Motive Unclear In Gruesome Fatal StabbingKosciusko County Coroner Tony Ciriello called Monday’s brutal murder north of Warsaw the most violent he’s seen.
David Strowder Jr., 21, Elkhart, was found fatally injured along CR 300N Monday night, suffering from 63 stab wounds.
His roommate, Derrick Wandrick, 23, who is from Harvey, Ill., has been charged with the murder.
Authorities on Friday held a press conference where they expressed confidence in the evidence against Wandrick that includes a knife found under a shoeprint.
But the violent nature of Monday’s attack came into focus Friday when an autopsy indicated Strowder died from more than five dozen knife wounds.
“Since 2014 till current, we’ve had seven homicides in this county, including this one. This was the most violent of injuries that I’ve seen of any of those that I’ve been involved with,” Ciriello said Friday.
Strowder was found stabbed on the side of road near CR 300N about 7:30 p.m. Monday. He was transported to Kosciusko Community Hospital where he died later that night.
“Usually stab wounds, especially when you get this many, are more personal than they are a random thing. So, it tells us that the attack probably was some type of personal nature,” Ciriello said.
The lead detective on the case, Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Todd Sautter, said they believe the murder weapon was a 6- to 8-inch kitchen knife.
The knife was “under a shoe print,” according to court records.
Sautter said they have “their main suspect in custody” at this point.
Wandrick had been staying with Strowder and his sister in Elkhart for a few weeks, Sautter said. The two men had some sort of family connection, but those details remain unclear, Sautter said.
Wandrick and Strowder were in Strowder’s Jeep Monday night in Warsaw when some kind of altercation began.
Sautter added he was confident the stabbing took place inside the Jeep and near CR 300N.
Strowder was found unconscious by a witness, who provided a description of the Jeep to police.
Witnesses told police they saw Wandrick cleaning the Jeep with bleach water in?Warsaw. near where they found a buried knife.
Police later found the Jeep in Elkhart, with an apparent knife cut in the passenger seat and blood on the center console.
Police say Wandrick admitted to driving the Jeep to Warsaw and back to?Elkhart.
Police tracked Wandrick through information provided by Strowder’s family who they said provided authorities with two shirts covered in blood.
The family also provided shoes that matched the tread of a shoe print left at the scene.
Police said the family was instrumental in apprehending Wandrick.
“Without the family’s cooperation, this case would have been tough,” Sautter said.
Sautter said they are still unclear on a motive.
“We have some ideas, but I’m not going to speculate until we have evidence,” Sautter said.
Sautter thanked Elkhart City Police Department for assistance with the case.
Shortly after the press conference, Wandrick made an initial court appearance in Kosciusko Circuit Court.
Judge Michael Reed entered a not guilty plea on Wandrick’s behalf and set a status conference for Nov. 27 and pre-trial hearing Jan. 8.
Reed appointed public defender Scott Lennox to represent Wandrick.
Murder convictions carry a penalty of 45 to 65 years in Indiana.
