Cold Case Files – "The Evil Among Us"

Podcast: Cold Case Files (A&E / PodcastOne)
Host: Paula Barros
Episode Date: August 19, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of Cold Case Files delves into the decades-long investigation into the 1988 kidnapping, rape, and murder of eight-year-old April Tinsley in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The tragedy shocked the community, haunted her family, and perplexed investigators for thirty years until advances in DNA technology finally led to justice. The episode unpacks the original crime, the years of taunting from the killer, the impact on the Tinsley family, and the eventual breakthrough that solved one of America’s rarest cold cases.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Disappearance of April Tinsley

• April 1, 1988: Eight-year-old April leaves home to play with a friend; when she fails to return, her mother Janet immediately senses something is wrong.
  • [03:13] Janet recalls April's last moments: "She turned around and waved at me."
  • [03:29] Janet: "She yelled, okay. And she goes, I love you... and then she went on to Nicole's house."
• Immediate Search: Police treated the case as a possible runaway, but family and friends insisted this was uncharacteristic. Hundreds of neighbors, friends, and police searched the area.
  • [04:53] Janet: "She was excited to have a brother... she was overprotective of him.... She was more of a tomboy."
  • [05:42] Janet: "The first thing they did was had her as a runaway, an 8 year old. I said she had no reason to run."
• Community Impact: Fear spread throughout Fort Wayne as news circulated that a child had been abducted in broad daylight.
  • [08:07] Reporter Angelica Robinson: "It rattled a lot of people... they were scared to have their kids walk home from school."

Discovery of April’s Body and Forensic Challenges

• Body Found: Three days later, April’s body is found in a ditch in a neighboring county.
  • [09:18] Detective Clint Hetrick: "A jogger... sees a young girl, deceased, laying in the ditch."
  • [10:09] April was identified based on the clothes she was wearing when she disappeared.
• Forensics:
  • No tire or shoe prints found.
  • Killer redressed April in her original clothes—an unusual and perplexing detail.
  • Key evidence: A missing shoe, later mentioned in a cryptic message years later.
  • [11:40] Detective: "She had been sexually assaulted and... suffocated by strangulation. Her clothing was taken into evidence in 1988."
  • DNA was recovered from her clothing—a key detail for later developments.

Community Trauma & Early Leads

• Shock and grief pervaded April's family and the entire city.
  • [12:30] Detective Hetrick: "Any time police investigate a murder... when you add the death of a child, it makes it easy, more difficult."
  • [12:43] Reporter Robinson: "It sent a lot of people on edge. The thought that... a little girl could just be walking home from school and then just get snatched off the street..."
• Eyewitnesses: Two girls saw April being forced into a blue pickup by a white man, launching a massive search for blue pickups.
• Composite sketch issued, but leads petered out.
  • [13:07] Detective Hetrick: "Several hundred tips came in. And at that point, we started to follow up on those leads."

The Killer Taunts Police and the Community

• 1988–1990: Case goes cold but fear and suspicion persist.
• 1990: Graffiti appears on a barn:
  • [15:29] Detective Hetrick: "'I killed 8 year old April Marie Tinsley. I will kill again.'"
  • [17:47] Mike (Family Friend): "Part of the message on the barn was, did you find the shoe? The police did not tell anybody that there was a blue shoe missing."
  • FBI analysis suggests the killer may be disguising their handwriting or possibly has a mental disability.
• This public threat further traumatized the community.
  • [18:25] Reporter Robinson: "Those notes on the barn really sent the community on edge... People were scared."

Another Tragedy and Grieving Community

• Shortly after the barn graffiti: Another young girl, Sarah Bowker, is kidnapped and murdered.
  • [18:46] Narrator: "The missing girl is 7 year old Sarah Bowker..."
  • [19:15] Detective Hetrick: "Both girls were approximately the same age... Both had been abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered."
  • DNA ultimately ruled out a connection between the cases.

The Case Stalls—Then the Killer Returns

• For years, the Tinsley family struggles with grief, public scrutiny, and a lack of progress.
  • [20:11] Janet Tinsley: "You can't leave the house without somebody pointing at you, taking pictures of you."
  • Mike (Family Friend): Describes the Tinsleys' stress and health struggles.
• Sixteen Years Later (2004): New notes and explicit materials appear in the baskets of young girls' bikes, referencing April's murder.
  • [21:05] Detective Hetrick: "Very shocking. Investigators had a mix of emotions. Is this really our killer... or is it somebody that's just messing with him?"
  • Four notes in total; each contained explicit threats, photos, and a used condom—crucially, a strong DNA sample.

DNA Technology and A Breakthrough

• Police compared new DNA to old evidence (from April’s 1988 murder), confirming the same perpetrator.
  • [23:09] Detective: "By leaving this condom they were providing us a very large DNA sample."
  • [23:22] Detective Mark Heffelfinger: "Police tried to compare any DNA from the condom to the evidence that was found on the clothing of April Tinsley... The DNA came back indicating that this could possibly be the suspect..."
• No matches in FBI DNA databases; killer remained unknown for another fourteen years.

