Amber Star Illes: Gary, 1983

   


   On August 25th 1983, a man walking his dog in Gary, Indiana stumbled upon the body of a young woman. Her body was found in a wooded area “318 feet west of Clark Road” according to her death certificate. No cross street is given so we don’t know exactly where along Clark Road. 

   Amber Illes, of Hobart had been viciously beaten. Her injuries were described by one newspaper as “massive blows to the head” with a blunt instrument. Investigators determined she was killed on August 24th, 1983.  She was 19.


   Amber Star Illes was born on May 4th, 1964 in Louisiana. She had an older brother named Forrest. Her parents were Robert Stephen Illes and Evelyn Louise Ahlgrim Illes. The family lived on Haven Hill Road in Hobart, Indiana. She attended Merrillville High School. 

   There’s very little mention of her murder or the investigation in the newspapers.  It’s incredibly frustrating.  It seems like after the rise of violent crime in the 1970’s that the papers and the public were becoming tired of it all by the early 1980’s.  Getting abducted, raped and murdered was to be expected. Just like a certain amount of people get hit while crossing the street every year and there isn’t much to be done about it.  It is what it is.  It’s absolutely infuriating. But, DNA technology was coming. In 1985 the first conviction using DNA evidence would take place in England. 

   Can DNA technology identify Amber’s killer? Possibly.  

   Amber’s family had her cremated and her ashes are buried in Hobart, Indiana.



   What evidence is still stored in her case? Can it be tested? Perhaps there is a perpetrator whose DNA is in CODIS already. 

   There is always hope.  


    Amber was only 19. What would she have become if she’d been allowed to live? 


   There were killers around that area then that have served time for similar crimes. I have submitted tips to Cold Case Investigators in Indiana about Paul Dresser and John Lee Shippen. Amber might have been a victim of either one of these men. 


    If you know something that could help solve this case, please call the Gary Indiana Police Department at 219-881-7300.


Shareable YouTube video here: https://youtu.be/JdK6v2XUtz4?si=PHNkx3SiskE6mxQn

   

   


Comments

  1. KathyJanuary 21, 2026 at 12:48 PM

    Amber was my best friend. I was so heartbroken to hear of her death. We had been hanging out just a short time before this happened. I just so happened to think of her today for some reason and came across this post. I really hope that we can get an answer. She had led such a troubled young life and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to know her.

    ReplyDelete

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