HUNTINGTON COUNTY, Indiana (WLIO) – Indiana State Police say that they have solved the cold case murder of a Van Wert native.
The state police say that they have identified the man they believe was the killer of 23-year-old Angela Saco back in 1997. Saco, who was originally from Van Wert, was found stabbed to death on the property of the Huntington County, Indiana Reservoir on December 21st, 1997. She was living in Fort Wayne and was last seen at work in the early morning hours of the 21st. Saco left behind a 2-year-old son.
Over the last two years, the Indiana State Police’s Cold Case Unit has been working with and testing DNA that was found at the crime scene. In February of this year, forensic genetic genealogists identified Stephen Shlater as candidate, and he was later confirmed as the person who left behind DNA at the scene. He was 50 years old at the time of the murder and had just been released from federal prison on another case five months before. He died in 2021.
Stephen Shlater.
Huntington County prosecutor Jeremy Nix says that Shlater would have been charged with murder if still alive today.
May 27, 2026, Press Release from the Indiana State Police:
Huntington County, IN – Indiana State Police Cold Case Unit has identified the killer from a 1997 cold case. On Sunday December 21st, 1997, 23-year-old Angela Saco was found deceased on Huntington County Reservoir property off County Road 100 East north of County Road 100 South in Huntington County. The Huntington County Coroner’s Office, Huntington County Sheriff’s Department, Indiana Conservation Officers, and the Indiana State Police responded to the scene and a murder investigation ensued. An autopsy later confirmed the cause of death was stab wounds.
Witnesses reported that Angela was last seen at her place of employment in Fort Wayne during the early morning hours of December 21, 1997. Angela lived in Fort Wayne and had a 2-year-old son.
Nearly 100 people were interviewed during the initial investigation; however, detectives were unable to develop enough probable cause to charge anyone with Saco’s murder. As the years passed, law enforcement continued to investigate the case. The Indiana State Police spent extensive time over the next twenty-nine years continuing the investigation.
In 2024, the Indiana State Police formed their Cold Case Unit, and a renewed focus was placed on Saco’s murder utilizing advancements in DNA testing. Twenty-eight years after Saco’s murder, evidentiary items collected and preserved at the crime scene were submitted for testing with Identifinders International, a forensic genealogy company in California founded by Colleen Fitzpatrick. A DNA profile was developed using Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) DNA testing. In February 2026, forensic genetic genealogists identified Stephen L. Shlater as a candidate suspect; he was later confirmed through STR testing as the contributor of the DNA at the crime scene. Stephen L. Shlater was 50-years-old at the time Angela Saco was murdered. Ironically, he had been released from federal prison on another case in the Spring of 1997, just five months before Angela’s murder. Shlater died in 2021 in Huntington County. His last known residence was in Markle, Indiana.
Huntington County Prosecutor Jeremy Nix advised that if Stephen L. Shlater were alive today, he would be charged with the murder of Angela Saco. Colleen Fitzpatrick stated, “Identifinders International is proud to have supported the Indiana State Police to bring long overdue answers to Angela’s family. This case is another example of a case that would have not been solved without the use of forensic genetic genealogy.”
The conclusion of this case again demonstrates the tenacity of the Indiana State Police Cold Case Unit seeking answers for victims and their families. The professionalism and expertise displayed by the initial responding law enforcement officers of the Huntington County Sheriff’s Department, Indiana Conservation Officers, and Indiana State Police preserved evidence that yielded answers nearly three decades after Angela Saco’s tragic death. The work ethic of detectives from the agencies combined with the assistance of numerous witnesses, the Huntington County Coroner’s Office, the Huntington County Prosecutor’s Office, plus advancements in scientific technology enabled the detectives from the Indiana State Police Cold Case Unit to assemble the pieces of this nearly thirty-year-old puzzle.
