FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- Police have arrested a man in the 1988 slaying of an 8-year-old Indiana girl. Authorities say John Miller of Grabill agreed to speak with police Sunday in Fort Wayne and made incriminating statements about abducting, assaulting and killing April Tinsley.

An affidavit released by the Allen County prosecutor says investigators have DNA evidence linking Miller to the girl. A recent search of Miller's trash helped police make a DNA match.

Miller, 59, was arrested on preliminary murder, child molesting and criminal confinement charges in Tinsley's death. A judge gave prosecutors until Thursday to formally charge him.

Miller was being held without bond. It wasn't clear if he has a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.

April Tinsley WANE

According to the affidavit, Miller's DNA was matched to DNA recovered from Tinsley's underwear in 1988, CBS affiliate WANE reports.

Tinsley was abducted as she walked to a friend's home to pick up an umbrella, the station reports.

John Miller WANE

Tinsley's body was found in a ditch, about 20 miles from her Fort Wayne neighborhood, three days after she disappeared in April 1988. The first-grader's body was found by a jogger, WANE reports.

Police say the alleged killer continued to torment the residents of Fort Wayne years after the crime. He surfaced several times, police say, posting notes about his involvement with the Tinsley slaying, and handing others to local children.

Tinsley's family left Fort Wayne in 1991 but returned five years ago.</s>(Reuters) - An Indiana man was charged on Monday with sexually assaulting and murdering an 8-year-old girl in 1988, police said, a day after they said he had confessed to the crime.

John Miller, 59, of Grabill, Indiana, appeared briefly in court in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to face charges of murdering April Tinsley, officials said.

DNA evidence and records on publicly accessible genealogical websites helped investigators track down the suspect, the Fort Wayne police department said in a court filing on Sunday. That followed a pattern similar to that used to track down the “Golden State Killer” in California earlier this year.

Tinsley’s mother reported her missing from her family home on April 1, 1988. Investigators found her body three days later, about 20 miles (32 km) away.

Miller was being held at the Allen County Jail on Monday after being preliminarily charged with murder, child molestation and confinement of someone under 14 years old, jail records showed.

Police asked Miller at his residence before his arrest if he had any idea why the police wanted to talk with him. Miller replied, “April Tinsley,” according to the affidavit.

Police say Miller confessed to raping and then choking April Tinsley to death in April 1988 at his mobile home.

The arrest affidavit said that police, using outside labs, compared DNA evidence with information on genealogical websites, which narrowed the search to Miller and his brother.

Earlier this month, police began to watch Miller, and took three used condoms from his trash earlier this month, it said.

It was not clear from court records whether Miller had retained an attorney. Calls on Monday to the prosecutor’s office were not immediately returned.

According to court papers, police in 1990 discovered writing on a barn wall near Fort Wayne that said: “I kill 8 year old April M Tinsley did you find her other shoe haha I will kill agin’.”</s>Police have arrested a man in the 1988 slaying of an 8-year-old Indiana girl.Authorities say John Miller of Grabill agreed to speak with police Sunday in Fort Wayne and made incriminating statements about abducting, assaulting and killing April Tinsley. An affidavit released by the Allen County prosecutor says investigators have DNA evidence linking Miller to the girl.A recent search of Miller's trash helped police make a DNA match. Charges could be formally filed this week. It wasn't immediately known if Miller has a lawyer who could comment on the arrest.April's body was found in a ditch, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from her Fort Wayne neighborhood, three days after she disappeared in April 1988.April's family left Fort Wayne in 1991 but returned five years ago.</s>Suspect in 1988 killing of Indiana girl, 8, appears in court

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — A judge has given prosecutors until Thursday to formally charge a man who's being held in the 1988 slaying of an 8-year-old Indiana girl.

Fifty-nine-year-old John D. Miller of Grabill was arrested Sunday on preliminary murder, child molesting and criminal confinement charges in the abduction, rape and killing of April Marie Tinsley.

The Fort Wayne girl's body was found three days after her April 1988 abduction in a ditch about 20 miles (32 kilometers) away.

WANE-TV reports Miller appeared Monday morning before an Allen County judge, who gave prosecutors 72 hours to formally charge Miller in the killing.

He's being held without bond. It wasn't clear if Miller has a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.</s>July 16 (UPI) -- Indiana authorities have arrested a man they believe is responsible for a 30-year-old cold murder case, which included the sexual assault and death of an 8-year-old girl.

Suspect John D. Miller was taken into custody Sunday at his Grabill, Ind., home by Fort Wayne Police Department and Indiana State Police, court documents said.

Prosecutors say DNA evidence connects him to the 1988 death of April Tinsley, a young girl found dead three days after her family reported her missing.

Court documents say when asked by police Sunday if he knew why they were at his home, Miller answered, "April Tinsley."

Miller was arrested on charges of suspicion of murder, child molesting and confinement. He is scheduled to appear in Allen County Court Monday.

