HAMMOND, Ind. – More than a decade after the gruesome murder of a 13-year-old Indiana girl, investigators are still trying to solve the case.
Alexandra Anaya, known as “Alex” to friends and family, was reported missing from her home on Aug. 13, 2005. Her mother was the last person to see her.
Three days later, boaters on the Little Calumet River in Chicago found her parts of her dismembered body floating in the water. Her torso had been weighted down with chains and strapped to the bottom of the river. Her head and other appendages were never found.
Despite an exhaustive investigation, police from Chicago and Hammond haven’t caught her killer.
“We believe this was not a random act of violence and that Alex knew her assailant,” said FBI Chicago Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Anderson. “It has been more than a decade since Alex was murdered, and during that time people and relationships have changed. We are hopeful that someone will come forward now.”
Chicago’s recently established Homicide Initiative Task Force is now reviewing the case. The FBI and Chicago Police Department launched the task force in April. It aims to give local authorities additional resources to solve some of Chicago’s most violent crimes. That support includes enhanced DNA testing, telephone record analysis, surveillance and FBI profilers.
In Alex’s case, investigators have been reviewing leads and re-interviewing people. Special Agent Courtney Corbett said DNA in the case has been well preserved and said advanced investigative techniques will be used to analyze it.
“We want to bring justice to Alex and other victims like her, and their families,” Corbett said. “To do that—and to ultimately reduce the homicide rate in Chicago—we all have to work together.”
Anyone with information on the case—no matter how insignificant they think a piece of information may be—should contact the FBI’s Chicago Field Office at (312) 421-6700 or submit a tip online.
