Authorities fear that Darren Deon Vann, 43, of Gary, Indiana may be responsible for over seven murders over the last two decades. Officers arrested him Friday after discovering the strangled body of Afrika Hardy, 19 inside a Motel 6 hotel room in Hammond, Indiana.
A woman who met Vann online dispatched Hardy to meet him at the hotel Friday for a ‘meeting’ of an confirmed nature. She later contacted the Hammond police and provided Vann’s contact information after receiving a series of questionable texts from Hardy’s cell phone.
Once police apprehended Vann in Gary, he admitted to the murder and directed officers to abandoned properties in the city where six others bodies were found. One body has been identified as Anith Jones (pictured above), who was reported missing October 8. Jones was a transplant from Chicago, and ran a stand at an area flea market, according to her sister, Yolanda Nowell. Two other victims have been identified as Teairra Batey, 28, and Christine Williams, 36, both of Gary.
In a statement, Gary Police Cpl. Gabrielle King said:
“We would like to dispel the rumor that there is a serial killer on the loose,” the statement read. “There is a 43-year-old man in the custody of The Hammond Police Department, who led officials to 3 deceased female victims who has claimed responsibility for their demise. Gary Police are closely working with Hammond Police to assist in covering every area of the investigation needed to pursue charges as expeditiously as possible. “
“We have evidence that he was in Texas and all over the United States,” she said. “I would like them to complete the investigation and I don’t want to taint it with the prospect of calling this person a serial killer.”
The Lake County coroner’s office has ruled them all homicides. Vann is a registered sex offender in Austin, Texas who served time in that state for sexual assault.
- By Colby Carrington