Former Atlanta Town Employee Arrested in 1992 Murder Case
Former Atlanta Town Employee Arrested in 1992 Murder of Tony Bledsoe
ATLANTA, Ind.–State Police announced on Thursday that they have arrested a former Hamilton County employee in the 1992 murder of Tony Bledsoe.
“We’re here today to announce the arrest of 55-year-old Steven Andrew Emmert also known as Andy Emmert of Atlanta, Indiana for his alleged role in the murder of Tony Bledsoe in 1992,” said State Police Sergeant John Perrine in a Thursday news conference. Emmert was booked into the Hamilton County Jail on a preliminary charge of murder.
Over the years, details began coming out about how Emmert dismembered Bledsoe’s body. Emmert was the utility superintendent and building commissioner until he was terminated in May 2025.
Bledsoe left his home on March 16, 1992 with $8 in his pocket and a gas tank that was nearly empty in his Oldsmobile Cutlass and disappeared. In May 2025, Thomas Anderson was arrested in the case.
“In 2018, the State Police received information about this case that evolved it from a missing person’s case into a murder investigation,” said Perrine.
Court documents show that Anderson pinned Bledsoe’s death on Andy Emmert.
Anderson said both he and Emmert stole a car in Racine, Wisconsin, and brought it back to Atlanta, Indiana. They then stripped the vehicle of its stereo. Anderson then said Emmert traded the stolen stereo equipment to Bledsoe for auto parts. Court documents say Bledsoe found out the parts were stolen and became angry. Anderson said Bledsoe demanded Emmert return his auto parts and even threatened to go to the police.
Investigators say Anderson and Bledsoe went to Emmert’s house to get Bledsoe’s car parts back. That’s when Anderson told investigators that Emmert shot and stabbed Bledsoe.
On March 16, 1992, Bledsoe was reported missing by his family from Arcadia. Police now believe that is the same day he was killed.
Then, on April 3, 1992, human remains were located in Putnam County, near the Clay County line. That case was given to the Indiana State Police and went unsolved. In 2018, DNA helped prove that those remains were Bledsoe.
“To the victim’s loved ones, we see you, we remember you, and we remain committed to pursuing justice,” said Hamilton County Prosecutor Josh Kocher.
Atlanta is a town in Jackson Township and is located in Hamilton County. The population was 712 at the 2020 census.
