By MELEA VanOSTRAND
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
A former Hamilton County town employee is facing charges for the 1992 killing of Tony Bledsoe, according to Indiana State Police.
For more than 30 years, Tony Bledsoe’s family waited for answers. It’s a case that dates back to 1992. Investigators believe they now have everyone who was involved in Bledsoe’s murder.
Emmert
Indiana State Police arrested 55-year-old Steven Andrew Emmert, known as Andy Emmert, of Atlanta, for his alleged role in the 1992 murder of Bledsoe.
Emmert is a former utility superintendent and building commissioner in Atlanta.
“It’s a huge step in this investigation,” said Sgt. John Perrine, public information officer for the Indiana State Police Indianapolis District.
Bledsoe was 24 years old when his wife reported him missing from Arcadia in March 1992. The case went cold for decades as a missing person. Weeks after Bledsoe went missing, investigators found remains in a ravine near U.S. 40 in Putnam County.
Perrine says an Indiana State Police officer who was assigned to the Putnam County case started suspecting similarities in the two cases.
“Because of his independent knowledge of that case, he started to think that things matched up,” Perrine said. “He started to connect the dots. In 2019, he was able to use DNA analysis to identify the remains of Tony Bledsoe as the remains that were found in Putnam County in 1992.”
Court documents revealed Bledsoe had been stabbed six times, and his head and feet had been dismembered. Thomas Anderson Jr., of Arcadia, was arrested last year and charged with Bledsoe’s murder.
“He pleaded guilty [Feb. 11],” Hamilton County Prosecutor Joshua Kocher said. “It’s still set out for sentencing, but the plea has not been accepted, but pursuant to terms of that plea agreement, there is cooperation in any other case that comes out of the death of Tony Bledsoe.”
According to court documents, Anderson said that he and Emmert, who were roommates at the time, in 1990 stole a car in Wisconsin and brought it to the town of Atlanta in northern Hamilton County. They stripped the stereo from the car.
Emmert traded the stereo to Bledsoe in exchange for auto parts. Bledsoe later felt “he got ripped off in the deal because the stereo was stolen,” and a grudge ensued between Bledsoe and Emmert. Later, Anderson and Bledsoe went to confront Emmert.
Police say that’s when Emmert shot and stabbed Bledsoe. Anderson admitted to hitting Bledsoe with a baseball bat and helping Emmert dump Bledsoe’s body.
Investigators say this case serves as a reminder that they’re continuing to bring justice to victims, no matter how much time has passed.
“This is a big deal,” Perrine said. “This day, this moment, for this community, and this family, this is something they’ve waited for a very long time.”
This story was originally published by WISH-TV at wishtv.com/news/crime-watch-8/arrest-made-in-1992-hamilton-county-murder-case.
