Police say a missing IU student was bludgeoned to death hours before her disappearance was even officially reported.
And now that a suspect is in custody for the brutal slaying of Hannah Wilson, investigators are wondering if the 49-year-old man might also be linked to the unsolved missing-person case of Lauren Spierer.
The two Indiana University students each vanished from Bloomington after a night of heavy partying -- Spierer in 2011; Wilson last week.
Both young women were additionally seen at Kilroy’s Sports Bar on the night they vanished. Although, in Wilson’s case, she had been sent home from there via a pre-paid taxicab by friends concerned she was already too intoxicated to continue drinking.
The 22-year-old never made it safely back to her apartment, however, and exactly how Daniel Messel came into the picture, their odd encounter resulting in her bludgeoning death, is a key element in Hannah Wilson’s disappearance and murder that’s being closely examined.
One of the owners of e2Taxi reports that dash-cam footage has been handed over to police, in hopes of ascertaining what actually happened during Wilson’s fateful journey.
“We feel that her friends did the right thing by putting her in a cab,” Sandra McLary said yesterday, adding that the company itself hasn’t viewed the subject film yet and doesn’t know what it could reveal.
But “we provided that safe ride back to her apartment,” she assures, “and that’s all we know.”
Messel’s cell phone was discovered at the Wilson crime scene, evidence which led to his swift arrest. Court records show he has a long history of violence toward women, but it’s still remarkable that a dropped device would connect him to this case.
The matter of Lauren Spierer’s disappearance differs though, in that she remained with her drinking companions long after leaving Kilroy’s pub and, according to those youths, left their building black-and-blue and barefoot at about 4:30 the next morning.
She had only a short block to walk back to her own place from there, but never arrived. As well, surveillance cameras didn’t capture any image of the petite blonde coming or going at that hour either, casting serious doubt on her friends’ story.
Statistically, the odds of being abducted and slain by a stranger are extremely low, and most such victims are somehow acquainted with their killers, often even related to them.
As to Wilson and Spierer running afoul of a serial murderer in their college town, the chances are slim to none: Less than one-percent of all homicides committed annually can be tied to this unique class of violent offender.
Which is to say, it’s remotely possible.
EPONYMOUS ROX @EponymousRox
