PRETTY LAKE, Ind. (WPTA) – Indiana State Police are asking the public for help solving the 1988 murder of Evelyn Matchett, a 67-year-old woman found dead inside her Pretty Lake home on February 4, 1988.
BACKGROUND: ISP asking for help solving nearly 40-year-old cold case murder of 67-year-old woman
New DNA technology gives investigators fresh hope in Evelyn Matchett cold case(Ari Betterly)
ISP Detective Arthur Smith, who was assigned to Matchett’s case in 2023, said the original 1988 investigation relied on fingerprints, blood typing and DNA analysis. He said advances in forensic science have since changed what investigators can do with old evidence.
“There’s a lot of things that we can do now that they didn’t even dream about back then, they didn’t even have any idea that would come into play,” Smith said.
New DNA technology gives investigators fresh hope in Evelyn Matchett cold case(Ari Betterly)
Detective Smith said ISP is now using a DNA tool called genetic genealogy, which builds a family-tree roadmap to help investigators narrow in on a suspect’s identity, even decades after a crime.
Smith said he believes a suspect or at least someone with knowledge of the crime is still out there. He said a single tip from the public could be enough to move the investigation forward.
“Anything from, maybe you see something that day that seemed out of place, or you just noticed something when you were driving by,” Smith said.
New DNA technology gives investigators fresh hope in Evelyn Matchett cold case(Ari Betterly)
Detective Smith, who said he has worked cold cases for 14 years, described the work as relentless.
“It never stops, you’re constantly thinking and you have to be willing to beat your head against the wall every day and then come back the next day and do it again,” he said.
He said his commitment to the case will not waver.
“The families, the victims, they want and deserve justice,” Smith said.
New DNA technology gives investigators fresh hope in Evelyn Matchett cold case(Ari Betterly)
Anyone with information is asked to contact Indiana State Police. To call them at 260-403-2841 or emailispcoldcase@isp.in.gov.
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