Man arrested in Broad Ripple murder

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Metro police have arrested a man in connection with the 2007 murder of a woman in Broad Ripple.

According to police, Nathan Anderson's DNA matched DNA found at the murder scene. The 22-year-old was living in Longview, Texas when he was taken into custody.

Police believe Anderson went through a window in Pepper's apartment. In an apparent random act of violence, Jane Pepper was brutally stabbed to death on October 29, 2007.

"This situation was horrifying and everyone on our squad worked very hard to come to this resolution," said Detective Robert Flack, Indianapolis Metro Police Department.

Anderson was convicted of a confinement charge in Indianapolis last December, but after serving his sentence he moved to Texas. The match was made in February. Now he's back in an Indy jail. Investigators can't say much about the case yet.

"There was a statement made by the defendant in which he did in fact incriminate himself. That along with the DNA hit was enough for us to file today a 72 hour continuance and formal charges will be filed Monday or Tuesday," said Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi.

Brizzi has been pushing for DNA testing of all people arrested for felonies in Indiana, rather than waiting until a suspect is convicted. He said if that had been done in this case, the match might have happened four months earlier.

The parents of Jane Pepper had been offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in her murder. It appears no one tipped off police about Anderson, instead the DNA match may have been the break they needed.