This booking photo released by the Fort Wayne, Ind., Police Department shows John D. Miller, arrested Sunday, July 15, 2018, who arrested on preliminary murder, child molesting and criminal confinement charges in April Marie Tinsley's slaying. The Fort Wayne girl's body was found in a ditch three days after her April 1988 abduction about 20 miles away. (Fort Wayne Police/The Journal-Gazette via AP)
Republished July 19, 2018 - 11:55 AM
Original Publication Date July 19, 2018 - 8:06 AM
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - An Indiana man charged in the 1988 rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl has been arraigned in her slaying.
An Allen County judge entered a not guilty plea for 59-year-old John D. Miller Thursday morning and assigned him a public defender.
Miller, from Grabill in northeast Indiana, faces murder and child molesting charges in April Tinsley's death. He's being held without bond.
Court documents say Miller confessed Sunday to abducting, sexually assaulting and strangling the Fort Wayne girl in April 1988. Her body was found three days later in a ditch about 20 miles (32 kilometres) away.
Investigators say DNA evidence and genealogy databases helped link Miller to April's killing.
Public defender Anthony Churchward said Thursday he won't be commenting until after his client's next hearing, on Aug. 3.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018