A decades-old mystery into a series of killings along a major interstate has been solved and a serial killer has been identified as the culprit. There is only one problem in the case; the killer has been dead for nine years.

On Tuesday, law enforcement officials convened a press conference in Indianapolis to announce the identity of the suspect responsible for a trio of grisly killings and sexual assaults at hotels over 30 years ago along Interstate 65.

Relying extensively on investigative genealogy DNA together with evidence compiled in the case over the years, police were able to identify the killer as Harry Edward Greenwell, who died of cancer in 2013.

The killings began in 1987 at a Super 8 Motel in Elizabethtown, Ky., where Vicki Heath, 42, was found slain behind the building. Two years later, Margaret "Peggy" Gill, 24, was found dead at the Days Inn in Merrillville, Ind, on March 3, 1989. On that same day, Jeanne Gilbert, 34, was also discovered dead at the Days Inn over an hour away in Remington, Ind.

In each of the cases, the women were employed as workers at the motels where they were murdered. All of them were also sexually assaulted by the killer.

Greenwell was known to travel along this route, but it is unclear if authorities previously suspected that he was involved. At the press conference, investigators said they suspect Greenwell may have been involved in a number of other killings, rapes and robberies along I-65, citing an extensive criminal history that goes back to 1963.

Police logged large amounts of evidence in the cases, including ballistics, DNA samples and hair fibers. They also received witness testimony from an unidentified woman, who was sexually assaulted and described her attacker as resembling Greenwell.

Investigators across I-65 also partnered with the FBI in 2019. Ultimately, Greenwell was identified through investigative genealogy which involves uploading a crime scene DNA profile to one or more genetic genealogy databases in an attempt to identify a criminal offender’s genetic relatives and locate the offender within their family tree.

According to the FBI, the probability of Greenwell being the person responsible for the attacks was more than 99%.

“These cases did not go unsolved all these years because of a lack of investigative inactivity—investigators continuously tracked leads across the country and did everything they could to identify the person responsible for these crimes,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Herbert J. Stapleton.

“Now, through technological advances and strong, collaborative partnerships we were able to identify this person and, hopefully, start to bring closure and healing to the families of Vicki, Peggy, and Jeanne; as well as the surviving victim."

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