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Missouri man arrested in 1993 murder of young Indianapolis woman after DNA matches crime scene evidence, police say
A Missouri man has been charged in the 1993 rape and slaying of a young Indianapolis woman after his DNA matched evidence found at the crime scene and on the victim’s body, authorities said.
Dana Shepherd, 52, of Columbia, Missouri, was arrested Friday in Missouri on murder, felony murder and rape charges in 19-year-old Carmen Van Huss’ killing, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said in a news release.
Indianapolis Police
Shepherd was being held without bond Wednesday at Missouri’s Boone County Jail, and an extradition hearing is to be held in the coming days, the police department said in a news release.
Online Indiana court records did not list an attorney who could speak on Shepherd’s behalf Wednesday.
Deputy Chief Kendale Adams of the police department’s criminal investigations division said Tuesday in a statement that he hopes Shepherd’s arrest brings Van Huss’ family “some measure of peace.”
“For 31 years, the family of Carmen Van Huss has been searching for answers and justice,” he added.
Van Huss’ father found her dead in her Indianapolis apartment in March 1993 after she failed to show up for work. An autopsy found she had been raped and was stabbed 61 times, according to court records.
“We hope after all this time people understand just how violent my sister’s murder was,” Van Huss’ brother, Jimmy Van Huss, told CBS affiliate WTTV. “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. That changed him forever.”
DNA evidence was found on her body and blood was found on a paper bag in her apartment, but the case eventually went cold, police said.
In 2018, the department submitted a sample of DNA found at the scene to a specialty company. Last year, detectives used that company’s genetic genealogy analysis to identify Shepherd as a suspect. They then collected DNA from Shepherd in February and found that it matched DNA found on Van Huss’ body and the paper bag.
Investigators said Van Huss and Shepherd lived at the same apartment complex at the time she was slain.
Jimmy Van Huss told WTTV that he hopes the arrest in his sister’s murder brings more attention to other cold cases.
“We want all of them to get this treatment,” he told the station. “And by that, I mean the DNA, genealogy treatment. We would love a bill, a law, a procedure — something in Carmen’s memory to get the attention other cases deserve.”
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A picture is emerging of the suspect who officials say pointed a high-powered rifle at former president Donald Trump on a Florida golf course Sunday afternoon.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was armed with an AK-47-style rifle and was 300-500 yards away from Trump when members of the former president’s Secret Service detail spotted him, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. Routh was a few holes ahead of where the president was golfing at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, officials said.
Members of the Secret Service detail opened fire at Routh, according to law enforcement officials. It’s not clear if Routh fired any shots. Bradshaw said a witness saw a man jumping out of the bushes and fleeing in a black Nissan. The car was pulled over and the driver detained and identified as the suspect. Law enforcement found the rifle, a scope, two backpacks with ceramic tile and a GoPro camera in the bushes at the scene.
The FBI and U.S. Secret Service are investigating the incident, which the FBI said “appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump.”
As the investigation continues, here’s what we know about Routh:
Stephany Matat / AP
A decades-long criminal history
Routh’s most recent address is listed in Hawaii, but he spent most of his life in North Carolina, according to property records. Routh owned Camp Box Honolulu, a shed-building company, according to his LinkedIn profile. The account also says that he studied at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and graduated in 1998.
Records show his problems with the law go back to the 1990s and include less serious charges, like writing bad checks. But in 2002, he was charged with a felony — possession of a weapon of mass destruction — according to North Carolina Department of Corrections records.
Between 2002 and 2010, Routh was also charged with a number of misdemeanors, including a hit-and-run accident, resisting arrest and a concealed weapons violation, records show.
Suspect criticized Trump online
Routh voted Democratic in the 2024 primary election in North Carolina, and he voted in person, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. He appears to be registered as an unaffiliated voter.
His X account, which has now been suspended, included a number of posts about Trump.
“@realDonaldTrump While you were my choice in 2106, I and the world hoped that president Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointment and it seems you are getting worse and devolving,” he wrote in a June 2020 post. “I will be glad when you gone.”
He also referenced the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump in multiple posts, suggesting that President Biden and Vice President Harris should visit the injured and attend the funeral of the Pennsylvania rally-goer who was killed.
A Facebook account under Routh’s name was no longer online on Sunday evening.
Ukraine supporter
Routh was passionate about fighting for Ukraine, even traveling overseas to fight in the country’s war against Russia in 2022.
“I am coming to Ukraine from Hawaii to fight for your kids and families and democracy.. I will come and die for you,” he wrote on X.
In one post on LinkedIn, he shared a photo of himself in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.
A CBS News review of Routh’s social media shows his pro-Ukraine views seeped into his public statements as well. He urged people, even those who didn’t have military skills, to take up arms for Ukraine. He was interviewed by several news organizations, including The New York Times and Semafor in 2023, and Newsweek Romania in 2022. He was quoted about his efforts to recruit volunteer fighters to aid Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion, though it wasn’t clear whether he had succeeded.
“This is about good versus evil,” he told Newsweek Romania.
contributed to this report.
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