DNA evidence used to charge Boone County man with murder, rape in 1993 Indianapolis killing
BOONE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Boone County man is facing rape and murder charges stemming from a 1993 Indiana case.
Dana Jermaine Shepherd, 52, faces charges in Marion County, Indiana, including two counts of murder and one count of rape "with deadly force."
Boone County deputies and detectives with the Indianapolis Metro Police Department arrested Shepherd this morning, Capt. Brian Leer of the sheriff's office said. Shepherd was charged in Boone County on Friday with being a fugitive from another state.
He is being held in the Boone County Jail without bond. Online court records in Indiana show that prosecutors filed the charges under seal on Thursday and a warrant went out the same day.
Indiana court documents state Shepherd is charged for allegedly killing and raping Carmen Vanhuss on March 23, 1993. Police said the victim was found dead with signs of a struggle in the apartment early on that day.
"The victim appeared to have multiple puncture wounds to her head, face, and body," court documents state. "The assault appeared to have taken place in the living room area of the apartment and it appeared that the suspect went into the kitchen to possibly wash himself."
Police officers said witnesses told them they heard a disturbance between 1 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. coming from Vanhuss' apartment along with footsteps leaving quickly. Another witness said she heard a female scream "get off of me" before hearing slamming and banging noises from the apartment.
Several boyfriends of the victim were interviewed and over time were eliminated as suspects using DNA. Court documents state the case went cold and was reopened in 2000.
In 2013 investigators used DNA from the victim and blood found at the scene to create a profile of an unknown man, according to court documents. "The full profile DNA was uploaded into the Combined DNA Index System also known as CODIS and did not match any profiles in the system," the investigating officer wrote in the probable cause statement.
In 2018, a DNA sample was taken from a bag found in the trash can from the victim's apartment and shipped to a lab for a genetic genealogy assessment, court documents state.
Investigators received a tip in June 2023 advising a user of Parabon Nanolabs may be related to a person-of-interest connected to the DNA sample, according to court documents. The investigating officers from Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department were able to connect the user to Shepherd.
Officers used a list of residents who lived in the apartment complex in 1993 along with an address provided by Shepherd when he arrested several times between 1992 and 1996; the address is adjacent to the building Vanhess was killed, according to police.
IMPD Cold Case Homicide Detectives learned Shepherd was working at the University of Missouri on campus and traveled to Columbia to get a signed warrant from a Boone County judge.
Court documents states Boone County Sheriff's Office detectives interviewed Shepherd on February 15 in Columbia at the MUPD with IMPD officers present after receiving a Missouri warrant for his DNA and fingerprints.
Indianapolis Marion County Forensic Service Agency used the samples collected in Missouri and confirmed the DNA of Shepherd matched several pieces of evidence, including a blood stain from the kitchen trash can, according to police.
The investigator wrote in court documents the unknown male DNA collected from the crime scene "matched the DNA profile of Dana Shepherd and is estimated to occur once in 5 billion unrelated individuals."
Leer said law enforcement arrested Shepherd in the 500 block of Park Lane on Friday morning, just east of Columbia.
An initial court appearance for the Boone County charge was held on Friday afternoon and Shepherd appeared by video from the jail. A confined docket hearing was scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Boone County Courthouse. An extradition hearing was set for 9 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 26.
Court records in Missouri show three criminal cases for Shepherd dating back to 2001. The convictions include charges of stealing, peace disturbance and driving without a valid license.
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