Indiana State Police reveal identity of I-65/Days Inn serial killer

Indiana State Police announced they have used investigative genealogy to identify the Days Inn/I-65 killer. The man who committed the three murders and one sexual assault died in 2013.

Harry Edward Greenwell was identified as the person who robbed and killed three young women and left a fourth for dead in a series of attacks at hotels in Indiana and Kentucky.

The cases Greenwell has been connected to include:

• February 21, 1987 - Vicki Heath was murdered at the Super 8 Motel in Elizabethtown, KY
• March 3, 1989 – Margaret “Peggy” Gill was murdered at the Days Inn in Merrillville, IN
• March 3, 1989 – Jeanne Gilbert was murdered at the Days Inn in Remington, IN
• January 2, 1990 - Jane Doe was sexually assaulted at the Days Inn in Columbus, IN

Throughout the years, the investigation linked all four cases through ballistics or DNA. The case remained unsolved for nearly 30 years.

In 2019, ISP decided to try investigative genealogy to try to identify the relatives of the suspect.

Police located a close family member and through testing, determined the probability of Greenwell being the person responsible for the attacks was more than 99 percent.

“Our family is extremely grateful to all of the agencies, along with agency partnerships, who have committed to keeping these unsolved cases at the forefront for more than 33 years, and who have worked tirelessly to bring these cases to resolution for all who have suffered from these crimes,” said Kimberly (Gilbert) Wright, daughter of Jeanne Gilbert.

“Indiana State Police investigators work diligently every day, in close collaboration with our state and federal law enforcement partners all across Indiana and beyond our state lines, to help solve senseless crimes like this one, no matter how many days, months or even years have passed since the crime occurred”, said Indiana State Police Superintendent Douglas G. Carter.

“These cases did not go unsolved all these years because of a lack of investigative inactivity - investigators continuously tracked leads across the country and did everything they could to identify the person responsible for these crimes,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Herbert J. Stapleton. “Now, through technological advances and strong, collaborative partnerships we were able to identify this person and, hopefully, start to bring closure and healing to the families of Vicki, Peggy and Jeanne; as well as the surviving victim.”

Greenwell died in 2013 at the age of 68. He had an extensive criminal history between 1963 and 1998.