On April 5, 2022, Indiana State Police identified Harry Edward Greenwell as the lead suspect in a series of rape-murders that took place in along the I-65 highway between Indiana and Kentucky, from 1987 to 1990. He raped and murdered three women who were working alone at motels along the highway. He became known as the ‘I-65’ or ‘Days-Inn’ killer. The case has been cleared by exception due to the death of Greenwell.
The first victim was 41-year-old Vicky Heath, whose body was found on February 21, 1987, disposed of near a trash bin behind a Super 8 Motel in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. She had been raped and murdered. She was killed by two gunshots to her head.
The second victim was 24-year-old Margaret Gill, who was raped and murdered on March 3, 1989, while working the night shift at the Days Inn in Merryville, Indiana. She was also shot in the head.
The third victim was 34-year-old Jeanne Gilbert, who was raped and murdered on the same night while working at the Days Inn in Remington, Indiana. Her body was found on the side of the road in White County, about 50 miles from where she was abducted. She was also killed by a gunshot to the head. The killer also stole some money from the hotels.
On January 2, 1990, the attacker raped a 21-year-old woman working at a Days Inn in Columbus, Ohio. She survived the attack, and was able to provide police with enough information to produce a composite sketch of the suspect.
Police were able to link the bullets used to kill Gill and Gilbert to the same gun. In 2019, the case was reopened, and a DNA profile was able to be produced from evidence collected from the crime scenes. There is currently no information as to who performed the FGG investigation. The final confirmation was made through kinship testing of a living family member.
Greenwell had an extensive criminal record. He was convicted of armed robbery in 1963, for which he received a sentence of two years followed by five years of probation. He was also convicted of sodomy in 1965, and he served four years in Kentucky State Penitentiary until his parole in 1969. He then served a sentence in Iowa for burglary. He escaped twice from prison, finally being released in 1983 – four years before the I-65 killings began.
He died of cancer in January of 2013 at the age of 68. Johnson reports that he was described by family in his obituary as, “a man with many friends who loved his straight-up attitude, and his willingness to help anyone. His spirit will live on in many by good deeds he offered.” Police are investigating whether he is linked to more unsolved rapes and homicides in the Midwest.
Sources:
Johnson, Constance. “Police Say They’ve Solves Decades-Old Case of the ‘I-65’ Serial Killer.” Oxygen, April 6, 2022. Accessed April 10, 2022. https://www.oxygen.com/harry-edward-greenwell-is-i-65-serial-killer-police-say.
Nelson, Sarah. “I-65 Killer Revealed: Police Link Harry Edward Greenwell to Serial Killings.” Indianapolis Star, April 5, 2022. Accessed April 10, 2022. https://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2022/04/05/65-killer-revealed-harry-edward-greenwell-tied-serial-killings/7244019001/.
Taylor, Michelle. “Genealogy Helps ID Once-Escaped Convict as I-65 Killer.” Forensic Magazine, April 6, 2022. Accessed April 10, 2022. https://www.forensicmag.com/584887-Genealogy-Helps-ID-Once-escaped-Convict-as-I-65-Killer/.