered a full of 61 stab wounds and concluded that the mode of decease was a homicide.

The victim's brother, Jimmy Van Huss, previously told section Fox affiliate WXIN that his sister's execution was peculiarly heinous.

"We anticipation aft each this clip radical recognize however convulsive my sister's execution was," Jimmy Van Huss told the presumption successful 2024. "She was raped and stabbed implicit 60 times. My dada had to spot that, humor everywhere, his girl naked, lying there. He had to spot that. That changed him forever."

DNA grounds from the country was collected astatine the time, but it was not until an investigation institution successful 2023 identified Shepherd arsenic a imaginable idiosyncratic of involvement successful the lawsuit that the lawsuit was capable to determination forward, the Star reported. Detectives soon learned that a then-21-year-old Shepherd lived successful the aforesaid gathering arsenic Van Huss astatine the clip of the murder.

Shepherd was reportedly moving arsenic a janitor successful Columbia, Missouri, successful 2024 erstwhile detectives obtained a DNA illustration from him. The illustration was tested against the DNA from the country and came backmost arsenic a match. He was taken into custody successful Missouri successful August 2024 and extradited backmost to Indiana astir 3 months later.

The Van Huss household released a statement to WXIN pursuing Friday's hearing.

"While this plea woody was not our archetypal choice, we are grateful that aft 33 years the antheral liable for Carmen's brutal rape and execution is yet being held accountable," the household said. "For decades, the perpetrator was capable to unrecorded a mean beingness aft taking that close distant from Carmen and from our family. Nothing tin undo that nonaccomplishment oregon erase the injustice of him surviving freely for truthful long, but we are thankful that the information has yet travel to airy and that helium has not escaped justice."