A 29 year old teacher is murdered in her home On a Memorial Day weekend in May 1980, Janet Shirar, a 29-year-old female special education teacher, was found brutally murdered in her Kokomo, Indiana apartment. Her family grew concerned when she failed to show up for a planned family cookout and her nephew's birthday party. On the evening of Sunday, May 25th, her mother, stepfather, and a friend went to her apartment to check on her. They discovered her car in the parking lot with the driver's side door slightly ajar.
After looking through a window and seeing her purse on the living room floor, they entered the unlocked apartment and found a small, bloody handprint on the wall next to her bedroom.
The scene that confronted them was horrific. Janet's lifeless body was discovered on the floor of her bathroom. She had been stabbed and slashed more than a dozen times in her back, torso, and thighs in what police described as an 'overkill.' The investigation revealed that the attack likely began in her bedroom while she was in bed. A significant amount of blood was found on her dresser and mirror, suggesting a major vein or artery had been severed early in the assault. It is believed she tried to escape her attacker by fleeing to the bathroom, where she ultimately succumbed to her injuries. The cause of death was determined to be exsanguination, or excessive blood loss, from a fatal stab wound to the subclavian vein, an artery below the shoulder near the neck. It is estimated that she died within three minutes of receiving this initial wound. The murder weapon was a 4-inch Stellite paring knife from her own kitchen, which had belonged to her grandmother. The knife was found at the scene but had been wiped clean. There was no evidence of sexual assault or robbery.
Despite an intensive investigation, no arrests have ever been made in connection with Janet Shirar's murder, and the case remains unsolved. Investigators did identify a person of interest, a female friend of Janet's who was with her in the apartment on the night of the murder. This individual was questioned extensively for 16 months following the homicide. Authorities admitted in 1994 that the case had been close to being solved in the early 1980s but stalled due to a lack of evidence to formally charge the suspect. The case eventually became a point of contention between the prosecutor's office and detectives, further hindering progress. Over the years, officials have continued to review the case and re-interview persons of interest, but no new substantial leads have emerged. The brutal slaying of the dedicated and well-liked teacher has left a lasting scar on the community and remains a tragic cold case.
