A southwestern Indiana police chief said late Tuesday that a 19-year-old woman whose body was found a few days after she vanished apparently died from asphyxiation.
Linton Police Chief Troy Jerrell said family members identified the body found Monday as that of Katelyn Wolfe, who went missing after apparently posting on Facebook that she was being followed.
Indiana conservation officers recovered Wolfe’s body from a body of water in rural Sullivan County, Jerrell said.
Two men were being held in connection with her death.
Jordan W. Buskirk, 26, and Randal E. Crosley, 25, were arrested Monday night on preliminary charges of murder. Both Jasonville men were being held at the Greene County Jail in Bloomfield, about 30 miles southeast of Terre Haute. Buskirk and Crosley have not yet been formally charged, and the local prosecutor’s office declined comment.
Wolfe’s father reported her missing last Thursday night, about 20 hours after she was last seen walking near a Dairy Queen in Linton.
Jerrell said he could not discuss details of the unfolding investigation or comment on why police had focused on the two men.
“This is still extremely early in this investigation and so there’s still a lot of work left to be done,” he said.
Linton police Lt. Duane Collenbaugh said Indiana State Police were helping the local police agency Tuesday secure evidence while investigators were working with prosecutors on probable cause affidavits.
Crosley was arrested Friday on a warrant out of Putnam County and Buskirk was arrested Monday. Crosley’s warrant was for misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia, said Lt. Dave Brown of the Putnam County Jail.
Jerrell said that as part of their investigation police have looked into a Facebook posting Wolfe apparently made early Thursday in which she expressed concern that she was being followed. He declined to elaborate.
Collenbaugh declined to comment on whether police believe Buskirk or Crosley knew Wolfe, but both men appeared to be listed as Facebook friends of Wolfe’s.
Linton Mayor John Wilkes said Tuesday that the killing has shaken the community of about 5,300 residents.
“Everyone’s upset. We all know her grandparents. I went to high school with her grandfather and played football with him. We all know each other — it’s just a hard situation,” Wilkes said.
Via: Fox News
