INDIANAPOLIS – An Indiana State Police (ISP) Detective and two members of the Shelby County Prosecutor’s Office were recently recognized by ISP Superintendent Doug Carter with the Department’s Outstanding Criminal Investigation Award for their work on cold cases dating back to the early 1980s. Their investigation ultimately led to the arrest and conviction of a Decatur County man.
Recognized for their efforts were ISP detective Paul Baker, Shelby County Prosecutor Brad Landwerlen, and Shelby County Deputy Prosecutor Brandon Robinson. Shelby County Sheriff’s detective David Tilford could not attend.
Between August 1982 and August 1985 there were a series of eight home invasions that included rape, unlawful deviate conduct, robbery, and battery which all occurred in Shelby County.
From 2002 to 2019, Baker and his task force reviewed the evidence, developed new leads, and sought out new DNA technology which led to the arrest of Steven Hessler, of Greensburg, in August 2020.
In March of this year, Hessler was convicted in a jury trial in the Shelby Circuit Court on two counts of rape, six counts of unlawful deviate conduct, seven counts of burglary resulting in bodily injury, three counts of criminal deviate conduct, and one count of robbery. He was sentenced to 650 years in prison on April 1.
