INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) — IMPD confirms a 24-year-old man is in custody for the 2016 murder of an Indianapolis woman.
Jessica Whitehouse, 30, was shot and killed in early November 2016 inside her home in the 4300 block of North Norwaldo Avenue in a neighborhood just north of the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Her boyfriend found her, but police didn't find the killer.
For more than a year, Jessie's family has been hanging flyers and raising reward money to solve the case. Her stepfather posted on Facebook Sunday afternoon that police now have a suspect in custody. IMPD later confirmed detectives arrested Lawon Browning Saturday, and is currently in custody for Whitehouse's murder.
Jessie's mother says news of the arrest has brought relief, but also pain.
"It's been very difficult. For the last year and a half I feel like I have been in a nightmare that I would wake up from," Anna Whitehouse said. "And this has pretty much solidified that I am not waking up from it. It's real."
Whitehouse says DNA left at the crime scene ultimately led to the arrest and is confident the right person is in custody.
"This person murdered my daughter and he's going to have to answer to somebody," Whitehouse said.
Jail records show Browning was booked on a felony murder charge. Few other details are known because the charges were sealed.
We'll bring you more information when those documents are unsealed by the court.