Katharina Buczek
Within the petition, they detailed how Sgt. Carter had been the most thorough and dedicated investigator on Carmen’s case. It soon gained over five hundred signatures from community members, and the petition even spurred widespread press coverage.
This public scrutiny ultimately forced the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department to hold a press conference in which the decision to take Sgt. Carter off the case was clarified.
According to officials, Sgt. Carter’s removal was not due to his fundraising efforts but rather because of a “review of assignments and procedures.” It was also revealed that the Sgt. Carter was never a cold case investigator but actually worked within the Nuisance and Abatement Unit.
So, over the two years Sgt. Carter had been working on Carmen’s case, the officer had done so within his free time.
This ultimately meant that following the press conference, Sgt. Carter was reassigned to work on Carmen’s case. However, the funds that he had raised for new DNA tests had to be returned to donors.
And since then, there have sadly been no leads or breaks in Carmen’s case. Her family continues to fight for justice and spread awareness of her case on social media– primarily via a Facebook page entitled Justice for Carmen Van Huss, which has over six hundred and seventy-five followers.
There is also still a one thousand dollar reward being offered to any community member with information that leads to the arrest and conviction of Carmen’s killer.
At the time of her death, Carmen was five foot two, weighed one hundred and fifteen pounds, and had brown hair. If you have any information regarding her case, you are urged to contact Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at (317) 262-TIPS.
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