CONTENT ADVISORY: This episode discusses the abduction, sexual assault, and murder of a child, as well as threats made toward minors. Listener discretion is advised.

THE CASE:

On April 1, 1988, Good Friday, eight-year-old April Tinsley walked a few blocks to pick up an umbrella from a friend's house in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

She never came back.

Three days later, her body was found in a ditch twenty miles away. DNA evidence was recovered, but the technology didn't exist to interpret it.

For thirty years, April's killer lived five miles from where he dumped her body—in the same trailer where he'd taken her.

Then he made a mistake.

He started leaving notes on little girls' bicycles., taunting residents and police. The notes contained used condoms. The DNA matched 1988. And in 2018, a genealogy database finally gave him a name.

FEATURING:

• The chilling barn message that taunted police for decades

• How a 7-year-old girl's bicycle held the key to solving the case

• The FBI profile that predicted exactly who he was

• A confession that came before detectives asked a single question

THE TWIST:

Detectives asked John Miller if he knew why they wanted to talk.

He didn't hesitate: "April Tinsley."

They hadn't mentioned her name.

CREDITS:

Research sources include Allen County Court records, WANE 15, Crime Watch Daily, and FBI case files.

Special thanks to Parabon NanoLabs and CeCe Moore for their forensic genetic genealogy work.

For complete sources and references, visit: ⁠https://crimedecoded.com/episode-notes-4/

RESOURCES:

If you've been affected by violence or abuse:

• National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-4-A-CHILD

• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children: missingkids.org

ABOUT CRIME DECODED:

Crime Decoded explores forensic science, genetic genealogy, and the cases they help solve. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

Contact: stacey@crimedecoded.com

© Crime Decoded Podcast