Katharina Buczek
In 1977, Ann Harmeier was a twenty-year-old honor student attending Indiana University (IU). She decided to pursue a degree in theatre and was revered for her kindness and compassion throughout the community.
Then, in mid-September, tragedy struck and shook the IU campus, as well as families across the nation.
Ann had decided to see her family and friends at home for a weekend visit. And after her stay, she began traveling back to school on the morning of September 12, 1977.
Unfortunately, though, Ann’s car began to overheat during her drive back to Bloomington, Indiana, and she was forced to pull over on Route 37 around 9:30 a.m.
Afterward, Ann’s family and friends never heard from her again, and her whereabouts remained unknown until five weeks later.
A farmer discovered Ann’s body while cutting down crops; his property was only a few miles away from where Ann pulled her car over several weeks earlier.
Autopsy reports revealed that Ann had died from asphyxiation. Her killer had used Ann’s own shoelace to strangle her and her hairbrush to tighten the lace around her neck.
And once the media learned of Ann’s case, it gained nationwide attention. Ann herself, a bright young woman, was remarked as “everyone’s daughter.”
GoFundMe; pictured above is Ann
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