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Pink balloons tied with purple ribbons adorned a bush Sunday at April 's Garden, a memorial built for an 8 – year – old girl whose abduction, sexual assault and l'. assassination in 1988 shocked Fort Wayne and kept the attention of its residents for more than three decades
Built in 2015, the Garden of Avenues Hoagland and Masterson was the site of regular dark evenings of pink and purple – the favorite colors of April Tinsley.
Sunday was different. For once, the balloons that floated in the breeze symbolized hope and closure rather than loss and sadness. The Allen County attorneys announced the arrest of John D. Miller, 59, of Grabill, in the death of the girl. He is accused of murder, molestation of children and kidnapping.
"I am happy that the garden can be a place of celebration," said Colleen Obergfell, owner of the property where the memorial is located. "When we heard the news, we thought we needed to celebrate." It seemed like the balloons were the way to celebrate. "
This is the first arrest in a case that drew the attention of the government. National media attention, extended from the 20th to the 21st century and featured dozens of investigators from the Fort Wayne Police Department, The Allen County Sheriff's Department, State Police from Indiana and other law enforcement agencies
The case was mentioned twice in the "America's Most Wanted" program, now gone. "On the case with Paula Zahn", a real crime investigation magazine, revealed the case Sunday night.
April left her family's home at West Williams Street on April 1, 1988 – Good Friday – to go to a friend's house. She never returned and her body was found three days later in a ditch on a county road in DeKalb County.
She had been sexually assaulted and strangled
but the detectives had been confused until recently despite evidence that included DNA samples. Police used DNA taken from April clothes and used condoms collected on July 6th outside Miller's home and in 2004 at Fort Wayne and Grabill to focus on Miller, according to court documents.
The search for the alleged killer, a probable cause affidavit states. The search method was used by California investigators to locate Joseph James DeAngelo, an alleged killer from the state of Gold.
It is unclear how detectives Brian Martin of the Fort Wayne Police Department and Clint Hetrick of the Tinsley case, but the affidavit says that they worked with "highly qualified genealogist" CeCe Moore, a genetic genealogist who commented on the California case in news articles and is famous for his work on the show "Find Your Roots." [19659002] A spokesman for the police department did not return messages Sunday. Officials from the Allen County Attorney 's Office also declined to comment, citing ethical rules regarding lawyers discussing pending cases.
The prosecutor's office stated that a press conference is scheduled for Tuesday morning
. The Martin Police Department said in court documents that he had learned from the Indiana Police Laboratory that DNA taken from condoms in the trash in Miller's mobile home at Grabill "was consistent with the DNA profile found in 2004, which also corresponds to the DNA recovered in April under Mr. Tinsley's clothing" in 1988.
Police arrived Sunday at Miller's place, 13722 Main St., Lot 4, in Grabill, according to the affidavit.
"I then asked John Miller when he had an idea of why the police wanted to talk to him," Martin wrote in the affidavit. "John Miller then looked detectives and told "April Tinsley". "
Miller admitted the kidnapping, murder and sexual assault of the girl in his home on Main Street in Grabill, according to court documents. Miller reportedly told police that he had thrown the girl's body on April 2 and that later he would have passed by the site.
When he did not see the # 39, story, Miller threw an April shoes in his car. "According to the affidavit, the detectives found the shoe near his body
.The case left a mark indelible on the inhabitants of the city who remember the little girl with blond hair and among the officials who let their constituents cry.
Pau Helmke was the mayor of the city in 1988, and he took office a few months before the month of April was killed. He said that he had two young girls at that time, and the death of April affected him personally.
Helmke asked if an arrest would ever occur. There was always hope that periodic updates from the investigators – police twice published sketches showing what the killer might look like – and local and national media coverage could lead to an arrest, he said. stayed with us, stayed with me, "said Helmke." Thirty years is long. You would continue to think, maybe someone will come forward this time.
"It was like a gash in the heart of the community.
Angelo Mante, a pastor from Fort Wayne, had planned a few weeks ago to hold a barbecue near April's Garden Sunday. He arrived to find the pink balloons and said that he grew up on the south side of town and remembers when April was killed.
"I remember the fear that swept this city, even at 6 years old". Miller does not seem to have a serious criminal record. The online court records reveal three traffic-related offenses that date back to 1994. He is scheduled to appear today in the Allen Superior Court.
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