Murder and rape charges have been filed in an Indianapolis cold case.
Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said Wednesday that Johnny Jones has been charged in the 1998 death of Kenya Edwards. He was recently identified as a suspect by DNA match, according to a press release from the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.
“The resiliency and dedication displayed by the investigators involved in this case lets our community know we will leave no stone unturned in any homicide investigation and it will only be considered closed when the person, or persons, involved have been identified, arrested and found guilty in a court of law,” IMPD Chief Rick Hite said in a press release.
In November 1998, detectives found Edwards’ body partially burned in a house in the 3800 block of N. Tacoma Avenue. In May 2009, the case was reviewed and submitted for DNA evidence collected during Edwards’ autopsy. In February 2015, detectives learned of a DNA match, identifying Jones as a suspect.
Detectives looked at previous crimes committed by Jones and found similarities in two cases and Edwards’ murder.
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Jones is charged with murder, burglary resulting in bodily injury and rape.
He is currently being held in the Indiana Department of Correction for an unrelated 2014 conviction of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon.
An initial court hearing on the charges is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Sept. 14.
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