LaPorte woman found stabbed, beaten in car in Gary
by Lori Caldwell lcaldwell@post-trib.com July 19, 2011 4:06PM

Updated: July 20, 2011 2:02AM

GARY — A LaPorte County woman found dead in a Brunswick nature preserve late Monday night had been brutally assaulted, officials said Tuesday.

Christine Lee Arnold, 23, daughter of LaPorte-area businessman Ed Arnold, had been stabbed and beaten and died from blunt force trauma to her head and neck, Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner P.J. Adams said.

Patrolman Monte Davis found the victim in the back seat of her leased maroon Mercedes-Benz that was still running when officers arrived about 9 p.m.

A Brunswick resident reported a possible crash involving a car hitting a fence near 4th Avenue and Hamlin Street in the Ivanhoe Forest Preserve.

Arnold was slumped over in the back seat and was pronounced dead at the scene.

In March 2010, the victim’s father was charged with battery when he intervened in an argument between his daughter and her ex-boyfriend. Ed Arnold is a former owner of the Michigan City Yacht Club.

Gary police Detective Cpl. Jeffery Hornyak and investigators from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources are working on the homicide.

Woman found dead in bloody car in Gary

By Pete Nickeas pete.nickeas@nwi.com, (219) 933-4183 | Posted: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 7:00 pm | (37)

Lindsay Machak | The Times
Department of Natural Resources officers, Gary police and Lake County officials begin to search for clues in a car where a woman's body was found Monday night. The car was transported on a flatbed from a Gary forest preserve to the Lake County crime garage.
GARY | Police have identified the beaten and bloodied body of a 23-year-old woman discovered slumped inside a Mercedes-Benz late Monday in Gary.
Christine Lee Arnold, formerly of LaPorte, was found dead in the back seat, according to a police report.
She died of blunt force trauma and a laceration to the neck sustained in an apparent homicide, according to Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner PJ Adams.
The car was found sitting in the Ivanhoe Nature Preserve in the 400 block of Hamlin Street. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is leading the investigation, officials said.
Arnold had moved to New Buffalo Township, Mich. Authorities were conducting a search warrant at her current residence Tuesday afternoon, a DNR officer said.
The car Arnold was found in belongs to her father, who lives in LaPorte, DNR Officer Gene Davis said.
Gary Officer Simon Lillie said a concerned resident called police after noticing the vehicle, which appeared to have knocked down a fence before coming to a stop.
The car still was running when police arrived, and the first responding officer could see blood splatters on the back seat of the car, police said.
Officials are asking anyone with information about this case to call DNR investigators at (219) 879-5710.
Times staff writer Lindsay Machak contributed to this report.


Read more: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/ga...l#ixzz1SkEohgow

LaPorte – Investigators released more information Thursday about a LaPorte County woman found brutally murdered in Gary. Indiana Department of Natural Resources spokesman Gene Davis told WSBT they’ve identified a second scene related to the murder about three miles from the Gary nature preserve where Christine Arnold’s body was found.

Davis stopped short of saying where that scene is, but investigators believe that is where the majority of the violence against Arnold, 23, took place.

People who live in the small town where she grew up still have a lot of questions about why it happened and where the investigation stands.

“It’s been really shocking,” said Michelle Lilly, who went to LaPorte High School with Arnold. “I used to see her around town.”

“It’s a local girl and it’s too bad,” added Jim Foglesong, who knows of the Arnold family. “I feel sorry for the family.”

Davis wouldn’t say when and where investigators believe Arnold was seen last, but people who live near a Gary nature preserve where her body was found told investigators a car crashed through a chain-link fence at the preserve around 7 Monday night. Her beaten and stabbed body was found inside the still-running car at 9 p.m. Monday.

Davis said investigators are almost positive Arnold died sometime between one in the afternoon and nine Monday night.

Court records show Arnold had some trouble in the past. She was arrested for drunk driving and possession of marijuana in 2008, and again for driving drunk in 2009. But her family told investigators the 23-year-old had made great attempts to turn her life around.

“She just always seemed to have a lot of friends and was always around people,” said Lilly, who didn’t know Arnold well.

As a community tries to cope with what happened to the young woman, so many questions remain unanswered.

“There are really too many questions to ask,” said Nathan Ungrodt of LaPorte. How many people were involved? Was it personal? Was it just random? Would that kind of thing happen to just anybody? What would bring a person to do something like that? I don't get it.”

Davis told WSBT there were no suspects in the murder investigation, but he said detectives are waiting on forensic evidence to return from the crime lab, which could take some time. Arnold recently moved to New Buffalo, and investigators went there hoping to find some clues into her murder, but Davis said they would not find anything to indicate she left there against her will. He said they still aren’t sure how or why she ended up in Gary.

Christine Arnold’s family is well known in LaPorte County. Her parents used to own the former Michigan City Yacht Club and her mom, Deb Arnold, is a former Center Township Trustee. Deb told WSBT Thursday the family does not wish to comment on her daughter’s death at this time.

Detectives from both the Gary Police Department and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources are investigating. Police are asking anyone with information about Christine Arnold's murder to call (219) 879-5710.

No suspects identified in stabbing

By Matt Fritz
Staff writer
1-866-362-2167 Ext. 13887
mfritz@heraldargus.com
Published: Friday, July 29, 2011 5:06 PM CDT
GARY — No suspects have yet been identified in the murder of a 23-year-old woman who's body was found in a Gary nature preserve last week.

But the scene where the crime initially took place is believed to have been found.

Gene Davis, Indiana Department of Natural Resources conservation officer, said there has been nothing new to report Thursday except for the location of a second scene of the crime about a mile and quarter from the nature preserve.

He said this is where it's believed the crime actually happened. The woman was then carried to the car and transported to the nature preserve.

The victim, Christine Arnold, is the daughter of Ed and Deb Arnold, who own Hampton Inn along Indiana 39 at the Indiana Toll Road north of La Porte. The Arnolds also used to own the former Michigan City Yacht Club.

The car Christine was transported in crashed through an 8-foot-tall chain-link fence and traveled about 150 yards into the nature preserve before coming to a stop last week.

The woman's beaten and stabbed body was discovered in the vehicle two hours later. The car was still running.