Indiana University student Jill Behrman, 19, disappeared May 31, 2000, while riding her bicycle in her hometown of Bloomington. Nearly three years later, investigators found remains they confirmed to be those of the missing student. On Oct. 30, 2006, after only 50 minutes of deliberation, a jury found John R. Myers II guilty of her murder.
On the day she vanished, Behrman left home about 9 a.m.but failed to show up at work that afternoon. She was last seen riding her bicycle at 9:30 in the area of Harrell Road and Moffett Lane on Bloomington's southeastside.
Her bicycle was found undamaged June 2, 2000, in an area just a few miles north of Bloomington's Stout Creek.
Police, friends and family staged an area wide search for Behrman for any clues to her disappearance. The following day, lacking further clues, police suspended the search for Behrman and focused on their theory that she had been abducted.
Behrman's parents, Eric and Marilyn Behrman, Indiana University and others offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. More than 10 FBI agents and profilers joined in the investigation.
On the one-year anniversary of her disappearance, with no solid leads, the reward was increased to $100,000. The additional money was raised among senior university officials, who provided $10,000 each to the reward fund.
On March 9, 2003, skeletal remains were found by a turkey hunter and his son in a Morgan County field. Four days later, after comparing Behrman's dental records with the teeth found at the scene, investigators confirmed that Behrman's remains had been found.
But the discovery also meant that investigators had been way off base in their previous focus on Salt Creek, which was 25 miles away from the new crime scene.
In March 2006, a grand jury was convened to investigate Behrman's death and on April 9, John Robert Myers II was arrested after being indicted for murder.
Myers trial began Oct. 16, in Martinsville and, for the first time, it was revealed that Jill died after a close-range blast to the back of the head by a shotgun.
Prosecutors, as I reported from inside the trial, said Myers' guilty conscience did him in.
After two weeks of emotional testimony, Myers was found guilty of Behrman's murder (here's the PDF version of the Web story that I authored during the course of the day.) Jurors credited a visit to the place where Behrman's body was found and the testimony of Myers' family for their quick decision to convict.
