On January 2, 1990, an armed robbery and sexual assault occurred at the Days Inn just off I-65 in Columbus, Indiana. The victim survived. The offender’s modus operandi was very similar to the Days Inn murders. The Columbus Police Department released the Columbus Composite the following day. Within a year, the case was linked via DNA to I-65 Killer. On March 5, 1991, a Wanted Poster created forensic artist Kenneth O’Deen was released nationwide looking for the I-65 Serial Killer regarding the murders of Mary “Peggy” Gill and Jeanne Gilbert.
UPDATE: I-65 Serial Killer Identified
BREAKING: I-65 Serial Killer Identified– 03.28.2022
I-65 Serial Killer Press Conference Set for Tuesday– 04.01.2022
The black and white composite was created by a Columbus Police officer and the victim on the day of the sexual assault and was then circulated in the newspaper the following day.
In 2010, DNA would link the Days Inn Murders to the 1987 murder of Vicki Heath at a Super 8 motel in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. This would mean the I-65 Killer started much earlier than previous thought.
In 2013, the I-65 Serial Killer’s DNA in CODIS would match DNA recovered from a 1991 sexual assault in Rochester, Minnesota. The victim’s description of the offender was nearly identical to the description provided by the victim in the Columbus assault in 1990.
Official Victims of the I-65 Serial Killer
These cases have been linked through the DNA of an UNKNOWN offender
- Murder of Vicki Heath
- Days Inn Murders: Mary Margaret “Peggy” Gill
- Days Inn Murders: Jeanne Gilbert
- Columbus Days Inn Assault
- Rochester, Minnesota Assault, 1991
Wright & Walton Series
These cases have been linked through BULLET FRAGMENTS recovered from the victims
