On March 23, 1993, screams tore through the thin walls of a gated Indianapolis apartment complex as 19-year-old Carmen Van Huss fought for her life. Neighbors heard the attack, but no one called 911. Carmen was assaulted, mutilated, and killed. For decades, her murder remained unsolved – until a relentless investigator identified a suspect. And after more than 30 years, Carmen’s family finally saw justice.
Duration
55m
Broadcast on
06 Jul 2026
Audio Format
other
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On March 23, 1993, screams tore through the thin walls of a gated Indianapolis apartment complex as 19-year-old Carmen Van Huss fought for her life. Neighbors heard the attack, but no one called 911. Carmen was assaulted, mutilated, and killed. For decades, her murder remained unsolved – until a relentless investigator identified a suspect. And after more than 30 years, Carmen’s family finally saw justice.
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Hi, crime junkies. What you're about to hear is an episode that we originally recorded and released in the crime junkie fan club back in January, when this case was still actively unfolding. But in the months since then, there have been some major developments. So today, we wanted to bring this story to a broader audience. You'll get to hear the full episode that has never been released wide. And then I'm going to come back in towards the end and pick up where our reporting in January left off to tell you how this case was ultimately resolved. Hi, crime junkies. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers. And I'm Brett. And today's story begins at the Turtle Creek Apartments, part of a gated community on the northwest side of Indianapolis, Indiana. The complex is made up of two buildings, four wings, and three floors per wing, so 262 apartments in total. And on March 23, 1993, around 1 a.m., something terrible is happening inside one of them. Neighbors who are awake hear loud screams coming from apartment 302a. And those who weren't awake before are now. I mean, it is so loud and the walls are so thin that they can hear what she's saying even. Get off me when she repeats this in between crying and banging noises. Get off me. There is no mistaking these cries for a horseplay or teenage antics, even though they know the tenant is young, a 19 year old girl named Carmen Van Huss. But no one cares. Our reporter, Nicole Kagan spoke to one neighbor who lived in the apartment right across the hall from Carmen's and he said, quote, "I just heard a scream in the middle of the night. I turned over and went back to bed. That's all I know." Not a single person gets up. But a single person goes to her door. No one bothers to even pick up the phone and call 911. For 30 minutes, she screams and struggles before one set of hurried footprints can be heard, leaving, disappearing into the night. And everyone just goes back to sleep. For decades, people who should have helped Carmen in life and in-depth have turned their back on her, but thanks to one tenacious man who believes in doing the right thing, someone has finally been charged with Carmen's murder and the trial that decides his fate is about to begin. Though none of Carmen Van Huss's neighbors could be bothered to call police or check on her when they heard her screaming for 30 minutes straight, at least one person did take the time to call the apartment management and file a noise complaint. There was a handwritten note from management tacked to her door when Carmen's dad James arrived a day later to check on her. She had gotten a voicemail from Carmen's friend Missy, who said that Carmen had been a no-call, no-show for work that day. And she had tried to go check in on her, but she wasn't really familiar with where she lived. She ended up kind of getting lost on the way to her complex. So she's hoping that Carmen's dad could go buy and check on her.
Transcription truncated.
On March 23, 1993, screams tore through the thin walls of a gated Indianapolis apartment complex as 19-year-old Carmen Van Huss fought for her life. Neighbors heard the attack, but no one called 911. Carmen was assaulted, mutilated, and killed. For decades, her murder remained unsolved – until a relentless investigator identified a suspect. And after more than 30 years, Carmen’s family finally saw justice.
