Indiana cold case solved: Suspect identified in woman's 1981 murder

Welcome and thank you for being here this morning. We'll get started by an introduction of those who are present and who will be speaking this morning. My name is Derek Allen. It's spelled D-E-R-E-K-A-L-L-E-N. I serve as the Administrative Captain for the Sheriff's Office and the Public Information Officer for the agency. Present with us is Sheriff Ronald Heeg, H-E-E-G, and Chief of Detectives Captain Andy Hynek, H-Y-N-E-K. On February 22, 1981, Juanita Boyd was reported missing after failing to return to a residence at 107 State Street in LaPorte. Her disappearance was considered out of character, prompting an immediate response by a multi-agency law enforcement task force in LaPorte County, led by the LaPorte County Sheriff's Office. Investigators worked diligently to establish a timeline of Ms. Boyd's whereabouts through interviews and investigative leads while simultaneously searching for her and her recently purchased green Pontiac passenger vehicle. Six days later, on February 28th, Ms. Boyd's vehicle was located along an agricultural lane off Forrester Road east of County Road 700 West in rural Cool Spring Township. The vehicle was stuck in mud, and it was apparent that those who had been with the vehicle attempted to remove it by placing boards from a nearby structure underneath the rear tires. Ms. Boyd was deceased inside the trunk of the vehicle. Her death was subsequently ruled a homicide caused by asphyxiation. Evidence was collected at the scene, including Ms. Boyd's clothing and articles from within the vehicle. Over the ensuing decades, investigators continue to review and pursue leads In the unsolved homicide investigation, at the time of Ms. Boyd's murder, DNA testing was not available and did not gain widespread use in law enforcement until the early 1990s. Years after the murder, a DNA profile was developed from seminal fluid that was located in an undergarment of Ms. Boyd. The DNA profile was compared to others, but no match was found. As the years went on, DNA testing continued to improve, and the use of forensic genealogy Began being utilized in the investigation. In July of this year, a DNA profile was collected from an immediate relative of a potential suspect. In October, investigators learned that the profile comparison showed the DNA profile collected from Ms. Boyd's undergarment matched that of the suspect, Carl David Phillips. Phillips was known to be residing in LaPorte County at the time of Ms. Boyd's murder. Furthermore, he had resided in the immediate area of the scene as a juvenile and was familiar with the area. At the time of the homicide, Phillips was 37 years old. There is no known connection between Ms. Boyd and Phillips, and the only evidence linking them together is the DNA evidence collected from her undergarment. On September 24, 2017, Phillips died in LaPorte County. Had he been alive today, the LaPorte County Prosecuting Attorney's Office would have charged With murder? While this development will not result in a criminal prosecution, the identification of the individual responsible represents a significant step in a homicide investigation that had remained unsolved for more than 45 years. The LaPorte County Sheriff's Office remains committed to pursuing justice for victims and their families, regardless of how much time has passed. Cold case investigations are painstaking, requiring investigators to revisit evidence. reconsider investigative avenues and take advantage of advancements in forensic science that may not have existed when the original investigation began. For Juanita Boyd's family, the investigation breakthrough provides answers to questions that have remained unanswered for decades. Although nothing can undo the tragedy of her death or replace the years spent without answers, the hope is that identifying the individual responsible provides some measure of closure. In closing, time does not diminish the commitment of the Sheriff's Office to victims or families or the pursuit of answers. And with that, Sheriff Heagle will have some remarks followed by Captain Hynek. Once Captain Hynek concludes, we'll open it up for questions and answers. We would ask that you state your full name and what media affiliation you are directly tied to. Thank you. Good morning. I'm Sheriff Ron Heagle, and I'd like to thank each and every one of you guys for being here today on this historic day. In fact, a day that's been 45-plus years in the making, a day that started on February 22, 1981, with the disappearance and death of Juanita Boyd. Investigators worked tirelessly on this case, which eventually became cold. Although cold, it was never forgotten about, and it was looked on by several generations of police officers throughout the years. Today, I'm happy to announce that this case is no longer cold, but in fact, resolved. Resolved with the assistance of modern-day technology, technology that was not present in 1981. I'd like to commend and thank Captain Andrew Hynek for his commitment, dedication to this case, to see it come to a conclusion. At this time, I'd like to have Captain Hynek come to the podium with additional details. Good morning, and thank you all for being here. This is a big day for us at the Sheriff's Office, a day that I have thought about for several years. Waiting for this conclusion. As the sheriff said, my name is Captain Andy