New evidence closes murder case from 2004 in Kokomo
KOKOMO, Ind. (WISH) — A 2004 cold case was closed after a friend of the murder suspect came forward with new information, Kokomo Police Department said Friday.
The friend of Danny Case told police that he’d confessed to killing a woman on North Apperson Way after knocking on her door and wanting to use her phone to find a ride. Case, who was from Peru, Indiana, also confessed to his friend that he had beaten an elderly male to death in Howard County, police said in a news release issued Friday by Kokomo Police Department.
Janet Yeary, 51, had been found dead in her home in the 2400 block of North Apperson Way about 9 a.m. Nov. 26, 2004. That was Thanksgiving Day.
As police closed in on Case as a suspect, he got a ride from a friend to Indianapolis International Airport. That’s where he was arrested Jan. 25, 2005, placed in a holding cell, and later found dead there after hanging himself.
The release Friday said, “After meeting with Janet Yeary’s family, and discussing this investigation in great length, the family agrees to close this case with exceptional clearance, as the person of interest is deceased.”
