Do you know who murdered Robert Aynes? On a damp November evening in Indianapolis, 55-year-old Robert C. Aynes was outside his apartment on the city's northeast side, busy working on his van as he so often was. The date was November 2, 2017, and the night was tragically interrupted by an act of violence that left a family shattered and a community searching for answers. An unknown individual approached Mr.
Aynes and shot him point-blank in the head, ending his life in the parking lot of his residence in the 5900 block of Devington Road, a location situated directly across from Arlington Middle School.
The motive behind the fatal shooting remains a profound mystery to investigators and his loved ones. When police arrived at the scene, they found the hood of his van up, suggesting he was in the midst of repairs when he was ambushed. Crucially, his wallet and cell phone were left untouched, indicating that robbery was not the driving force behind this senseless act. The cold-blooded nature of the killing, coupled with the lack of an apparent motive, has made the case particularly baffling for law enforcement.
In the years that have followed, the investigation into Robert Aynes's murder has been met with frustrating silence. Despite appeals from his family for anyone with information to come forward, very few witnesses have emerged. The case is further complicated by a stark lack of physical evidence, leaving detectives with few leads to pursue. As a result, no arrests have ever been made, and no suspects have been publicly identified. The case officially remains an unsolved homicide, a painful open wound for a family still waiting for justice. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department continues to encourage anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers anonymously.