Hynek. I'm currently the chief of detectives for the LaPorte County Sheriff's Office and the lead investigator on the disappearance and subsequent homicide of Juanita Boyd on February 22nd, 1981 in rural Cool Spring Township. I want to start, and this is very important, I want to start by recognizing two groups of people. The first is all of the detectives who worked this case from 1981 to present. Several of them are with us here today. The work they did in 1981 allowed us to be why and where we are today. Secondly, and most importantly, I want to recognize the Boyd family who are also with us. Since reopening this case many years ago, there hasn't been a day that I haven't thought about Juanita and each of you. A background on the case is that on February 21st, 1981, Juanita was last seen at a local bar in the city of La Porte. Her car and her went missing the next morning when she failed to return home. Six days later, her vehicle was found in rural Cool Spring Township, and her body was inside. A suspect at the time was developed, but no charges were pursued. As technology evolved, the last nearly 46 years, our team was able to partner with Parabon, a private genetic genealogy lab, as well as the Indiana State Police Lab in Lowell, to develop a DNA profile of a suspect from evidence left at the scene. Over the last 10 years or so, we have followed up on leads. ...tips and while using the genetic profile to create a family tree of that unknown suspect. Simultaneously, the initial suspect in this case was ruled out. Information and interviews were conducted with individuals from throughout the United States. Last month, the DNA profile was matched to Carl David Phillips. Further investigation was concluded into Carl David Phillips, revealing he had a connection to the immediate area on Forrester Road, east of County Road 700 west, where Juanita was found in the trunk of her vehicle. As Captain Allen mentioned, Carl David Phillips passed away in September of 2017. Last week, I presented the case to the LaPorte County Prosecutor's Office, including physical and circumstantial evidence. At the conclusion of this presentation, the LaPorte County Prosecutor's Office Agreed with my investigation and concluded that if Carl David Phillips were alive today, he would be charged with the murder of Juanita Boyd. I will forever be indebted to the tireless work of every investigator who's worked on this case from 1981 to present. The crime scene was preserved by now deceased Detective Wayne Kempker of the Sheriff's Office, who truly was decades ahead of his time with evidence preservation. Multiple detectives from the Indiana State Police, the Michigan City Police Department, the LaPorte City Police Department, and the LaPorte County Sheriff's Office diligently worked on this case over the next four decades as technology continued to evolve. In 2013, Major Pat Cicero and I reopened the case, and for the next 13 years, we continued to pursue justice for the family, culminating with the closure last week. To the Boyd family, I know this will not bring closure to you. Rather, it probably raises more questions, most of which we will never have answers to. I am grateful for the patience and trust you had in me. I am hopeful this will help bring peace to this nearly 46-year-old case. To our community, I believe this will bring hope. Hope in knowing the LaPorte County Sheriff's Office remains committed in investigating these open cold case murders, along with our law enforcement and private industry partners. With that, I will open it up for any questions. Please be mindful that your questions may not be able to be answered. We may not have the answer to those questions. No, it was not this person. The initial suspect in 1981 was Juanita's boyfriend at the time, Jack Pearson, and again, he was ruled out after we reopened the case. So it sounds like Phillips was never on the radar. I guess maybe people at home, so I guess converting people on that. Yes. And then kind of second part would be, I think people at home are thinking, okay, well, this guy, you know, passed away in 2017. So how are you for sure able to know that it matches his DNA? Good question. So there is no known connection between Mr. Phillips and Ms. Boyd. Circumstantial evidence along with the DNA evidence that rules that they had some kind of an interaction together along with the circumstantial evidence that would tie him to the immediate area as to where this occurred allowed us to present this case. What tied him to the area? Can you be more specific? So we know that he had an immediate area to the location where her body was found. He was familiar with the area, and he had known relatives in the area. You said she had been in touch with the Boyd family. Are they here with us today? They are. Cecily Porter with the WSBT. Do we know anything more about Phillips? Was he a working person? You said he had relatives. So he had relatives that lived in the area. We know that Mr. Phillips served time in the Indiana Department of Correction in the mid-70s for armed robbery, specifically armed purse snatchings out of Tippecanoe County. I believe he was on parole at the time that this homicide occurred. And in 1984, he was tried and convicted here in La Porte County for burglary where he was sentenced to 20 years in the Indiana Department of Correction but was paroled in June of 1991 and doesn't appear to have any more law