INDIANA 1988 Cold Case Solved After 30 Years — The Notes He Left

For thirty years, Fort Wayne, Indiana lived with an unsolved child murder and a killer who refused to stay quiet — leaving taunting notes and physical evidence behind in 1990 and again in 2004. The case sat cold through every era of DNA technology until genetic genealogy, applied just weeks after the Golden State Killer arrest, narrowed the search to two brothers and, ultimately, to a man with no criminal record. This episode traces the 1988 murder of April Tinsley through the 2018 arrest and confession of John D. Miller. Sources: Allen County Prosecutor's Office and Fort Wayne Police Department, case statements (2018) CNN, NBC News, ABC News, Time, CBS News — contemporaneous reporting (2018) Journal Gazette, WOWO, 21Alive/WPTA — local coverage (2018) Wikipedia, "Murder of April Tinsley" (background verification only) Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 1:45 Good Friday, 1988 5:30 The Investigation Stalls 9:30 The Taunts: 1990 and 2004 15:00 Genetic Genealogy Begins 19:30 Two Brothers, One Match 23:00 The Arrest and Confession 27:00 The Plea and Sentencing Disclaimer: This episode is built from court records, law-enforcement releases and news organizations of record, mentioned above. Convictions and pleas are stated as recorded. Where a case is unresolved, we say so. Nothing here is legal advice.