The Suitcase Murder: Who Killed Larry Terry?

Larry Terry was well-liked among his neighbors on the southeast side of Indianapolis. Often seen around the neighborhood where he rented a room, Larry always seemed to have a smile for the people he encountered. It wasn’t until he went missing in March of 2019 that the rumors started. Terry, people claimed, had said someone wanted him dead.

Two months later, his body was found stuffed inside a suitcase less three miles from his home.

On Memorial Day, May 27th, a group of people were walking along the banks of the city’s Bean Creek when they spotted a suitcase in the water. Curious, they opened it and made a horrific discovery — Larry’s remains. The Marion County coroner ruled the 56-year-old had been killed by strangulation.

To this day, his killer remains unknown.

If you have any information about this case, please call Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS.

Just The Facts: The Burger Chef Murders

Date: November 17, 1978

Place: 5725 Crawfordsville Road in Speedway, Indiana

Perpetrators:  (unknown)

Claim to Infamy: Four young employees, Daniel Davis (16), Mark Flemmonds (16), Jayne Friedt (20), and Ruth Ellen Shelton (17), were abducted from the restaurant when they were closing up for the night. Their bodies were discovered two days later in a wooded lot in Johnson County. Ruth Ellen and Daniel had been shot to death, while Jayne had been stabbed twice in the heart with a hunting knife. Mark died choking on his own blood after receiving a blow to the head. Although robbery is the presumed motive, less than $600 was taken from the registers.  Additional money in the girls’ purses and the store safe was left untouched.

Current Status: Unsolved

Random Disturbing Fact: Daniel was new to the Friday night crew. The girl who’d previously worked that shift quit the week before, and he took her spot.  It was his first ─ and last ─ Friday night working until close.


Anyone with information regarding this crime is encouraged to call the Indiana State Police (317) 232-8248 .

In Their Own Words: Larry Eyler

“I’m very aware of what’s happening. I know that Mr. Agan isn’t. And I told him to make his peace with God… And, after waiting those few minutes, then Dave said, ‘Oh, kill the motherfucker.’ I then stabbed Mr. Agan and Dave took another snapshot. I stabbed Mr. Agan, then I stabbed Mr. Agan a couple or three times. I don’t know how many times. I just did them very quickly. And then Dave came over and then he took the knife from me and he stabbed Mr. Agan while he masturbated. And after he stabbed Mr. Agan a few times, then Mr. Agan went limp.”

– Larry Eyler, in a confession he gave to the court while pleading guilty to Steven Agan’s murder*

*Eyler’s alleged co-conspirator was found not guilty

In Their Own Words: John David “Butch” Witte

INDIANA INFAMY - Hans Dieter (John David)  

“My mom said I could strangle her or use my crossbow. It was up to me.”

– Hans Dieter (John David) “Butch” Witte, describing the conspiracy to kill and dismember his grandmother Elaine. Sentenced to a twenty-year manslaughter term for taking part in the murder, Butch was released in 1996.

Who Killed TJ Steenbergen?

Find TJ's Killer

Unlike other families getting together for the holidays this year, the Steenbergens won’t feel much like celebrating. Instead, they’ll be mourning the loss of one of their own.

Indianapolis police are still searching for the killer of Tony Dewayne “TJ” Steenbergen, who was gunned down Sunday evening around 8:30 pm on Tacoma Avenue. He died in surgery at Methodist Hospital a few hours later. Only 32 at the time of his death, Steenbergen left behind a wife and two young daughters who are now trying to cope with the aftermath of this brutal crime.

If you have any information about the death of TJ Steenbergen, please contact the IMPD at 317-327-3475 or the Crime Hotline at 317-327-6682. Information can be given anonymously.

 

 

 

Just the Facts: Joseph Weldon Brown

Joseph Weldon Brown

Name: Joseph Weldon Brown

Known Aliases: (none)

Date of Birth: November 24, 1954

Claim to Infamy: Brown murdered Evansville resident Ginger Gasaway when she broke up with him and demanded the return of her car. After killing her, he dismembered her body with a reciprocating saw and discarded it in pieces around Posey, Gibson, and Warrick counties. While serving his life sentence for Gasaway’s murder, Brown confessed to killing thirteen others. Although some of the details he provided were able to be corroborated, no additional bodies were found to verify his claims. In 2011, he strangled another inmate to death at Miami Correctional Facility at Bunker Hill.

Indiana Connection: A native of Cynthiana, Brown was no stranger to Indiana law enforcement long before he murdered Ginger Gasaway. In 1977, he kidnapped, robbed, and assaulted a friend in Owensville. He had served 18 years of a life sentence for that crime when he was released to kill again.

Current Status: Serving life without the possibility of parole at the Westville Control Unit

Random Disturbing Fact: When the saw blade he was using to dismember Gasaway’s body broke, Brown walked into Home Depot splattered with blood and gore and calmly demanded an exchange. It was given to him, no questions asked.

In Their Own Words: Ricky Hobbs

stopping at slowyear 

“To tell you the truth, I didn’t know Sylvia that well. It was just a casual relationship.”

– Ricky Hobbs describing his “relationship” with Sylvia Likens, the girl he helped torture to death. Among other sadistic acts, Ricky helped brand the words “I’m a prostitute and proud of it” into the girl’s stomach with a needle.