GUILTY IN - Amy Weidner, 16, murdered in her Indianapolis home, 13 Nov 1989

[Indy Anna]

In 1989, Amy Weidner, 16, was beaten, sexually assaulted and strangled in her home on the south side of Indianapolis. At the time, a palm print was catalogued at the scene, Prosecutor Terry Curry said.

In 2011, the investigation was begun anew and led to Rodney Denk, 40, a friend of the family at the time of the teen’s death, the prosecutor’s office said. Tuesday, Curry’s office announced murder charges have been filed against Denk.

Curry said a palm print obtained from Denk after a 1997 arrest was found to be a match to the one found on the wall at the scene of Weidner’s murder.

More at link:
http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/crime/arrest-made-in-1989-murder-cold-case

Wonder why it took so long??? Hope LE takes a closer look at Denk and the possibility he might be involved in other cold cases in the Indy area.

 

[Indy Anna]

Rodney Denk was well-known to the Weidners. He left a bloody palm-print at the scene where Amy was strangled and raped in her bedroom.
<<snipped>>

Denk, now 40, was childhood pals with the 16-year-old slain girl, high school classmates with her older brother and often visited the family home both before and after the brutal murder.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...alm-print-key-article-1.1107829#ixzz1zoxn5wwG

 

[Indy Anna]

A little more information at this link:

http://www.ksee24.com/news/local/Bl...-of-Man-for-23-Year-Old-Murder-161459625.html
<<snipped>>

An Indianapolis man has been arrested for brutally killing a 16-year-old mother of one in 1989, when he was 17. Police say Rodney Denk, now 40, broke into honor student Amy Weidner's home with another assailant and the two raped and killed Ms Weidner.

The second assailant is still at large.

 

[BeginnersLuck]

More at link:
http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/crime/arrest-made-in-1989-murder-cold-case

Wonder why it took so long??? Hope LE takes a closer look at Denk and the possibility he might be involved in other cold cases in the Indy area.

It sounds like with the advance in forensics they were able to take another look at this cold case. Hopefully we will be seeing a lot more of these cold cases solved in the near future.

 

[PATX]

Hopefully we will be seeing a lot more of these cold cases solved in the near future.

I think we probably will.

If I were wearing a hat, I would take it off for those who didn't let this case go unsolved. And of course, I hope they catch the second assailant too.

 

[tlcya]

What a very long time for a family to wait for answers. At the very least, now they have that much.

 

[Trident]

Rodney Denk was well-known to the Weidners. He left a bloody palm-print at the scene where Amy was strangled and raped in her bedroom.
<<snipped>>


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...alm-print-key-article-1.1107829#ixzz1zoxn5wwG

And the strange thing is - almost no one believes children can be raped, abducted, and murdered right from/in their own beds. Maybe we all better start to think a bit differently.

 

[Indy Anna]

And the strange thing is - almost no one believes children can be raped, abducted, and murdered right from/in their own beds. Maybe we all better start to think a bit differently.

Very odd, too, that Amy's mother never suspected Denk:

&#8220;I feel sick to my stomach,&#8221; the dead girl&#8217;s mother, Gloria Weidner, told the Indy Star. &#8220;I don&#8217;t understand closure, but this doesn&#8217;t feel like it. I never, ever would have suspected him as a person the police would be interested in.&#8221;

<<snipped>>
http://www.ksee24.com/news/local/Bl...-of-Man-for-23-Year-Old-Murder-161459625.html

Amy and Denk were childhood friends. So sad and so scary that it could be someone so close to the victim. And so young - he was only 17 at the time.

 

[Shelby2]

Very odd, too, that Amy's mother never suspected Denk:

<<snipped>>
http://www.ksee24.com/news/local/Bl...-of-Man-for-23-Year-Old-Murder-161459625.html

Amy and Denk were childhood friends. So sad and so scary that it could be someone so close to the victim. And so young - he was only 17 at the time.

I don't think it's that odd that she would not suspect him. Back then, the fact that a child is most likely to be killed by someone known to them wasn't as well known as it is today. If this crime happened in 2012 I'd bet he WOULD be investigated, simply because he was a frequent visitor and friend of the brother.
I think he must be pretty sick, not only to do what he did, but to continue to visit the family after the crime? That poor family.
I wonder what the 97 crime was.

 

[trigger]

48 Hours is featuring this case next Saturday, April 19th, on CBS.

Google his name if you want to see the outcome. Orherwise watch it next week.

 

[Snoods]

I don't think it's that odd that she would not suspect him. Back then, the fact that a child is most likely to be killed by someone known to them wasn't as well known as it is today. If this crime happened in 2012 I'd bet he WOULD be investigated, simply because he was a frequent visitor and friend of the brother.
I think he must be pretty sick, not only to do what he did, but to continue to visit the family after the crime? That poor family.
I wonder what the 97 crime was.

Those weirdos get a charge out of it; remember Ariel Castro going to the vigils for Gina Dejesus and Amanda Berry? I think he remained friends with Gina's mother if I'm not mistaken.

 

[fran]

Killer Rodney Denk sentenced to 65 years in teen's 1989 death, rape

Rodney Denk had kept his secret for more than two decades when a cold-case detective approached Indianapolis police Sgt. Bill Carter two years ago.

read more ......... http://www.indystar.com/article/20130614/NEWS02/306140056/





Man gets 65 years after pleading guilty in 1989 rape, murder of teen

INDIANAPOLIS – A man was sentenced to 65 years in prison after agreeing to a plea deal in the 1989 rape and murder of an Indianapolis teen.

Read more: http://fox59.com/2013/06/14/man-get...ty-in-1989-rape-murder-of-teen/#ixzz2yv2pQZFw

 

[willcarter]

I worked the Amy Weidner case and made the arrest in 2012. The Weidner family waited way to long for justice to be handed down.