The LaSalle Street Murders: An Unsolved Triple Homicide in Indianapolis

The Discovery of the Triple Homicide

• 🩸 On December 1st, 1971, three Indianapolis businessmen—Robert Gery, Robert Henson, and James Barker—were found dead in a house on LaSalle Street.
• 🔪 The victims were discovered bound with their throats cut, a brutal scene that shocked the initial responding officer.
• 🔍 The bodies were found in different rooms: Henson in the front bedroom, Gery in a back bedroom, and Barker in the bathroom between them.
• 💥 The coroner determined the men were killed between 10 PM and 2 AM, likely after being bludgeoned, suffering skull fractures, and having their necks stretched before their throats were cut.

Potential Motives and Suspects

• 🏢 The victims had recently left their jobs at Record Security Corporation to start their own business, BNB Microfilm Service Company, leading police to investigate their former employer, Ted Uland.
• 💰 Uland had a significant motive as the victims allegedly stole clients, equipment, and money, and he held $150,000 in life insurance policies on Gery and Henson, which were set to expire within a week of the murders.
• 💔 Another theory explored was a crime of passion, stemming from the victims' alleged contest to sleep with as many women as possible, evidenced by a scorecard found in their house.
• 🚗 Witnesses reported seeing suspicious vehicles near the house in the days leading up to the murders, including a yellow Oldsmobile and a cream-colored car with three men inside.

Investigations and Dead Ends

• 🕵️ Freelance journalist Carol Schultz became deeply involved in the case, conducting extensive interviews and uncovering potential suspects, including an underworld figure and a Teamsters thug.
• 🗣️ A key, albeit unreliable, witness, Floyd Michael Chastain, initially claimed he and Carol Horton (ex-husband of one victim's ex-girlfriend) committed the murders, but later recanted his statements.
• 🚫 The case faced significant setbacks due to lost evidence, the recantation of key witnesses, and alleged interference by Schultz, leading to the dismissal of charges against Horton and Chastain in 1996.

The Harbison Letter and Lingering Questions

• ✉️ In 2001, a letter surfaced from Fred Harbison, claiming Ted Uland hired him to kill Gery and Henson for insurance money, and he killed Barker because he unexpectedly showed up.
• 🚗 Harbison's letter corroborated the presence of a yellow car and mentioned burying his boots, but with both Uland and Harbison deceased, the lead could not be fully pursued.
• ❓ Despite Harbison's letter potentially providing answers, the case remains officially unsolved, with all primary suspects deceased, leaving the true events of the LaSalle Street murders a mystery.