Advanced DNA Testing Funded by Season of Justice Helps Springfield Police Make an Arrest in a 1989 Homicide.
Zionsville, IN (April 18, 2025): Around 10:30 p.m. on September 8, 1989, 18-year-old Jennifer Williams was dropped off at her home after work. Not long after, she told a friend she planned to walk to her husband’s workplace, but she never arrived. Her husband reported her missing on September 11, and 13 days later, a group of teenagers discovered Jennifer’s body. Evidence at the scene suggested she had likely been sexually assaulted.
In August 2024, Season of Justice awarded funding to the Springfield Police Department for advanced DNA testing on the sexual assault kit collected during the original investigation. Testing conducted in 2019 produced a partial DNA profile from an unknown male, but the results were not eligible for upload to CODIS. Thanks to recent advancements in forensic technology, however, more comprehensive profiles can now be generated from samples that were once considered insufficient. Using more sensitive technology, often unavailable in public crime labs, the kit was retested, resulting in a stronger DNA profile that ultimately led to the identification and arrest of the suspect on April 17, 2025.
Season of Justice is honored to support the unwavering efforts of the Springfield Police Department and to have played a small part in the renewed progress of this decades-old investigation. We hope this development brings Jennifer’s family one step closer to the justice they’ve been waiting for. We extend our deepest gratitude to the investigators who never gave up, and to our generous donors, whose support makes critical breakthroughs like this possible.
The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Springfield Police Department at 417-864-1810, or make an anonymous report to Greater Springfield Area Crime Stoppers at 417-869-TIPS (8477) or online at p3tips.com.