In 2013, the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, experienced a surge in violent crime that left law enforcement and community members grappling with a rising homicide rate. Amidst this backdrop of increased violence, the body of Osiel Rangel Canales, a 27-year-old Hispanic male, was discovered on the city's far east side. On the afternoon of Wednesday, March 20, 2013, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers were dispatched to the 4000 block of Stratford Court after receiving reports of
a deceased person. Upon arrival, investigators located Rangel inside a vacant apartment, marking a grim discovery in a neighborhood that would see repeated violence in the years to come.
Homicide detectives responded to the scene to begin their investigation into the circumstances surrounding Rangel's death. Preliminary assessments by the investigators determined that he had sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head. Based on the condition of the body and other evidence gathered at the scene, authorities estimated that Rangel had been killed the previous day, Tuesday, March 19, 2013. He had been a resident of Indianapolis at the time of his death, though he was originally from Corsicana, Texas, where his family later held memorial services including a rosary.
The investigation into the shooting faced challenges common to the wave of homicides occurring in Indianapolis that year. Despite the involvement of metropolitan police and the collection of forensic evidence from the vacant property, public records and crime databases do not indicate that a suspect was immediately apprehended. In the years following the incident, online crime solving communities and databases have continued to list the case, seeking information from the public that might lead to a resolution. As of the available information, no specific arrests, charges, or convictions have been reported in connection with the murder of Osiel Rangel Canales, leaving the case as one of the many unsolved violent crimes from that period in the city's history.
