April Marie Tinsley | |
|---|---|
 Photograph of April Tinsley | |
| Born | March 18, 1980 Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | April 1, 1988 (aged 8) Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Asphyxiation[1] |
| Body discovered | April 4, 1988, Spencerville, Indiana, U.S. |
| Resting place | Greenlawn Memorial Park, Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana, U.S. 41°03′45″N 85°13′45″W / 41.06250°N 85.22917°W |
| Known for | Victim of child murder |
April Marie Tinsley (March 18, 1980[2] – April 1, 1988) was an eight-year-old girl from Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States, who was kidnapped, raped, and murdered in 1988. Her killer left several anonymous messages and notes in the Fort Wayne area between 1990 and 2004, openly boasting about April's murder and threatening to kill again.
Via forensic genealogy, the Fort Wayne Police Department (FWPD) identified April's murderer as John Miller in July 2018. On December 21,[3] Miller pleaded guilty and was sentenced to eighty years in prison on the charges of child molestation (rape) and murder.[4]
April's case was investigated by the FWPD and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and was covered in the television series America's Most Wanted, Crime Watch Daily and The Genetic Detective, and on the cable network Investigation Discovery.[5]
- ^ "Indians Mom Remains Hopeful for Justice in 1988 Murder Case". Associated Press. April 2, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
- ^ Esquivel Long, Lisa M. (April 5, 2018). "30 years later in Fort Wayne: Where is April Marie Tinsley's killer?". The News-Sentinel. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
- ^ "Sentencing moved up for man who pleaded guilty in death of April Tinsley". Fox 59. December 12, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
- ^ "Cold case closed: Tinsley killer sentenced". WANE.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018.
- ^ "America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back April Tinsley Killer". imdb.com. Retrieved December 8, 2021.