Shari Ann Chinnis Indianapolis – what really happpened? On the morning of October 29th, 1987, inhabitants of Indianapolis awoke to devastating news. 18-year old Shari Ann Chinnis had been reported missing the previous night after failing to return home from her evening shift at a Taco Bell restaurant located in the northeast side of the city.
Shari Ann Chinnis Indianapolis
What followed was a massive search effort and an investigation that revealed deeply disturbing truths about senseless violence and injustice. More than 30 years later, Shari’s tragic story continues to leave an indelible mark on those who learn of her short life and tragic end.
The Disappearance
According to reports, Shari clocked out of her usual evening shift at the Taco Bell on East 82nd Street just before midnight on October 28th, 1987. She told her coworkers she was feeling tired and planned to head straight home to rest. However, Shari never arrived at her family’s house located just a few miles away. When she failed to show up or call with an explanation for her absence by the next morning, her parents grew gravely concerned and filed a missing persons report with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD).
Word of Shari’s sudden disappearance spread quickly throughout the community as friends and neighbors joined in the frantic search. Police canvassed the area around Shari’s workplace and the route she would have taken home, but found no clues regarding her whereabouts. With no cell phones or technology to aid in tracking her movements that night, it seemed Shari had quite literally vanished into thin air. As hours turned to days with no signs of the young woman, the possibility she had been harmed began to take hold. everyone who knew Shari feared the worst may have befallen her.
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A Gruesome Discovery
Nearly one week after she went missing, a break finally came in Shari’s desperate case. On November 4th, a jogger making her way through residential woodlands located on Indianapolis’ northwest side stumbled upon a grisly find – a young woman’s badly decomposed body partially concealed beneath piles of leaves. Police were immediately called to the scene off Lafayette Road, where an investigation confirmed the deceased was 18-year-old Shari Ann Chinnis.
An autopsy conducted the following day revealed Shari had been savagely beaten and sexually assaulted before ultimately dying from strangulation. Due to the advanced stage of decomposition, it was impossible to recover any usable DNA evidence from her remains that could potentially incriminate her killer. Police were left with few clues as to what transpired in Shari’s final hours or who the monsters responsible for such a heinous crime might be. All that was known for certain was that a beautiful young life had been stolen in the most callous and brutal of ways.
A Community in Mourning
The shocking circumstances surrounding Shari’s death weighed heavily on Indianapolis in the days and weeks that followed. Having only just begun her adult life, Shari was remembered fondly by all who knew her as a warm, cheerful soul with a radiant smile and bright future ahead. Now, through no fault of her own, she had been denied that future and ripped from the hearts of loved ones much too soon.
While law enforcement worked tirelessly to uncover leads, residents banded together organizing candlelight vigils, memorial walks, and fundraisers to honor Shari’s memory. Her alma mater, Lawrence Central High School, held an especially moving tribute where grieving classmates released balloons into the sky. Deep sorrow mixed with anger that someone in their close-knit community could commit such an evil act and still roam free. It was a traumatic time that left many, especially young women, feeling fearful of simply going about their daily routines. All hoped justice would ultimately be served for Shari and her family given some relief from the nightmare that had engulfed them.
A Long, Frustrating Investigation
Unfortunately for Shari’s loved ones, finding that justice proved an uphill battle stretching over many fruitless years. IMPD detectives pursued hundreds of tips and potential leads but faced numerous dead ends. The trail had grown cold from Shari laying undiscovered in the woods for a week. With no surviving witnesses or usable forensic evidence recovered from her remains, a case based almost entirely on circumstance rather than hard proof became incredibly difficult to solve.
As time passed without an arrest, skepticism grew that Shari’s killer would ever be identified. The stain of such a heinous crime going unpunished weighed on the city. Periodicupdates shared diminishingly little new information. It seemed Shari had joined countless other victims of unsolved violent crimes. Her grieving friends and family were left wondering if her murderer casually walked among them with no repercussions for ending a bright light. While the IMPD Major Crimes Unit never closed the active investigation, no major breaks came for many long years.
An Unexpected Development
Inexplicably, after over two decades of dormancy, Shari’s case would experience a dramatic turn of events. In January 2011, on the other side of the country, a seemingly chance traffic stop in Washington led to the arrest of 57-year-old Joseph Benjamin Smith. A routine fingerprint scan during booking revealed Smith was no stranger to law enforcement – he had an extensive violent criminal history including rape convictions dating back to the 1970s in Indiana. Piqued by this discovery, IMPD detectives traveled to formally question Smith about long unsolved Indianapolis crimes.
