FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WTHR) — More than 30 years after the murder of 8-year-old April Tinsley, an arrest has been made in the case.
Fort Wayne Police Department and Indiana State Police announced Sunday that an arrest has been made in connection to the homicide, which occurred in April 1988.
In 1988, April walked from her Fort Wayne apartment to a friend's home for a play date. April never returned home.
Three days later, a jogger found April's body in a ditch in Dekalb County.
The investigation later revealed that April had been raped and suffocated.
Throughout the investigation, April's killer terrorized the community with threats in which the murderer bragged about the crime and promised to kill again.
One note was found on a barn door in 1990.
Then in 2004, detectives found more notes, photos and three used condoms that matched evidence found on April.
But even with detectives following up, no results.
On July 15, 2018, police arrested 59-year-old John D. Miller of Grabill, Indiana on preliminary charges of murder, child molestation and confinement.
This development in the case comes hours before the premiere of an Investigation Discovery examination of the region's most haunting unsolved case.
The investigation is ongoing by the Fort Wayne Police Department and the Indiana State Police, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Sheriff's Department of Allen County; as well as the Offices of the Prosecuting Attorney in Allen and in Dekalb County.