“Truck Stop Killer” Gets 65 Years in Prison for Indianapolis Murder

Source: WISH-TV

INDIANAPOLIS–Bruce Mendenhall, the man known as “The Truck Stop Killer”, was sentenced to 65 years in prison for the 2007 murder of an Indianapolis woman.

A Marion County judge imposed that sentence on Mendenhall Monday. Police say Mendenhall killed Carma Purpura. Purpura, 31, disappeared from a Flying J truck stop on the south side of Indianapolis. Her body was discovered in near an interstate in Kentucky four years after her disappearance.

Mendenhall was convicted of killing Purpura in January. He remains accused of murder in Birmingham, Alabama and is a suspect in several homicides across the country.  

“The prosecution’s case, underscoring the use of advanced forensic techniques that uncovered decisive evidence, with Marion County Deputy Prosecutors collaborating with law enforcement in four different states, proved compelling to the jury. Key elements included forensic evidence, eyewitness accounts, and a confession that linked Mendenhall to a series of heinous crimes,” said Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears in a Monday news release. 

Purpura was a mother of two when she died.

“During the trial, the courtroom bore witness to the harrowing details of the crime while forensic experts highlighted techniques that led to the discovery of crucial evidence. The guilty verdict marks a significant moment in the fight against crimes that often span jurisdictions and evade detection,” said Mears.