The Turn: Genetic Genealogy Solves the Case

• 2018: Detectives apply the technique used in the Golden State Killer case via Parabon Nanolabs.
  • [25:32] Narrator: "Detective Martin wonders if a genetic lab called Parabon might be able to use the same technique to find April's killer."
  • Within seven weeks, two brothers are identified as possible suspects.
  • [26:17] Detective: "One brother had some activity that we felt was very suspicious and fit within a profile..."
  • John Miller, living nearby, becomes the focus.

John Miller’s Surveillance and Arrest

• Detectives surveil Miller, who works in the children's toy section of Walmart.
  • [27:53] Narrator: "Myself and another detective went in and plainclothes in Walmart and we found him working in the children's toy area. I found it very disturbing that he was near kids almost all day..."
• DNA collected from his trash matches the sample from April Tinsley’s case.
  • [28:16] Detective Heffelfinger: "Going through the bags, I found a used condom... as I continued to dig, I found two more."
  • [28:49] Detective Hetrick: "It's a match of John Miller's DNA to our murderer's DNA from 1988."

Confrontation and Confession

• July 2018: Detectives approach Miller, who almost immediately references the Tinsley case upon being questioned.
  • [29:42] Detective: "'So, John, we want to talk to you a little bit about a case... Do you have any idea what we need to talk to you about?'"
  • [29:47] Mike (Family Friend), quoting Miller: "'I think Friday Tinsley case. That's the only one I can think of.'"
• Miller gradually confesses:
  • [33:51] Miller (quoting April): "'Said, don't hurt me. I'll do whatever you say.'"
  • [33:55] Detective: "Okay, John. Before she died, how did that happen?"
  • Miller: "Choked her."
  • When asked why, Miller responds: "'I was afraid she'd tell on you.'"
• Detective Hetrick reflects: [34:10] "It surprised me that somebody could do this and live with themself for 30 years..."

Family Reaction & Community Closure

• Janet and Mike Tinsley, notified in person, describe the shock and mixture of relief and grief.
  • [35:14] Janet: "I went through 30 years not knowing who killed her. And all of a sudden, you come to the house and tell me you. You got him. I said, it might take me a while for this to actually sink in. After they left, then you sit down and you have your crying spell. You're happy and you're crying. Finally, it's over."

Justice for April

• Miller pleads not guilty, but later takes a plea deal to avoid the death penalty; he is sentenced to 80 years in prison at age 59, effectively for life.
  • [36:44] Janet: "When we all was in the courtroom, he would never look at us... Most of the time, he looked at the table."
• In Janet’s statement at sentencing, she asks Miller why he killed April.
  • [37:09] Janet: "I want one question answered from you, but I know I will never get it. I want to know why. Why her? And the first words came out of his mouth was, he was bored."
• Community memorializes April.
  • [37:34] Janet: "I come to April's garden three to four times a week... I'll say, April, mama misses you more and wishes you was here. In a way you know she's around somewhere."

Sarah Bowker's Case Remains Unsolved

• [38:08] Narrator: "Sarah Bowker’s case remains unsolved. Investigators continue to search for her killer."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Janet Tinsley, on the grief and hope:
  "You got the little kids picture on milk cartons and you always keep telling yourself that that's never going to happen to you." (02:13)

• Family friend Mike, on the search:
  "We were out till probably 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning. Just walking up in the alleys and the railroad tracks. It was a long, hard day." (05:58)

• Detective Mark Heffelfinger, on the frustrating search:
  "Of all the hundreds of tips that came in, somebody believed they saw April Tinsley looking out the back window of this blue truck." (13:20)

• Community fear:
  "Those notes on the barn really sent the community on edge. You have somebody who is taunting the community and saying, ha ha ha, I killed and I'll do it again. People were scared." — Reporter Angelica Robinson (18:25)

• Detective Clint Hetrick, on finally closing the case:
  "To tell you that we were excited doesn't even begin to touch the feeling that we had. We were working a 30 year old homicide and we now had a very strong suspect." (26:30)

• Janet Tinsley, on confronting Miller in court:
  "I want one question answered from you, but I know I will never get it. I want to know why. Why her? And the first words came out of his mouth was, he was bored." (37:09)

Important Timestamps

• 02:13 – Janet Tinsley recalls April’s last moments and the shock of her disappearance
• 03:29–04:04 – The desperate early search and realization something is very wrong
• 09:18–10:09 – Finding April’s body and gathering forensic evidence
• 15:29–18:25 – The killer taunts police and the community with graffiti; the case of Sarah Bowker
• 21:05–23:43 – Killer’s taunting letters resurface, bringing explicit threats and DNA
• 25:32–28:49 – Breakthrough via genetic genealogy leads detectives to John Miller
• 29:42–34:10 – Interrogation and confession
• 35:14–37:29 – Family’s reaction, sentencing, and lack of closure
• 37:34 – Janet’s visits to April’s garden and finding solace

Summary

This episode weaves together family grief, community trauma, decades of investigative frustration, and ultimately the hope made reality through forensic breakthroughs. It highlights the persistence of both April Tinsley’s loved ones and law enforcement, the chilling audacity of her killer, and the power of modern technology to solve even the coldest of cases. The show closes with justice for April but a somber reminder that Sarah Bowker’s case—and many others—remain unsolved.