Authorities arrest Hamilton County suspect for murder of man missing since 1992

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — A 53-year-old suspect has been charged with the murder of a man missing from Hamilton County since 1992, authorities said Tuesday afternoon.

Tony J. Bledsoe, of Arcadia, was 24 years old when he was reported missing by his wife on March 16, 1992, from Arcadia. His remains were found April 3, 1992, at a dump on Putnam County Road 900 West just south of U.S. 40. County Road 900 West is the border of Parke and Putnam counties. The rural area about 4 miles east of the city of Brazil.

Bledsoe was last seen leaving home in a gray 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass with the license plate “TJSTOY.”

The body was missing its head, hands and feet. DNA evidence helped investigators to identify the body.

Thomas L. Anderson Jr., of Arcadia, was arrested Tuesday, and a murder charge was filed against him in Hamilton Circuit Court.

Indiana State Police say the investigation is not concluded.

The case received renewed scrutiny in October when the Atlanta Town Hall, in northern Hamilton County, was targeted in a state police investigation. Atlanta officials at the time put Andy Emmert, who serves as its utility superintendent and building commissioner, on administrative leave. Emmert’s home also was part of a state police search at the same time as the Town Hall.

Court documents in Anderson’s case say state police in 2018 and 2019 reopened the case. Anderson’s nephew, Scottie Anderson, told investigators his uncle said that he and Emmert had witnessed “the entire thing.”

Indiana State Police Lt. Terry Joshua Watson wrote in Anderson’s probable cause document about a Sept. 4, 2019, interview including Scottie and Arcadia Police Chief Todd Ulrick. “Scottie told us the entire thing was over Tony hassling Andy about a stolen car. Scottie told us Tommy brought Tony over to Andy’s house and Andy shot Tony in the head with a shotgun. Scottie then told us Andy and Tommy cut up Tony’s body and dumped it off bridges all over the state of Indiana. They cut off his head, hands, and feet and put them in a bucket full of concrete.”

Thomas Anderson has spoke with investigators three times since September 2019, court documents say. He told investigators that he and Emmert had been friends since elementary school, and they’d lived in the same duplex along State Road 19 in Noblesville in the early 1990s.

• Police investigation targets small Hamilton County town

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