Suspect identified almost 50 years after he abducted and stabbed 3 girls in Indiana cornfield

INDIANAPOLIS (TCD) -- Cold case detectives identified a man they said abducted and stabbed three girls, sexually assaulted one of them, and left them in a cornfield in 1975.

In the late evening of Aug. 19, 1975, 13-year-old Kandice Smith, 11-year-old Sheri Rottler Trick, and 14-year-old Kathie Rottler left a gas station in Indianapolis. The three girls opted to hitchhike, and a man in a station wagon pulled over and offered a ride.

According to Indianapolis Police, the girls realized something was wrong when the man drove by their destination. They attempted to get out of the car but were unable to because there was no inside door handle. The man also reportedly threatened them with a gun.

The driver stopped at a cornfield and forced them out of the car. He tied two of them up, then sexually assaulted and stabbed the remaining girl. Afterward, the man stabbed the two other girls multiple times, then fled as they remained injured in the field. The girls pretended to be dead to prevent any further harm.

Two of the victims managed to make it to the road and flag down help from a passing driver. They were all transported to a hospital and survived the attack.

State and local police investigated the case, but it eventually ran cold because detectives could not identify a suspect.

In 2018, the survivors reached out to a Sgt. David Ellison to reopen the case. Ellison retrieved evidence and sent it to a lab for DNA testing. Results came back as an unidentified male, and DNA from two other pieces of evidence reportedly matched that unknown male as well.

Ellison contacted DNA Labs International and applied for genetic genealogy to be conducted on the evidence to create a profile of the suspect. DNA Labs International returned results in 2023, and officials were eventually able to use ancestry sites to identify the suspect as Thomas Edward Williams.

Williams died in 1983 while in prison in Galveston, Texas.

At a press conference Thursday, Jan. 18, Ellison, who is now retired, commended the victims' "patience" and "persistence" because they never stopped looking for their attacker.

Kathie Rottler said, "I stand here today as a survivor who has learned the true meaning of patience."

Rottler also gave a message to other survivors: "Never give up. Continue to fight to keep your case open," adding, "It was well worth the wait."

MORE:

• IMPD Unsolved Homicide Unit Solves 1975 Case Using Genetic Genealogy Testing - Indianapolis Police Department
• IMPD Solves 1975 Cold Case - Indianapolis Metro Police Department