Ruling: Records Can Be Withheld In IU Student's 1977 Killing

Associated Press

Ann Harmeier was a 20-year-old IU sophomore in September 1977.
*Indiana State Police*

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Indiana's public access counselor has ruled that state police can withhold records in an Indiana University student's unsolved 1977 slaying because they remain part of an ongoing investigation.

Ann Harmeier was a 20-year-old IU sophomore when she was abducted, raped and killed in Morgan County in September 1977 after her car broke down along State Road 37 near Martinsville. Forty-two years later, no arrests have ever been made.

Indiana State Police have twice denied requests by Harmeier's cousin, Scott Burnham, to release their case records.

The Herald-Times reports state public access counselor Luke Britt sided with police in an opinion Thursday, finding that the records can be withheld because they're part of an ongoing investigation.

Burnham says police "have gone to great lengths to steadfastly ignore and stonewall our family."

Tags:Indiana State Police

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