Cold case: Man charged in decades-old rape, brutal murder of 69-year-old Gary woman

Investigators said they used DNA evidence collected at the scene to charge Gerald Smith.
Tuesday, October 18, 2022
GARY, Ind (WLS) -- A Kentucky man has been charged with the decades-old murder of a 69-year-old woman from Gary, Indiana.

Prosecutors said Gerald Smith raped and brutally murdered Gloria Hansell. Hansell was found strangled in her home in 1994.
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Investigators said they used DNA evidence collected at the scene to charge Smith.

They also credited members of the FBI's Gang Response Investigative Team, who learned that Smith was in Gary shortly before the murder, and even knew the victim.
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Smith is being held in a Kentucky jail and will be extradited to Lake County, Indiana.

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