Harry Edward Greenwell, also known as the I-65 Killer or Days Inn Killer, was a man who committed several crimes between 1987-1991, including the murder of 3 hotel clerks. His identity remained unknown until 2022 when his DNA match was found.
Harry Greenwell was born on December 9, 1944 in Louisville, Kentucky. He had been married twice; his first wife passed away in 1978 and he later remarried another woman whom he fathered a daughter and son with.
Over his lifetime, Harry Greenwell had several run ins with law enforcement. On January 17, 1963, Greenwell was arrested for armed robbery and later sentenced to 2 years in prison. He was later arrested again in February 1965 in Kentucky for sodomy charges. Greenwell was released again sometime in 1969. He was arrested again on burglary charges in Iowa in 1982. He escaped twice while serving time for this, but was recaptured both times. Greenwell was later released in 1983 and began working as a rail worker.
It is believed the Harry Greenwell’s murder spree began in 1987 with the murder of Vicki Lucille Heath. On February 21, 1987, Greenwell showed up to the Super 8 Motel in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, where Vicki Heath was a night clerk. Greenwell attacked and sexually assaulted Vicki before shooting and killing her. Police later found her body behind a trash bin nearby the hotel.
On March 3, 1989, Greenwell murdered 2 hotel clerks at separate places along I-65. First, 25 year old Margaret Mary Gill, a night worker at the Days Inn in Merrillville, Indiana, was sexually assaulted and shot twice in the head. Her body was later found in a back hallway and $179 was missing from the hotel.
Just 4 hours later in Remington, Indiana, 34 year old Jeanne Gilbert was sexually assaulted and shot while working at a Days Inn hotel. Her body was found by a passing motorist near the roadway, and $247 was missing from the hotel. Law enforcement determined that the same gun, a .22 caliber handgun, was used to kill both women.
On January 2, 1990, a 21 year old Days Inn hotel clerk in Columbus, Indiana was sexually assaulted, stabbed, and robbed while working the night shift. She fortunately survived the attack and was able to provide a description of the attacker. DNA evidence also linked her attacker to the previous murders.
In 1991, another hotel clerk was attacked in Rochester, Minnesota. She also survived her attack and gave a similar description of her attacker. The man was said to be wearing a flannel shirt, blue jeans, and he had a lazy eye. In 2013, DNA from this attack was also matched to the DNA in the other attacks and murders. 2 more unidentified women were also attacked by the I-65 murderer between 1989-1990, and they survived.
The murders of the 3 women and the attacks on the other women remained cold until the DNA of the attacker was submitted in 2008. By 2013, Kentucky State Police officially announced that the 3 murders were linked to the same person and that this was in fact the work of a serial killer. Investigators suspected that the killer was a truck driver or traveling salesman that was between the ages of 55-65.
After the cases remained unsolved for several more years, a match was finally linked to the killer’s DNA. Harry Greenwell’s DNA was linked to a close relative and genetic genealogists were able to determine his DNA to be a 99.999% match to the killer’s. Greenwell was formally announced as the I-65 killer on April 5, 2022. Unfortunately, Greenwell died of cancer in 2013 before he could be charged and convicted of his crimes.
It is unfortunate that 3 people lost their lives, and possibly even more unknown victims, and the killer has gotten away without facing time for these crimes. However, it is positive that the families of victims and surviving victims have some closure knowing that this vicious person has been identified and he can no longer hurt anyone else.
Resources-
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/05/us/i65-killer-indiana-kentucky.html
TRUE CRIME REPORT 
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