Updated: Florida man charged with murder for 2006 Frederick County cold case
Sep. 19—A Florida man has been charged with murder in connection with the 2006 murder of a young woman found on Interstate 70 in Frederick County, police said.
Garry Artman, 64, of White Springs, Florida, is charged with first- and second-degree murder and first- and second-degree assault, according to a Maryland State Police news release.
On May 4, 2006, a passing motorist found the body of Dusty Myriah Shuck, 24, of Silver City, New Mexico, lying on the shoulder of I-70 east, east of New Market, the release said. She was found without shoes or any identification.
She had on a tank top, a hooded sweatshirt and sweatpants, the release said. The only identifiers she had were two dragon tattoos on her back with the words "Gypsy Rose" underneath them.
Shuck was last seen in New Mexico on April 24, 2006, at a local hotel, the release said.
In 2006, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Shuck's death a homicide from stabbing and blunt force trauma, the release said.
Maryland State Police investigated, but there was limited evidence at the scene. There were no surveillance cameras in the area and no witnesses with relevant information.
Message board signs usually used for traffic safety messages were used to try to get information, but there were few leads, the release said.
Given the location of the body and where Shuck was from, police suspected that a truck driver killed her, the release said.
Police went to local truck stops for potential leads. They ruled out possible suspects.
Police checked missing person databases and tattoo parlors throughout the region, as well, but again found no leads, the release said.
Two years later, on Aug. 18, 2008, a search of the Combined DNA Index System resulted in a DNA match between an unsolved 1996 homicide of a Michigan woman and Shuck's case. Without a known DNA match of the murderer, the case remained open, the release said.
On Aug. 17, 2022, the release said, Maryland State Police received a call from a detective with the Kent County Sheriff's Office in Michigan. Artman had been identified as a suspect in the 1996 Michigan case.
Michigan's Kent County Sheriff's Office arrested Artman on the same day in Mississippi. He was later taken to Michigan, where he's currently being held in connection with the 1996 homicide.
With a search warrant, police collected his DNA, the release said.
On Aug. 18, Artman's DNA was confirmed to be a match with the 1996 Michigan case and the 2006 Maryland case, police said.
On Aug. 31, the Michigan sheriff's office searched a storage unit in Florida that they believed belonged to Artman. Inside, they found several pieces of women's underwear, which they took to determine whether there are other victims, the release said.
Maryland State Police investigators traveled to Michigan for interviews and to gather more information for Shuck's case. They are working with police in Michigan, the release said.
This story will be updated.
Follow Clara Niel on Twitter: @clarasniel
