A Madisonville man has been charged in the 1994 murder of a woman in Indiana, according to the FBI.
Lake County, Indiana, prosecutors charged 60-year-old Gerald Lynn Smith with murder, murder while committing or attempting to commit rape, and rape in connection with the brutal slaying of 69-year-old Gloria Hansell.
She was found strangled inside her Gary, Indiana, home on June 17, 1994. Hansell, a widow, lived alone at 3966 Buchanan Street and relied on an in-home oxygen machine due to poor health, the FBI said.
In 2020, the Indiana State Police Lowell Regional Laboratory was requested by the FBI’s Gang Response Investigative Team (GRIT) to re-examine evidence collected in the case.
During that inquiry, Smith was developed as a suspect from the analysis of male DNA found in the victim’s sexual assault kit collected at her autopsy. Upon further re-investigation of the case, GRIT investigators were able to place Smith in Gary shortly before Hansell’s murder and learned he knew Hansell.
A witness reported Smith, who was 32-years-old at the time of the murder, had gone to Hansell’s house on at least two occasions in the weeks before her murder, as Smith had recently moved back into the area from out of state.
The witness, according to the FBI, stated on one occasion Smith asked Hansell if he could cut her grass for money, but she declined his offer. The witness stated on another occasion Hansell said Smith made an unwanted advance towards her inside her house, as he tried to kiss her neck.
Smith was lodged in the Hopkins County Detention Center but has since be extradited to Lake County, Indiana.
Assisting in the investigation were the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office, Gary (IN) Police Department and Lake County (IN) Police Department.
(Photo of Gerald L. Smith courtesy of the FBI)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
