The DNA Breakthrough: How Harry Edward Greenwell was Finally Identified as a Serial Killer

Inside the unveiling of the I-65 killer

By Rare StoriesPublished 11 months ago • 4 min read

Harry Edward Greenwell, also known as The I-65 Killer and The Days Inn Killer, was an American serial killer, robber, and rapist.

Harry Edward Greenwell was born in Louisville, Kentucky December 9, 1944 .

He was responsible for the murder of at least three female hotel clerks along Interstate 65 in Indiana and Kentucky between 1987 and 1989. Despite being suspected of these crimes, Greenwell was never convicted as he passed away due to cancer on January 31, 2013.

Greenwell's Life

He was arrested on January 17, 1963, for an armed robbery in Louisville and subsequently sentenced to two years in the reformatory and five years of probation on April 12, 1963. On February 23, 1965, Greenwell was arrested for sodomy in Jefferson County, Kentucky. He was later paroled from the Kentucky State Penitentiary in 1969.

Greenwell's wife died in a house fire in Vernon County, Wisconsin in 1978. After her death, he got married to a 39-year-old single mother who had previously been in an abusive relationship. Greenwell, who had already adopted a daughter from a previous marriage, fathered a son with his new wife.

However, in 1982, he was arrested and sentenced to prison for a burglary in Iowa. Greenwell managed to escape from custody during his arrest and was recaptured twice. He served time in the Anamosa State Penitentiary and Kentucky State Reformatory until his release in 1983. After his release, Greenwell found employment as a railroad worker and worked on tracks across the Midwest.

Greenwell's Brutal Attacks

Harry Edward Greenwell sexually assaulted and fatally shot Vicki Lucille Heath, a 41-year-old woman, at the Super 8 Motel in Elizabethtown, Kentucky on February 21, 1987. The motel lobby showed signs of a struggle, and her body was discovered behind a trash bin.

On March 3, 1989, Greenwell murdered two hotel clerks along the I-65 corridor.

Margaret Mary "Peggy" Gill, a 24-year-old night auditor at the Days Inn in Merrillville, Indiana, was sexually assaulted and shot twice in the head, and her body was left in a back hallway. Four hours later, Jeanne Gilbert, a 34-year-old part-time auditor at the Remington, Indiana Days Inn, was sexually assaulted and shot.

Her body was found near the roadway by a passing motorist. Greenwell used the same .22 caliber handgun to kill both women and stole $179 and $247 from the motels, respectively.

On January 2, 1990, Greenwell attacked a 21-year-old clerk at the Days Inn in Columbus, Indiana. He sexually assaulted, stabbed, and robbed her, but she survived the attack. The victim provided a description of the assailant, and a composite drawing of the suspect was produced. The attack was linked to the 1989 murders through DNA evidence.

Greenwell committed another sexual assault and stabbing in Rochester, Minnesota in 1991, but the victim survived and provided a similar description of the attacker, including his flannel shirt, jeans, and a lazy eye. In 2013, DNA analysis officially linked this case to the others, and it is the only known attack that took place along Interstate 90.

The Case is Cracked

The murders were considered unsolved for many years until 2008 when DNA evidence was submitted for analysis. In 2010, the Kentucky State Police confirmed that the DNA evidence linked the three murders and that they were dealing with a serial killer.

Furthermore, DNA evidence linked Greenwell to at least four other cases involving sexual assault and robbery of female motel clerks working along I-65 in several states. The pattern of the attacks suggested that the killer was a seasonal worker, and police in Elizabethtown suspected that the killer was a truck driver or traveling salesman between the ages of 55 and 65.

Greenwell was identified as the killer through a DNA match with one of his close family members, and the Indiana State Police testing lab determined a match with a 99.999% probability. On April 5, 2022, the Indiana State Police announced the identification of Greenwell as the killer and stated that they are investigating the possibility of his involvement in other violent crimes in the Midwest.