Kentucky man charged in 1994 murder of 69-year-old woman in Gary, Indiana
GARY, Ind. (CBS) -- A Kentucky man has been charged with the 1994 brutal murder of a woman in Gary, Indiana.
The Lake County Prosecutor's office has charged Gerald Lynn Smith, 60, of Madisonville, Kentucky, with the murder, rape, and murder while committing or attempting to commit rape in the slaying of Gloria Hansell, 69. Hansell was found strangled in her Gary home on June 17, 1994.
Hansell was a widow who lived alone at 3966 Buchanan St. in Gary. She was in poor health and relied on an in-home oxygen machine.
In 2020, the FBI Gang Response Investigative Team (GRIT) called in the Indiana State Police Lowell Regional Laboratory to reexamine evidence. Smith became a suspect after male DNA waws found in the sexual assault kit conducted at Hansell's autopsy.
FBI investigators were able to place Smith in Gary right before Hansell's murder, and learned he knew her, the FBI said.
A witness said Smith – who was 32 at the time of the murder – had gone to Hansell's house twice on at least two occasions in the weeks before her murder, and said he had just moved back into the area from out of state, the FBI said.
The witness said on one occasion, Smith asked Hansell if he could cut her grass for money, but she declined. The witness also said at one point, Smith made an unwanted advance toward Hansell in her house, and she became uncomfortable when he tried to kiss her neck, the FBI said.
The GRIT team asks that anyone with information on this case or any other cold case call (219) 942-4899.