In the spring of 1983, a young man's journey home turned into a tragedy that would remain a painful mystery for months. Richard Arthur Wayne Jr., a 17-year-old White male, was traveling from California to his home in Montpelier, Indiana, when he vanished on March 20, 1983. The days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months, with no word of his whereabouts, leaving his family to grapple with uncertainty and fear.
The grim answer to their questions came on December 7, 1983, when a hunter made a harrowing discovery in a field near U.S. Route 40 in Hendricks County, Indiana. The partially buried remains were later identified as those of Richard Wayne Jr. An investigation determined that the young man's life had been ended by homicide, launching a quest for justice that would uncover a dark and prolific evil.
Investigators eventually linked Richard's murder to a man who would become known as the 'Interstate Killer,' Larry Eyler. Eyler was a serial predator responsible for a string of brutal murders of young men and boys across multiple states between 1982 and 1984. His reign of terror came to an end with his arrest in October 1983. Following his apprehension, Eyler was ultimately convicted for several of the murders he committed. He was sentenced to death and died of AIDS-related complications in 1994 while on death row, taking with him the full extent of his horrific crimes. Richard Arthur Wayne Jr. was laid to rest in Miller Cemetery in Poneto, Wells County, Indiana.
