Update: Angie’s killer has been identified! New DNA testing hit a match in CODIS. Angie Housman – St. Ann MO. Abducted, Tortured, Tied to a Tree and Left to Die. 25 Years Later – No Arrests – No Named Suspects. $250k Reward.

Update:  Investigators submitted suspect DNA into CODIS in March 2019.  A match was found.  The suspect is currently serving time for another unknown offense.  St. Charles County Prosecutor, Tim Lohmar, will reveal the identity at a news conference on June 5th at 3pm CST.

The suspect name is known to many and will likely be revealed today.  I will not reveal the suspect’s name as it is not my place to do so.  I will only reveal that he is a 61 yr old former construction worker who occasionally stayed with family in the neighborhood.

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A school photo of 9 year old Angie Housman

In the quiet St. Louis suburban town of St. Ann Missouri a sadistic killer lay in wait. It was November 18, 1993. Around 4:00pm 9 year old Angie Housman steps off the school-bus only eight houses down from her home on Wright Ave, where she lived with her Mother and Stepfather, Diane and Ron Bone. Angie was a fourth grader and attended Buder Elementary. The bus-stop was at the corner of St. Gregory Lane and Wright Ave and directly across the street from Holy Trinity Catholic Church.

Angie didn’t have a set after-school routine. Oftentimes she was locked out of the home until a parent arrived. Angie was thought to be, at times, underdressed, unkempt and bedraggled, she struggled to make friends and was quick to seek the attention of others. She was known to be outgoing and friendly, always smiling, ‘starved for attention’ many have stated, often approaching strangers to ask “Are you my friend?”. After departing her bus-stop she sometimes quickly ran home and other times she stopped to play with neighborhood children or visited local businesses to make new ‘friends’. She often spent time at Mary Ridge Park and Schafer Park. On this day, Angie didn’t stop to play with other children and she never arrived home. She along with her blue and white backpack had vanished.

The route from the bus-stop to Angie’s home

Two days prior to the abduction a neighbor reported that she had seen a suspicious bearded man in a long coat in the area in which Angie would later disappear. Angie’s PE teacher, Mr. Hunter, came forward just days after Angie’s disappearance to report that on Wednesday Angie had told him that she would be taking a trip out to the countryside on Thursday with her Uncle. Another potential witness reported seeing a suspicious man in a long coat standing next to a gold vehicle at Mary Ridge Park just minutes before Angie would exit her school-bus. The witness was unable to get the man to look at her and was not able to determine if he had a beard. Others reported seeing a suspicious blue vehicle in the area around that time and reportedly following Angie’s bus.

Was this ‘Uncle’ the bearded man seen nearby? Diane and Ron Bone deny any such Uncle existed nor had there been any plans to visit the countryside on Thursday or any other day.

Investigators believe that Angie left willingly in a vehicle. They believe she knew her abductor to some degree. They will not rule out the possibility that it was a stranger abduction because Angie was exceptionally trusting of strangers and eager to please new ‘friends’.

For seven to nine days Angie was held captive. She was bound, brutalized, bitten, tortured and raped horrifically and repeatedly, possibly by one suspect or possibly by a group of suspects. On the ninth day of her abduction, November 27th, at 10:45am, bow hunters came upon a disturbing sight. A frail naked young girl was bound to a tree with scraps of her own clothing. Her hands were bound behind her back with handcuffs and gray duct tape. Wide gray tape looped around her head covering her eyes and mouth, leaving her nose exposed. She had been gagged with a piece of underpants, possibly her own, prior to the taping. Her wrists had been slit horizontally. A deep cut traversed one thigh. She was covered in scratches, bruises and abrasions. She bled from the horrific rape that had taken place throughout her captivity. Her long brown hair was intact and encased in ice. Piles of ice chips had formed on her body. Her clothing and winter coat were stuffed into a large trash bag along with tje blue and white backpack full of schoolbooks and placed 20-25 feet from her body. Missing was one button from her coat…a small white teddy bear button.

Despite her frail and battered condition, Angie died from exposure to the elements. Hypothermia was the official cause of death. Investigators believe she was tied to the tree on Thanksgiving Day, two days before she was found. It’s alleged she had only perished hours before being found.

The location in which she was found was at the far East point of the August A. Busch Conservation Area in St. Charles County MO. She was bound to a tree only 90 feet behind a sign located midway down Miller School Rd. Only yards from Highway 94. Less than a mile from Interstate 64. While many have speculated about the location being remote, it’s actually in a well traveled area along the route to the local high school and directly adjacent to a popular public commuter parking lot. This particular road was accessible to the public at all hours. While it’s now gated, it was open in 1993 and it was a popular local spot to buy fishing worms from a local man who setup shop at the end of the road. While frequented by hunters, it’s not specific to hunters. The dead-end road was known as a ‘lovers lane’ and party spot for locals.

