Huge DNA breakthrough finally solves 30-year-old cold case in gruesome homicide

Warning: This article contains discussion of rape which some readers may find distressing.

A man in his 50s has pleaded guilty to the horrific rape and murder of a 19-year-old girl in her own apartment, more than 30 years after the brutal crime was carried out in Indianapolis.

Dana Shepherd, 54, admitted to stabbing, raping, and murdering Carmen Van Huss in 1993 as part of a plea deal signed in January that finally put an end to her family's three decades of misery.

On Friday, Shepherd was sentenced to 45 years in prison for his horrific crime, which saw the then-20-year-old stab Van Huss 61 times after breaking into her Indiana home and assaulting her.

Tragically, it was her father who discovered the teen's body as she lay in a large pool of blood. Police stated at the time that there had been signs of a struggle, with officers finding objects scattered around the room and a knocked over table.

Dana Shepherd was sentenced to 45 years for his murder of 19-year-old Van Huss in 1993 (Boone County Sheriff's Office)

Speaking after Shepherd's conviction, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said: “While no passage of time can ever heal the unimaginable loss Carmen’s family has endured, we are grateful to secure a murder conviction more than 30 years after this heinous crime.

“Our hope is that this resolution brings a measure of justice and peace to her loved ones, after three decades of waiting for answers.”

This breakthrough in the 33-year-old cold case came as the result of the evolution in forensic DNA analysis in the decades since Van Huss' murder, with new technology being used in 2018 to build a genetic profile for her killer based on blood samples found in a bag at the property.

Then in 2023, a DNA match was found and it was not one of the more than 40 suspects reviewed by investigators in relation to the killing.

Instead, it linked the 19-year-old's violent rape and murder to Shepherd, who had been living in the same apartment building as Van Huss at the time.

Carmen's younger brother Jimmy Van Huss Jr welcomed the arrest of his sister's killer after 30 years (Boone County Sheriff's Office)

Shepherd was arrested in August 2024 in Columbia, Missouri, after spending more than 30 years living without consequences for his horrific crime. He was later extradited to Indianapolis to stand trial for Van Huss' murder, with the case set to be heard next week.

But before Shepherd could be hauled before a jury of his peers on charges amounting to over 100 years in custody, he admitted his guilt and signed a plea deal that meant he would only be sentenced for her murder, the New York Post reports.

Van Huss' family, which has since lost her father, greeted the guilty plea but shared their mixed emotions. Their statement reads: “While this plea deal was not our first choice, we are grateful that after 33 years the man responsible for Carmen’s brutal rape and murder is finally being held accountable.

"For decades, the perpetrator was able to live a normal life after taking that right away from Carmen and from our family. Nothing can undo that loss or erase the injustice of him living freely for so long, but we are thankful that the truth has finally come to light and that he has not escaped justice."

If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org