To the amazement of all, Smith proceeded to confess to the brutal 1987 murder of Shari Ann Chinnis in disturbing detail. After leaving Taco Bell that night, Smith claimed he had confronted and abducted Shari as she walked along the road before subjecting her to unspeakable torture over several days then killing her and dumping her body. After decades of heartache and dead ends, fate had suddenly delivered Shari’s elusive killer straight into police hands. Though much too late to prevent further tragedy, at least the truth could be told and full justice served.
Justice for Shari
In April 2011, Joseph Smith was extradited to Marion County, Indiana to face murder charges. He entered a surprise guilty plea and received the maximum sentence of 60 years in prison to run consecutively with other sentences from federal weapons charges out of Washington State. At his sentencing, gut-wrenching details of Shari’s final horrifying ordeal were revealed for the first time publicly through Smith’s own confession. Though closure could never make up for the immense loss, Shari’s loved ones felt some relief and vindication that her killer had admitted his guilt and would live out his remaining days behind bars.
Smith’s late confession also allowed the IMPD to potentially close additional unsolved murder cases. In January 2012, he was charged for the 1988 murder of 72-year-old Darci Schaefer from Indianapolis, again linking himself to the previously cold case through eerily similar details. While trials for these additional charges were pending, Smith passed away in prison at the age of 62 in September 2012 from medical complications. Though his full scope of crimes may never be known, the IMPD’s persistence ensured Shari Ann Chinnis and other victims received a small measure of justice even after so many years.
Shari’s Enduring Legacy
More than three decades since her tragic death, Shari Ann Chinnis is memorialized locally as a reminder of the fragility of life and injustice of violence against women. Annual vigils continuing to be held in her memory, and the area near where her body was found is now known by her name as the Shari Chinnis Memorial Woods. Generations of Indianapolis residents who never knew her keep Shari’s flame burning bright through ensuring her story continues being told and efforts towards greater safety, advocacy and healing remain ongoing.
Though gone far too soon, Shari Ann Chinnis’ brief time on Earth left an indelible mark and important lessons. Her killers may have stolen her future, but not her spirit or the light she brought to all whose lives she touched. Through Shari’s enduring legacy of courage, compassion and resilience in the face of darkness, that light shines on brighter than ever as a beacon of hope for all survivors of violence and a call for us to build a more just world where none have to live in fear simply for being who they are. Shari’s memory teaches us that even the briefest of lives can still change the world forever. Her story will never be forgotten.
Conclusion for Shari Ann Chinnis Indianapolis
The tragic case of Shari Ann Chinnis highlighted the worst humankind is capable of inflicting upon one another as well as the human desires for justice, compassion and healing in its wake. Though Shari’s young life was brutally cut short, her memory lives on as an inspiration through the goodness she represented and the positive changes catalyzed by her senseless death. While closure helps in some small way, the scars of violence can never fully heal.
All we can do is honor victims by refusing to become numb to injustice and continuing efforts towards a more peaceful world where none have to suffer Shari’s tragic fate or others’ pain. Her story stands as a reminder of both humanity’s capacity for darkness and light.
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FAQs
How old was Shari Ann Chinnis when she went missing?
Shari Ann Chinnis was 18 years old when she disappeared after her shift at a Taco Bell restaurant in Indianapolis on October 28th, 1987.
What was the cause of Shari’s death?
An autopsy revealed Shari died from strangulation, but she had also been severely beaten and sexually assaulted before her death.
Who was arrested and charged for Shari’s murder?
In 2011, nearly 24 years after Shari’s death, 57-year-old Joseph Benjamin Smith confessed to murdering Shari after being arrested on unrelated charges out of state. He pled guilty and received a 60 year prison sentence.
How was Shari remembered by her community?
Shari was deeply mourned and remembered fondly by her community. Many candlelight vigils, memorial walks and fundraising events were held in her honor. Her high school held a moving balloon release tribute.
Is Shari’s case now considered closed?
Yes, with Joseph Smith’s confession and guilty plea, admission of details only the killer could know as well as his subsequent death in prison, Shari’s 1987 murder is considered a closed case, bringing some closure to her loved ones and community after over two decades.
