INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis police are asking the public for help finding a “person of interest” who has been identified in a January murder involving a house fire on the city’s east side.
Homicide detectives with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department are looking to speak with 40-year-old Jessica Gillespie. IMPD said Wednesday that Gillespie may have information about what led up to the murder of Indy resident Charles Linstrum earlier this year.
Per previous reporting, Linstrum was found dead inside his home around 7 a.m. on Jan. 7, 2023, after IMPD East District officers responded to 9000 E. 18th Street to assist fire crews with a possible arson.
Officers arrived and found an adult man, later identified as the 70-year-old Linstrum, inside the home and suffering from trauma injuries. Linstrum received EMS treatment on scene and was later taken to Eskenazi Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Both IMPD arson and homicide detectives subsequently began investigating Linstrum’s death, while Indianapolis-Marion County Forensic Services Agency responded to collect evidence.
On April 11, the Marion County Coroner’s Officer determined Linstrum’s cause of death to be a homicide. IMPD detectives were then notified of this and continued their investigation, during which they identified Gillespie as a person of interest.
Anyone with info regarding Linstrum’s death or Gillespie’s whereabouts is being asked by IMPD to contact Homicide Det. Daniel Smith or Det. Robert Chappell.
You can contact the detectives by calling (317) 327-3475 or emailing [email protected] and [email protected].
Alternatively, to submit an anonymous tip to the authorities you can call Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at (317) 262-TIPS. You can also download the mobile P3tips app for Apple or Android phones to submit a mobile tip or go to www.CrimeTips.org to submit a web tip.
