MURDERED: Jessica Starr
Jessica Starr was 26 years old when she was murdered outside the trailer she was staying at in 2011. Despite friends and family having theories as to what happened, they feel that police in Elkhart, Indiana, have all but abandoned them in their search for justice.
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A photo from the candlelight vigil held the evening after Jessica’s murder.
Courtesy: Geneva Wheetley
Jessica Starr.
Courtesy: Geneva Wheetley
A stretch of road adopted in memory of Jessica.
Courtesy: Geneva Wheetley
A 2025 photo shows the exterior of the trailer where Jessica lived and was fatally attacked.
Credit: Audiochuck staff
Timeline:
Police responded to a 911 call and found Jessica Starr murdered outside the trailer she shared with other people.
Melody Lane
Approximate location of the trailer where Jessica lived and the crime occurred.
Additional Info:
Submit Tips
If you have any information about the murder of Jessica Starr, you can contact the Elkhart Police Department by calling 574-295-7070 or you can submit tips to us by emailing [email protected].
Elkhart County Safe Haven
To learn more about the Elkhart County Safe Haven and the work of YWCA North Central Indiana, visit their website by following this link.
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We’d love to speak with you and see how we can support.
If you’re a law enforcement agency or family member of one of the people we mentioned in this episode, or if you’re looking for more coverage on a case, please reach out. You can email us at:
Episode Source Material
- Original reporting by Lorelai Sykes.
- ABC57 (South Bend, IN): Neighborhood wakes to murder, by ABC57 Staff. Published August 9, 2011. Updated November 6, 2014. Accessed May 12, 2025. https://abc57.com/news/neighborhood-wakes-to-murder
- The South Bend Tribune (South Bend, IN): Police say woman victim of homicide. Published August 10, 2011. Accessed May 12, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/511491237
- The Elkhart Truth (Elkhart, IN): Investigation into Monday homicide continues, but few details being released, by Sara Alvarez. Published August 12, 2011. Accessed May 12, 2025 via removepaywall.com. https://www.elkharttruth.com/news/investigation-into-monday-homicide-continues-but-few-details-being-released/article_a973b1c4-c675-577d-b870-4d87eabc0929.html
- Elkhart Truth (Elkhart, IN): Investigators asking for help in solving Starr homicide, by Truth Staff. Published September 29, 2011. Accessed May 12, 2025 via removepaywall.com. https://www.elkharttruth.com/news/crimes/investigators-asking-for-help-in-solving-starr-homicide/article_8ecc0476-007f-5623-867f-fb265cf34d24.html
- ABC57 (South Bend, IN): New details emerge in Jessica Starr death, Elkhart County investigators ask for public tips, by ABC57 News Staff. Published September 30, 2011. Updated November 6, 2014. Accessed May 13, 2025. https://www.abc57.com/news/new-details-emerge-in-jessica-starr-death-elkhart-county-investigators-ask-for-public-tips
- The Elkhart Truth (Elkhart, IN): Murdered woman’s family, by Emily Monacelli. Published October 2, 2011. Accessed October 2, 2011 via removepaywall.com. https://www.elkharttruth.com/news/murdered-womans-family/article_fd979350-ce42-5a7f-86c2-c7c39e5a82f2.html
- The South Bend Tribune (South Bend, IN): Police seek help in solving slaying of Elkhart woman, 26. Published October 2, 2011. Accessed May 13, 2025 via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/511517449
- The Elkhart Truth (Elkhart, IN): Investigators still looking for answers in Starr homicide. Published July 2, 2012. Accessed May 13, 2025. https://www.elkharttruth.com/news/crimes/investigators-still-looking-for-answers-in-starr-homicide/article_34115f60-47e1-50f1-a2f7-c241ae2cb8e0.html.
- The Elkhart Truth (Elkhart, IN): Viciously murdered two years ago, 26-year-old woman deserves justice, by Mary Pringle. Published July 31, 2013. Accessed May 13, 2025 via removepaywall.com. https://www.elkharttruth.com/archives/viciously-murdered-two-years-ago-26-year-old-woman-deserves-justice/article_3be7d68e-e671-51a8-a0da-6cd011288af3.html
- WSBT22 (South Bend, IN): COLD CASE FILES: The murder of Jessica Starr, by Kristin Bien. Published November 17, 2014. Accessed May 13, 2025. https://wsbt.com/news/local/cold-case-files-the-murder-of-jessica-starr
- NBC News (National): COLD CASE SPOTLIGHT: Jessica Starr. Published February 1, 2015. Accessed May 13, 2025. https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/cold-case-spotlight-jessica-starr-n298096
- WNDU (South Bend, IN): Michiana Unsolved: The Homicide of Jessica Starr, by Christine Karsten. Published March 27, 2023. Accessed May 13, 2025. https://www.wndu.com/2023/03/27/michiana-unsolved-homicide-jessica-starr/
- World Socialist Website: Official investigation clears police in Indiana Taser attack, by Tom Carter. Published October 8, 2008. Accessed August 1, 2025. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2007/10/tase-o08.html
- The Elkhart Truth (Elkhart, IN): Jessica Starr’s family fights for justice in her 2011 murder, by Emily Pfund. Published August 18, 2013. Accessed August 5, 2025.
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