In February of 2019, a chilling discovery was made inside a residence on Johnson Street in Gary, Indiana, when a landlord entered the property to carry out some maintenance. There, he found the bodies of 55-year-old Timothy Snow and 48-year-old Tracy Valentine. Both individuals had been fatally shot, and their deaths were quickly ruled as homicides by the Lake County coroner's office, marking another grim chapter in a series of violent crimes that had gripped the city.
The investigation
into the deaths of Snow and Valentine soon revealed a web of interconnected tragedies. Tracy Valentine was married to Jimmy Valentine, who himself was found shot to death just five days later on February 25, 2019. The day before Jimmy's body was discovered, his brother, Wayne Valentine, was also found deceased near a vehicle on Jennings Street. The string of violent deaths did not end there, as another murder, that of Pam Crider on February 27, 2019, was also believed to be linked to this violent spree.
As law enforcement, including the Gary Police Department and the Lake County Metro Homicide Unit, delved into the cluster of homicides, a person of interest emerged: Drew Carter. While Carter was ultimately convicted for the murder of another individual, Jessica Flores, whose death was also part of this violent timeframe, he was never formally charged in connection with the deaths of Timothy Snow or the members of the Valentine family. The complex nature of the cases and the number of individuals involved presented significant challenges for investigators. At the time of his death, Snow was facing legal troubles of his own, with pending court appearances for charges that included burglary and stalking. His death brought an abrupt end to those legal proceedings.
