Indiana Man Charged With Murder Of Student Hannah Wilson Investigated In Lauren Spierer Case
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- There could be a possible break in the disappearance of Lauren Spierer, an Indiana University student from Westchester County who has been missing since June 2011.
A man charged with the murder of Indiana senior Hannah Wilson is now being investigated in Spierer's disappearance, police said Tuesday.
Daniel Messel, 49, is accused of killing Wilson last week and dumping her body in a rural area. He pleaded not guilty on Monday and a jury trial is tentatively set for late July. Messel has a long list of arrests for violence against women dating back to 1993, CBS2's Alice Gainer reported.
"Messel's arrest has provided BPD detectives with an avenue of investigation into Lauren Spierer's disappearance that will be diligently pursued and, in fact, that investigation has already begun," the Bloomington Police Department said in a statement. "An effort will be made to confer in more detail with Indiana State Police detectives to determine what, if any, similarities might exist in the two cases that may have not been released to the public."
Investigators said Messel left his cellphone in the same spot as Wilson's body, Gainer reported, adding the accused played trivia at a local bar and grill with a co-worker last Thursday. Messel dropped his co-worker off but didn't return home and didn't show up for work the next day.
When Messel finally returned home Friday night police noticed claw marks on his arm, and a search of his car revealed blood splatter and hair clumps on the console, Gainer reported.
"We will remain playing this close to the vest. I don't want to make a comment at this time," Brown County Prosecutor Ted Adams said.
Wilson ended her night outside of Kilroy's sports bar, where her friends thought she'd had too much to drink and put her in a cab and sent her home, Gainer reported.
It's the same bar Spierer was at before her disappearance in 2011. The 20-year-old disappeared on June 3 of that year, after a night out with friends. She left without her shoes or cellphone and was later seen on surveillance video stumbling out of an elevator at her apartment.
One investigator told CBS2 the comparisons between the two disappearances are "eerily similar."
Police have received thousands of tips and tested several remains found in surrounding areas to no avail.
Anyone with information regarding the Lauren Spierer investigation is urged to contact the Bloomington Police Department at 812-339-447.