enforcement contact post-1991. Did he return to the area after that? He did. He's born and raised in the area and lived out the rest of his life here until he passed away in 2017. The boyfriend was the initial suspect. Correct. At the time, what led you all to think that was the case? It appeared that way, and just for a lack of any other suspects at that time. Is there a reason to believe that anyone else may have been involved? There is no evidence that would support that anyone else was involved. Any other, I don't know, cold cases that you guys might be able to, you know, break open with how advanced our technology is now? And some of this, it sounds like this family still wouldn't have answers. Absolutely. Where we are today. Absolutely. As a matter of fact, I talked to a couple of the initial detectives that are here with us from 1981. And, again, it's a true testament to the work that they did because back in 1981, it was more boots on the ground. Investigative work interviews canvassing of neighborhoods all stuff that we do today, but we have the luxury of having DNA. We have cell phone technology. We have camera technology all stuff that they didn't have back then. I am confident that with technology we will be able to come to resolution to other cold cases both within the sheriff's department and throughout LaPorte County. Some of the other agencies. Technology has largely evolved. It continues to evolve. I can't say enough about the work that Parabon and CeCe Moore from Parabon did on this case to help build this genetic profile and allow me to build essentially a family tree of an unknown DNA sample. That DNA profile that was created with Parabon and CeCe Moore, is that something that you did, you contracted them, or why isn't the Indiana Crime Lab able to? Yeah, so we partnered with Parabon through the LaPorte County Sheriff's Office in about 2013 to contract with them. Obviously, there's a cost associated with that. The prosecutor's office back then Remain committed to it as they do this year. I will also say that we have tested other items of evidence at a cost with private labs since the suspect has been developed and the prosecutor's office has partnered with us and paid for that. The state police lab tests the DNA and they create the profile and then they will match that to CODIS or any known sample. When they don't get a match, we have the ability now to lean on private industry. There are several companies, specifically in this case it was Parabon. And Parabon has a database that matches. Family DNA to unknown DNA samples, specifically in this case, it starts as much further away, cousins, second cousins, third cousins, and then it's up to the investigator to work through that family tree to get to where we are today with where we can identify a specific suspect. This is technology that is used all across the United States. It's been used in a lot of high profile cases across the United States to allow us to get a name with a genetic profile. You said that you personally have been investigating this case for the past 13 years, correct? Yes, so the way that this happened in 2013, myself and Major Cicero were both detectives at the time. We were opening a case. We met with the Boyd family to let them know that they hadn't been forgotten about. We were going to pursue the case. And because of some transfers within the department, Promotions and stuff. There was a period of time where we didn't get to work it as actively. And then in January of 2023, I went to Sheriff Hague and the rest of the administrative team and asked if I could. Pursue this again much harder. Obviously he agreed with that and we were able to dedicate some time to specifically these cold cases where before unfortunately we weren't able to do that due to caseload. Do you know when exactly the DNA evidence was submitted for testing and how long it took to get that family tree in for you to identify the suspect? So it was initially, the first family tree was created in 2013 and then essentially we've worked it ever since then, collecting other samples. Information is continuously being uploaded to Parabon, so they're continuously updating that family tree. And then it's about a three to four month turnaround for familial DNA with the Indiana State Police Lab at Lowell. And again, I have to give the folks at the State Police Lab a ton of credit because they're just as vested as we are in these cases as investigators. And I met with them several times at the post, went through the case. We looked at different ways to Proceed with obtaining samples and who our suspect could be and they were readily available and again they were just as excited to get a match as we were as investigators. Those ladies over there are very much vested in these cases. So it sounds like the family knew that you guys were working on this, maybe it's been a handful of years since you made that clear, but did they have any indication how close you guys were to finding answers when you sat them down and told them, hey, we don't have a dear daughter? All right. No, and I don't want to speak for them, but I stayed in regular communication with the family to let them know that we hadn't forgot about it. But, you know, as different... Pieces of evidence are sent out, and technology, again, evolves. These cases become difficult because, I will tell you, you become very personally vested in the case, and there