Anith Jones, a 35-year-old African American woman from Merrillville, Indiana, was reported missing on October 8, 2014. Her family grew concerned when they could no longer contact her. Ten days later, on October 18, 2014, her body was discovered in the basement of an abandoned home in the neighboring city of Gary, Indiana. The discovery was part of a horrifying investigation into the crimes of a serial killer.
The investigation into Jones's disappearance and death quickly led to a suspect
named Darren Deon Vann, a then 43-year-old convicted sex offender. Vann was arrested in connection with the murder of another woman, 19-year-old Afrikka Hardy, whose body was found in a motel in Hammond, Indiana. Following his arrest, Vann confessed to killing not only Hardy but also several other women, including Anith Jones. He then led authorities to the locations of his other victims, all of whom were found in abandoned buildings in Gary. An autopsy later confirmed that Anith Jones had been strangled to death.
During his confession, Vann provided chilling details about Jones's murder. He claimed that a third party had paid him $300 and provided him with drugs to kill her due to a pending legal matter involving Jones. According to Vann, he spent weeks building a rapport with Jones, pretending to be a customer for an escort service, to gain her trust. He lured her to a vacant home where he then strangled her with a cord. After her death, he placed her body in a trash can and transported it to the abandoned house where it was eventually found, concealed under tires and teddy bears.
In the aftermath of his confession, Darren Deon Vann was charged with multiple counts of murder, including the murder of Anith Jones. Prosecutors initially sought the death penalty for the deaths of Jones and Afrikka Hardy. However, in a surprise move in May 2018, Vann pleaded guilty to the murders of all seven women. In exchange for his guilty plea, he avoided the death penalty and was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. While Vann implicated another person in commissioning Jones's murder, no one else was ever charged in connection with her death.
