Police: Blood, phone link suspect to slain Indiana student
NASHVILLE, Ind. - An Indiana man with a history of violence against women had claw marks on his arms, and police found blood and hair in his vehicle after discovering his cellphone next to the dead body of an Indiana University senior, according to court documents released Monday.
Daniel E. Messel, 49, of Bloomington, was arrested Friday in the death of Hannah Wilson, 22, of Fishers. He appeared in court Monday via video and was formally charged with murder. A judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf and he was appointed a public defender, reports CBS affiliate WTTV.
Wilson's body was found around 8:30 a.m. Friday in rural Brown County, about 10 miles from the IU campus. An autopsy showed she had been struck in the head about four times and that the back of her skull had been crushed.
The probable cause affidavit says Wilson had been drinking with friends at a Bloomington hotel late Thursday before her disappearance. The group decided to go to Kilroy's Sports Bar, but Wilson's friends decided she was too intoxicated to go into the bar with them.
Her friends told police Wilson got into a taxi alone around 1 a.m. Friday. They said they heard her give the driver her address.
Police said they traced a cellphone found near Wilson's feet to Messel. After learning he hadn't shown up for work, they went to his home, where Messel's father told police his son hadn't returned from playing trivia at a local bar the night before.
Police obtained a search warrant and returned to Messel's home later that day, where they say they found Messel carrying a plastic garbage bag that contained clothing. The documents said Messel had what appeared to be claw marks on his forearms.
Police found blood spatter on the driver's side of Messel's sport-utility vehicle and saw blood and a clump of long black hair on the console, the documents said.
Messel was being held in the Brown County jail in Nashville. It wasn't clear whether he had an attorney.
Authorities have not said how they believe Messel came into contact with Wilson, but Messel's stepfather told WTTV that his stepson had mentioned he'd met a woman named Hannah in recent weeks.
The Herald-Times reported that Messel has had several prior arrests for violence against women, including one more than 20 years ago in which a girlfriend told police he battered her and confined her to an apartment. Messel also was arrested on allegations that he beat his grandmother and broke bones in her face, and he later was arrested for felony domestic battery, the newspaper reported.
Wilson's death comes nearly four years after another IU student, Lauren Spierer, vanished after a night out with friends in the college town. The 20-year-old Greenburgh, New York, woman was last seen on June 3, 2011. On the night of her disappearance, she was at the same bar outside of which Wilson was last believed seen. Spierer has not been found, and no criminal charges have been filed in her disappearance.
WTTV reports detectives plan to examine Wilson and Spierer's cases for similarities. The Indiana State Police did not immediately return a request for comment on whether the two cases are believed to be connected.