While the three women “played dead,” the “Indiana Slasher” stabbed them multiple times, sexually assaulted one of them, and left her bleeding in a cornfield.
The suspect, nicknamed “Slasher” or “Indiana Thrasher,” evaded police for nearly 50 years and became Hancock County's real-life boogeyman.
Survivors Candace Smith, then 13, Sheri Rottler Trick, then 11, and Kathy Rottler, then 14, said this week that they tried to kill them in 1975. I learned that she had lived longer than the man.
Indianapolis police announced Thursday that “Slasher” was finally identified through genetic genealogy as Thomas Edward Williams, who died in a Galveston, Texas, prison in November 1983 while serving time for an unrelated crime. did.
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Survivors of the 1975 Indiana Thrashers attack (from left to right) Candice Smith, Sheri Rottler Trick and Kathy Rottler spoke at a news conference Thursday. (Indianapolis Police Department)
“He was hunting,” said Steve Gibbs, a detective with the Marion County Sheriff's Office at the time who had been investigating the cold case since 2018.
“I don't want to use the word professional, but he was a victim hunter,” Gibbs told the Indy Star. “When I get in his car, I feel like I'm stuck in a spider's web. I can't get out.”
The three girls were hitchhiking to an amusement park when Williams drove them past their destination to a remote cornfield in Hancock County, where he detained two of them.
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They were all trapped in his “spider's web.”
Police said the suspect raped 11-year-old Rottler Trick and stabbed her in the throat three times and in the chest 15 times.
He then turned his attention to Smith and Rottler and slit their throats.
Indianapolis police have revealed the identity of the “Indiana Thrasher” as Thomas Edward Williams, who died in a Texas prison. (Indianapolis Police Department)
The “Zanjin” thought they were all dead and left, but Smith and Rottler had enough strength to crawl and seek help.
They eventually alerted three passersby, who called 911 and saved his life.
One of the first responding officers compared the cuts on the girls' necks to those from an accordion, the Indy Star reported.
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“I forgive this man,” Rottler-Trick said at a news conference Thursday. “I had to do it to move on with my life. I hope others in this situation do the same.”
“It's peaceful now,” Smith said.
Three victims of the “Indiana Thrasher” are surrounded by members of the Indianapolis Police Department. (Indianapolis Police Department)
Retired Indianapolis Police Sergeant David Ellison of the department's cold case division said at a news conference that three DNA evidence samples recovered from the crime scene point to the identity of an unknown man.
The agency partnered with DNA Labs International, a private forensic laboratory with funding from media company Audiochuck, to identify Williams' son and daughter using the latest genetic testing.
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After nearly 50 years, law enforcement has a “slasher.”
“Today's announcement, nearly 50 years later, is a testament to the dedication and perseverance of our detectives and partners,” Indianapolis Deputy Police Chief Kendale Adams said in a statement.
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“IMPD will hold criminals accountable no matter how long it takes. We want to do this immediately, but it could take years or even decades. , never stop searching for answers.”
