Halloween Homicide Mystery Finally Solved 41 Years Later
After exactly 41 years, Indiana State Police made an arrest on Tuesday in connection to the Halloween cold case murder of a 24-year-old man. According to a police news release obtained by WHAS11, Ronald J. Anderson, 61, was arrested and charged with the murder of Clifford Smith, 24, in Jackson County. In December 1982, Smith, who had a gunshot wound to the head, was discovered by two animal trappers after he had been reported missing by his wife on Nov. 4 of that year. The case stalled for decades until it reached Sgt. Kip Main in 2015. Main found that Anderson was at a home with Smith and others on the night of Oct. 30, 1982, and obtained evidence that he grabbed a shotgun from the house and left in a vehicle with Smith, who was never seen alive again. Anderson then allegedly took the shotgun back to the residence and returned to the crime scene. A report from WANE15 said the suspect was taken to Jackson County Jail where he will await a first appearance at the county’s circuit court.