Tinsley was abducted April 1, 1988, while walking in her Fort Wayne neighborhood. Three days later, a jogger found her body along a country road 20 miles away. Police said she'd been raped, but were not able to track down a suspect through DNA.

Police said the killer scrawled a message on a barn door two years later, threatening to kill again. In 2004, he again left threatening notes, nude photos and condoms on bicycles belonging to three girls.

Authorities said DNA testing this year finally led them to Miller. Court documents say he admitted to the girl's death.

The arrest came the same day the Investigation Discovery Channel was scheduled to broadcast an episode of On the Case With Paula Zahn about the Tinsley case.</s>John D. Miller allegedly taunted the community for years after the murder.

Police have made an arrest in the 30-year-old rape and murder of 8-year-old April Tinsley, using DNA evidence combined with new technology.

As WANE-TV (Ft. Wayne) reports, John D. Miller, 59, was arrested without incident at his Gabrill trailer on Sunday morning. When police asked him if he knew why they were there, he reportedly answered “April Tinsley.”

Back in 1988, April Tinsley was abducted from the street in her Ft. Wayne neighborhood as she walked to a friend’s home to grab an umbrella. Her body was found three days later by a jogger; she had been sexually assaulted, strangled, and left for dead.

Unfortunately, the case went cold. Making matters worse, the alleged murderer taunted the community: Two years later, a cruel message was found scrawled onto the side of a nearby barn.

According to The Washington Post, that wouldn’t be the last time April’s murderer taunted the community. He allegedly sent what the Post describes as “grotesque messages” using condoms and Polaroid pictures. They were addressed to other little girls whom he claimed were on his list.

Meanwhile, police went through hundreds of suspects – none of them Miller – and cleared them all due to lack of evidence.

Fortunately, there were no subsequent rapes and murders of little girls in Ft. Wayne that could be tied to April’s murderer.

Meanwhile, the murder captured the attention of the nation. It was featured on America’s Most Wanted and Crime Watch Daily, and even as police were putting the cuffs on Miller, the case was scheduled to be featured on an upcoming edition of On The Record With Paula Zahn, according to The Indianapolis Star.

Law enforcement’s big break in the case came via new DNA technology. Police had hung on to evidence collected from the scene of April’s murder, as well as from later taunting messages sent to the community. With the help of a Virginia-based DNA analysis company, police were able to complete a genetic profile of April’s murderer. They were even able to produce images of what the suspect might look like.

Cops closed in on two men: Miller and his brother. Police began staking out both men’s homes and searching their trash. When a DNA match was found, Miller was arrested.

Miller allegedly admitted to police that he abducted April, raped her, murdered her by choking her to death, and then left her body.</s>FORT WAYNE, Ind. — A judge has given prosecutors until Thursday to formally charge a man who’s being held in the 1988 slaying of an 8-year-old Indiana girl.

Fifty-nine-year-old John D. Miller of Grabill was arrested Sunday on preliminary murder, child molesting and criminal confinement charges in the abduction, rape and killing of April Marie Tinsley.

The Fort Wayne girl’s body was found three days after her April 1988 abduction in a ditch about 20 miles (32 kilometers) away.

WANE-TV reports Miller appeared Monday morning before an Allen County judge, who gave prosecutors 72 hours to formally charge Miller in the killing.

He’s being held without bond. It wasn’t clear if Miller has a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>Aided by DNA testing, Indiana police arrested a man in connection to the 1988 rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl, WXIN reported.

John D. Miller, 59, of Grabill, Indiana, was arrested Sunday by Fort Wayne police and charged with the murder of April Tinsley, according to court documents. The girl was abducted from her Fort Wayne neighborhood on April 1, 1988, according to the FBI. Her body was recovered three days later in a ditch 20 miles from her home, according to court documents.

The arrest came hours before the cold case was to be featured in a prime-time crime documentary, The Indianapolis Star reported.

Authorities extracted DNA evidence out of Miller’s trash earlier this month and returned to his residence Sunday, according to a probable cause affidavit.

When police asked Miller if he knew why they were there, he answered “April Tinsley” before he admitted to committing the crimes, the Star reported.

Miller was charged with murder, child molesting and confinement , WXIN reported.

The alleged killer wrote a note on a barn door in 1990, that said, “I kill 8-year-old April Marie Tinsley. I will kill again."

In 2004, the man allegedly left threatening notes, photos and used condoms on three girls’ bicycles. DNA in the condoms matched what was found on April’s body, the Star reported.

"Hi honey. I been watching you," said one note, which was released by the FBI. "I am the same person that kidnapped, raped and killed April Tinsely. You are my next victim."

In May, a detective arranged for DNA testing at a laboratory. On July 6, the DNA sample was narrowed to two brothers, one of whom was Miller, the Star reported.

