HUNTINGTON COUNTY, Indiana (WLIO) – Indiana State Police say that they have solved the cold case murder of a Van Wert native.
The state police say that they have identified the man they believe was the killer of 23-year-old Angela Saco back in 1997. Saco, who was originally from Van Wert, was found stabbed to death on the property of the Huntington County, Indiana Reservoir on December 21st, 1997. She was living in Fort Wayne and was last seen at work in the early morning hours of the 21st. Saco left behind a 2-year-old son.
Over the last two years, the Indiana State Police’s Cold Case Unit has been working with and testing DNA that was found at the crime scene. In February of this year, forensic genetic genealogists identified Stephen Shlater as candidate, and he was later confirmed as the person who left behind DNA at the scene. He was 50 years old at the time of the murder and had just been released from federal prison on another case five months before. He died in 2021.
Huntington County prosecutor Jeremy Nix says that Shlater would have been charged with murder if still alive today…