INDIANAPOLIS — A cold case murder from 2004 in Kokomo is closed after the family of the victim agreed to clear it. Police said the person of interest in the killing is dead.
On Nov. 26, 2004, Thanksgiving morning, 51-year-old Janet Yeary was found dead in her home on North Apperson Way. The death was ruled a homicide by blunt force trauma to the head.
Several people were interviewed by police and Danny Case was identified as a person of interest in the killing.
As police moved in on him, a friend drove him to the Indianapolis Airport, where airport police arrested him on an unrelated charge. While in a holding cell, Case hanged himself.
Police checked Case's items taken by airport police and found blood on several of the items. However, there was not enough blood to develop a DNA strand for comparison.
Yeary's murder became a cold case and no new evidence was developed over the years.
Recently, a man who knew Case came forward and told investigators that Case had confessed to him that he killed a woman on North Apperson Way after knocking on her door and wanting to use her phone to find a ride.
Case also allegedly confessed to this friend that he had beaten an elderly man to death in Howard County. Police have shared that information with the Howard County Sheriff's Department.
After presenting all of the evidence to Yeary's family, including that the person of interest was dead, the family agreed to close the case.
Anyone with additional information on the case is asked to contact Captain Bruce Rood at 765-456-7332 or the Kokomo Police Department Hotline at 765-456-7017.