While checking Miller’s trash on July 6, investigators found three used condoms, the newspaper reported. Three days later, results from DNA testing matched the used condoms found in Miller’s trash to the condoms found in 2004 and DNA found on April, the Star said.

The arrest was made hours before Investigation Discovery's "On the Case with Paula Zahn" was scheduled to air an episode about the case.</s>A man suspected in the 1988 slaying of an eight-year-old Indiana girl was arrested on Sunday.

Thirty years after the case was first opened, authorities say John Miller of Grabill made incriminating statements about abducting, assaulting and killing April Tinsley to police in Fort Wayne.

An affidavit released by the Allen County prosecutor says investigators have DNA evidence linking Miller to the girl.

A recent search of Miller's trash helped police make a DNA match. He was reportedly arrested at his home after detectives arrived to question him about the murder.

According to indystar.com, when investigators asked why he thought they were there, Miller answered 'April Tinsley.'

Charges could be formally filed this week. It wasn't immediately known if Miller has a lawyer who could comment on the arrest. Miller, 59, is expected to appear in court on Monday.

April's body was found in a ditch, about 20 miles from her Fort Wayne neighborhood, three days after she disappeared in April 1988.

Police said that Tinsley had been raped. The killer reportedly left behind DNA but investigators were unsuccessful in linking it to a suspect.

The case found new interest two years later, when someone had written on the front of a Fort Wayne barn: 'I kill 8-year-old April Marie Tinsley. I will kill again.'

In 2004, a threatening note, nude photos, and used condoms were discovered on the bicycles of three young girls.

'Hi honey. I been watching you,' one note read. 'I am the same person that kidnapped, raped and killed April Tinsely. You are my next victim.'

DNA found inside the condoms matched that of Tinsley's killer. But it would be another 14 years until investigators would reopened the cold case.

Court documents state that in May 2018, a detective sent the available evidence in the case 550 miles away to Parabon NanoLabs, who narrowed the results to two brothers, one being Miller.

That gave authorities enough cause to start conducting surveillance on Miller. On July 6, detectives collected three used condoms thrown out in Miller's trash.

When police arrested Miller, he allegedly detailed how he killed Tinsley, telling investigators he choked her to death after sexually assaulting her.

Miller is currently being held at the Allen County Jail on suspicion of murder, child molesting and confinement.

April's family left Fort Wayne in 1991 but returned five years ago.</s>FORT WAYNE, Ind. — A man arrested in the 1988 slaying of an 8-year-old Indiana girl after authorities said they linked him to the crime with DNA appeared Monday before a judge who gave prosecutors 72 hours to formally charge him in the child’s abduction, rape and killing.

John D. Miller, 59, of Grabill was arrested Sunday on preliminary murder, child molesting and criminal confinement charges in April Marie Tinsley’s slaying. The Fort Wayne girl’s body was found in a ditch three days after her April 1988 abduction about 20 miles (32 kilometers) away.

Miller is being held without bond and it wasn’t clear if he has a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. He’s scheduled to appear Thursday in Allen Superior Court for a formal arraignment.

When police arrived Sunday at Miller’s home near Fort Wayne, they asked him if he knew why they were there and he answered “April Tinsley,” before admitting to her killing, investigators said in a probable cause affidavit. Miller allegedly admitted kidnapping Tinsley and then sexually assaulting and killing her at his Grabill home before dumping her body on April 2, 1988, according to the affidavit.

Investigators examined genealogy databases — the same search method that helped lead investigators in California to alleged Golden State Killer Joseph James DeAngelo in April — in the search for Tinsley’s killer, according to the affidavit.

It’s still unclear how detectives Brian Martin of the Fort Wayne Police Department and Clint Hetrick of the Indiana State Police used DNA information in the Tinsley case, but the affidavit says they worked with “highly trained genealogist” CeCe Moore, a genetic genealogist.

The Allen County prosecutor’s office scheduled a news conference for Tuesday morning to discuss the case.

The affidavit, filed Sunday, says Miller’s DNA matches DNA found in used condoms taken from trash at his mobile home on July 9.

Miller’s DNA also matches DNA taken from Tinsley’s underwear and from three used condoms that were found in 2004 at locations in Fort Wayne and Grabill along with messages the killer apparently left 16 years after the crime, the affidavit states.

Miller wore a blue jumpsuit, his feet and hands shackled as he appeared Monday before an Allen County judge, who asked him if he understood the preliminary charges he faces.

“Yes,” Miller replied during the hearing attended by several of Tinsley’s relatives, WANE-TV reported.

Paul Helmke, who was Fort Wayne’s mayor when Tinsley was slain, said the community always held out hope that there would eventually be an arrest in the disturbing case.

“It was like a gash in the community’s heart,” he told The Journal Gazette.
Police in Allen County, Indiana arrest a suspect in the 1988 murder of the 8-year-old April Tinsley.