Parents of Baby Hope from 1994 Franklin cold case identified

FRANKLIN, Ind. (WISH) — The biological parents of an unidentified baby girl found murdered in a Franklin park in 1994 have finally been identified.

Franklin Police Chief Kirby Cochran, along with other investigators, made the announcement Monday morning.

Around 5 p.m. April 13, 1994, two kids looking for recyclables while walking home from school found Hope’s body in a trash can at Temple Park.

Hope’s cause of death was determined to be multiple stab wounds, and manner of death was ruled as homicide.

Franklin PD and the community rallied together to name the infant Hope, and the city collected donations to give Hope a proper funeral.

Despite following leads, investigators could not find Hope’s parents or any suspects. Her case went cold until being reopened in 2019.

Finally, using DNA technology, Hope’s mother was identified as Cheryl Larson. Larson and her then husband Richard lived near Temple Park around the time Hope died. Unfortunately, Cheryl Larson passed away in 2018 and could not be interviewed, police say.

Richard Larson, though, was found not to be Hope’s father. Detectives interviewed Cheryl Larson’s neighbors, friends, and family from the time, eventually identifying Hope’s father as Paul Shepherd. Shepherd has worked with detectives throughout the remainder of the investigation.

He was also given the opportunity to name his daughter, choosing the name “Hope Shepherd.”

Investigators say given the circumstances and inability to interview Cheryl Larson, formal charges will not be filed.

Lt. Chris Tennell, investigations commander over Hope’s case, says that her death is not a closed investigation, and adds if new information comes forward, the matter will be reconsidered.

“While we remain deeply saddened by the tragic and unjust lost of Baby Hope, we are grateful to achieve some degree of closure after 31 years,” Tennell said.

Paul Shepherd wrote in an impact statement that he was shocked to learn that Baby Hope was his daughter, adding he was unaware that Cheryl Larson was pregnant or became pregnant during their brief relationship. Below is his full impact statement:

Paul Shepherd was shocked and grieved to learn that the child known as Hope was his child. Mr. Shepherd was completely unaware that a woman with whom he had a brief relationship with was pregnant with his or anyone’s child. He first became aware that the child was his after voluntarily providing a DNA sample to police. The shock of this revelation was overwhelming and continues to be so still today.

Mr. Shepherd continues to struggle with the grief which has exacerbated his health conditions and from which he can find no relief. The very thought that a child fathered by him was subjected to such evil is one he cannot escape from.

Please understand the anguish this causes him and his family and the pain any discussion of the matter brings. He has no answers which shed any light on the murder of his child and no relief from the grief he endures from the unknown. Please respect the privacy of he and his family, it only brings them more suffering.

Paul R. Shepherd

Only publicly accessible genealogy data was used in identifying Hope.

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