The Murder of Chanelle Wells

 

Chanelle Wells was shot to death inside her Indianapolis, Indiana home on July 19th, 2008. The then-29-year-old was born and raised in Indianapolis, and she still lived there at the time of her tragic murder. Chanell shared her residence with her husband, their children, and her cousin. She was very close with her other family members as well, especially her younger sister AshLynne. 

During July 2008, Indianapolis was hosting the annual Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration--a multi-day event full of music, education, and other celebratory events. Chanelle loved to attend this festival, but on July 19th, she stated that she was not interested in the festival's events that evening. Her husband Randy decided to attend the event without her. 

Although Chanelle had decided not to attend the Expo that night, she did not want to stay in that night. There had been recent reports of two separate home invasions in Chanelle's neighborhood that resulted in two women and their children being murdered. Chanelle did not want to be home alone in case intruders decided to break in. She called her sister AshLynne three times in a row but did not receive an answer. After that, Chanelle decided to go to bed early. 

Hours later, Chanelle's fears came true. Intruders broke into her home, and the house was ransacked. Chanelle was shot during the invasion. Her cousin and youngest daughter hid under the bed during the incident and called for help after the intruders left. Paramedics transferred Chanelle to the hospital, where she unfortunately passed away.

Many years have passed, but Chanelle's murder remains unsolved. Police reportedly had two persons of interest at some point throughout the investigation. One of those persons of interest was arrested on unrelated charges and was questioned about Chanelle's murder while behind bars--but investigators were unable to gain any new information in the case. Charges were never filed for either person of interest. The case has since gone cold.

Chanelle's loved ones are hoping to someday find justice. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department asks that anyone with information that could help the investigation to please contact (317) 327-3811.

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Sources:
Fox 59
Project Cold Case
WISH-TV