Cold cases

The Indiana State Police announced Tuesday that DNA linked a now-deceased Markle man to the 1997 death of 23-year-old Angela Saco.

Fred Bandy Jr. was convicted earlier this month of murder in connection with the 1975 abduction and killing of a 17-year-old Kosciusko County girl. His co-defendant was sentenced to eight years for conspiracy to commit murder.

The death of 17-year-old Laurel Mitchell had gone cold until DNA evidence was discovered in 2023.

The project is the first of its kind in the state.

The Coroner's Office worked together with several different entities to ultimately identify Tabetha Ann Slain Murlin.

Fred Bandy Jr. and John Wayne Lehman, both 67, are each charged with murder in connection to the 1975 killing of 17-year-old Laurel Mitchell.