Angie’s body was found along Miller School Rd, 90 feet off the left side of the roadway, bound to a tree

Miller School Rd is within the yellow circled area located within the Eastern tip of August A. Busch Conservation Area

St. Charles County Crime Lab investigators processed around 150 pieces of evidence. A partial fingerprint was found on the backside of the duct tape. Hair belonging to an unknown canine was found. There was DNA. In 1993 DNA testing was not yet available. In 2013 Investigators submitted numerous articles to a specialized lab in Texas for DNA testing. Additional evidence was sent in for testing in November 2018. It’s unknown what results were returned.

At this point in time investigators have allegedly declined free assistance by Parabon NanoLabs. The lab uses a process called DNA Phenotyping that creates a near photo quality image of a suspect down to facial structure and eye color. As well, the lab uses genealogy experts who use suspect DNA to locate familial DNA matches within a genealogy database. They create a family tree based on suspect DNA and investigators then follow up to narrow down a suspect that can be connected to the victim. Parabon NanoLabs, most notably, assisted in matching DNA in the Golden State Killer cold case leading to the arrest of John DeAngelo.

In the years since Angie’s death many suspects have been investigated, some more promising than others, but there have been no arrests and no official POI’s named. Diane and Ron Bone were cleared early on. Numerous family members and those in their inner circles were interviewed. Over 400 hunters that had hunting permits issued in the area of the August A. Busch Conservation Area were interviewed. A promising suspect that had visited the area from Florida was investigated and determined not to be a primary suspect. Thousands of others were questioned in regards to the case. Investigators have collected samples of urine, pubic hair, DNA, fingerprints and palm prints from both male and female subjects. They’ve collected samples of canine hair. To date, there have been no known matches.

Limited information is known about Angie’s biological Father. His name, although known, has not been released publicly. It is rumored that he had a relationship with his daughter but under the pretense of being a family friend. Diane Bone passed away in November of 2016 and did not confirm a relationship existed between Angie and her biological Father. Her Father is not a suspect.

There has been much speculation about why the killer or killers tied Angie to a tree alive, left to die slowly, naked in the elements. Some investigators believe her killer/killers didn’t want to be responsible for her death. They wanted to be able to say or believe that they did not kill her, that she was alive when they left her there. …That perhaps they were a sadistic rapist but not a killer. She would have likely survived her injuries had she been found.

Angie was murdered by her abductor. This is a homicide case. The person or persons who bound her to that tree were directly responsible for her horrific death. It could be speculated that her killer cut her wrists so that she would bleed out and die quickly but botched the attempt by not cutting deeply enough to sever the artery. Instead, they only partially severed the tendons and cut superficial veins along the surface. The timing of these injuries has not been released publicly.

Suspect witness sketch in the Angie Housman case

No other cases have been connected to Angie’s homicide. Yet it’s inevitable that her killer committed other, likely similar, crimes in the 25 years since Angie’s abduction. This was a sadistic brutal crime against a defenseless child. A person does not wake up one morning and decide they are going to abduct, torture and murder a 9 year old child over a seven-nine day period. This was likely premeditated. He had to have had a place to keep a victim for seven-nine days. He had handcuffs. He had duct tape. He likely worked his way up from lesser sexually motivated crimes to the point of acting out his long awaited sadistic fantasy.

Angie’s killer may have been a complete stranger. Or, he have met her in the days prior, gaining her trust, asking her to call him ‘Uncle’. He may have told her they were taking a ride out to the countryside so that she would get into his vehicle willingly. There is no indication that a struggle took place.

Where was Angie held during her captivity? It’s a 30 minute drive from St. Ann to Miller School Rd, approximately 20 miles in distance. Was this merely a dumping location or did the killer live nearby? Was this the area of ‘countryside’ Angie was told she would visit? The area beyond the conservation land is a country setting and is a popular area of wineries and biker bars. She was found disheveled and dirty. Was she held in someone’s home? Potentially a shed or outbuilding? Maybe a business?

Was the timing of the abduction significant? It was exactly a week before Thanksgiving. Angie was abducted on Thursday, November 18th, around 4:00pm. It’s believed that she was bound to the tree on Thanksgiving Day, exactly seven days after her abduction…Thursday to Thursday. Did he alternate custody of his children with every other week/weekend and needed to remove Angie from the home before his children arrived? Perhaps family would be over on Thanksgiving Day? Did he work in St. Ann and was off work just prior to 4:00pm? Did he target Angie or was she a victim of opportunity? Was she vulnerable due to her willingness to befriend strangers?  Was there one killer or was this horrific act carried out by more than one person?

Until an arrest and conviction takes place there will always be more questions than answers. As with every case, someone has the answers to those questions. Someone knows what happened to Angie that November in 1993.

While considered a cold case, not a day goes by that a local team of sleuthers isn’t making calls, following up on leads, asking questions and demanding justice. Trisha Trout leads a team of local Mothers, Amy Bittner and Debbie Korlinger, who spend countless hours making sure the case continues to progress. Angel’s for Justice has a Facebook Page dedicated to the Angie Housman case. Please follow Angie’s Angels for updates on the case.

A $250,000 reward is offered for the information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the abduction and murder of Angie Housman.

You may report tips to detectives at the St. Ann police department at 314-427-8000 or to the St. Charles County tip-line at 636-949-3002. Anonymous tips can be reported to Crime Stoppers at 866-371-8477.