were several times where I would send a sample to the lab. In my mind, I had a theory as to how the case worked, that I was going to have a match, and I open up the portal three or four months later when the results come back, and there isn't a match, and it's deflated. Major Cicero has heard me vent to him many times when that's happened. Can you tell us a little bit more about this suspect? He hasn't been charged, he's not here. Correct. And he had those two felonies. Do we know anything more about him? You said he came back to the area. Was he working? Was there any trouble? I believe he was working. I don't have any evidence to support that after 1991 he had been in any legal trouble. I know that he, again, was from the immediate area where this happened, which would make him very familiar with essentially the lay of the land. This is a very remote and rural part of our community where most folks wouldn't be familiar with unless they had some kind of previous knowledge of that. Thank you. About how many cold cases do you think? In our agency, we have approximately three other ones that we are actively pursuing, going back as far as 1975, and the most recent is 2007. Again, that's for our agency. Yes? First action. Yes. There was regulation and staff. Any of that being kind of like this? We don't. You know, we can have different theories or hypotheses to that, and as I mentioned, with a cold case leading up to this, we always have questions, and we were able to get some questions answered. I would say probably close to 20 or 25 collectively between multiple agencies. In 1981, when the case... In this case, was initiated. La Porte County had a countywide metro task force that was made up of investigators from all the local agencies as well as the Indiana State Police. And so just on that team alone, there were six or seven that have documented reports on this case. And then since then, as people, the way that our department makeup works is people are transferred in and out of the Bureau due to promotions, retirements, etc. And other detectives have kind of picked up Taken a little bit further, picked it up, taken a little bit further. Just two more questions. I'm sorry, what was the question? I was asking if the Floyd family would like to tell us a little bit about their mother. Yeah, I'll have a closing remark about that. Okay. Yeah, thank you. Stan? At what point did he become a person of interest, and why, and why was he single-minded and had his family DNA tested? So through the genetic genealogy process, We knew that the DNA profile that was collected from the scene was in his family, and essentially each of those samples or standards that Parabon has is assigned, there's a numerical value. The larger the number, the closer it is to the unknown profile. In this case, it was unknown male 1 for decades. The closer that we would get. Family DNA. As the number gets bigger, it means we're getting closer to the suspect. There were times the number got smaller, meaning we're going the opposite way. So once we got to a point of where they could direct us to a specific part of the family tree, then there is some profiling that's done, essentially, looking at who lived in the area at the time, who was alive at the time, what their age would have been at the time, et cetera. Thank We collect standards much closer to the suspect through investigative means, and that's how we're able to come up with a match. How did you know to test his family? That's part of the GEDmatch genealogy. It told us it's in this family. you. No. Good question, but he was incarcerated before that became the standard. Modern day, everybody that goes to prison, their DNA is submitted. Clarify this point. I know DNA is not, I guess what percentage of information is there that the DNA sample is related to him? The DNA that we have now is 38 trillion to one approximately. Again, I want to preface, I'm not a DNA guru or scientist, but it is like 38 trillion to one that it was him. One more. I know there's a percentage, right? I don't want to do math, but it never says it's this is a reasonability. I don't know what the truth is. I don't know what the truth is. This was $38 trillion to one I don't know what the truth is. was a reasonability from the state police lab. Thank you for your questions. Thank you. To wrap things up this morning, I have the individual release that I read aloud to all of you. I'll provide that, and I'll also email back to your newsrooms so everybody has it and there's no lack of miscommunication. Leah, to follow up on your question and answer that, we've personally, as administration, along with Captain Hynek, we've spoken with the Boyd family, and while they continue to grieve with this development, we're going to ask that you respect their privacy, and they're not going to be able to entertain any questions this morning. Would you like to speak to that? This will be the final question, then we'll wrap it up and conclude. Juanita was actually an employee of the county at the time that this happened. She worked at the courthouse. Um, she She had a son who was nine years old who she was extremely close with. That she spent all of her time with. We know that she was a very loving and nurturing mom and it was totally out of character for her not to come back home the next morning. Thank you all again for being here with us this morning. This concludes the news conference.