Lori Ann Brickley:Markle, Indiana

 


   Lori Ann Brickley lived in Markle, Indiana. It’s a tiny town south of Ft. Wayne.  It is just east of Interstate 69. 

   Lori Ann was the daughter of Patricia and Robert D. Brickley. She had an older brother, Gregory, when she was born in 1960. Her parents had another daughter in 1965 but she passed away shortly after her birth. 

   On Thursday March 21, 1974, Lori went to mail a letter.  It should have been a short walk. Lori should have returned quickly but she never made it back home. Her parents and neighbors searched for three days. Ivan Ormsby, 74, decided to check the outbuildings of a house next to his home. In the backyard of 208 Logan Street the weeds were a foot tall or more. There was a shed and an old outhouse. Lori was found in the outhouse. She had been stabbed. She was fully dressed. 

   This is a very small town.  In an article about the murder it is said she took a shortcut through an alley. 

It seems like someone watched her, followed her and grabbed her.  What were her neighbors like?  What was her family like? 

   Did someone in Markle see something at the time that didn’t seem important then but now it seems related to Lori’s murder? Maybe they overheard something. 

   There are some similarities here to Debra Dusing’s murder the year before. Both stabbed. Both fully dressed. Both a few miles south of Ft. Wayne. Neither was solved. Was there a predator living in the area? Perhaps his job took him to both places? Were these two murders the work of two different perpetrators?  

   There is very little publicly available information about either murder. It would be interesting to read both case files and compare.  I wonder if the direction and angle of the wounds were comparable. Would they be able to determine if the perpetrator was left handed or right handed?  

   Lori Ann Brickley’s parents and brother have all passed away. Her grave is well tended and so I think there is family out there who still wonder who killed Lori. 

   I think that authorities should consider Danny Roy Rouse for this. He lived not far away and is a known serial killer.  His DNA is in CODIS and he is currently incarcerated in Indiana serving life for murder. 

   Lori was 13.  She deserved a long full life. She never got to experience the nervousness and excitement of starting high school as a freshman.  She never had a chance to put on a cap and gown and graduate with her class. She missed out on so much.

   Rest in peace Lori Ann Brickley.

    

   


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