MARSHALL COUNTY, Ind. — After more than four decades, a heartbroken family now has renewed hope of catching a killer. 28-year-old Darlene Hulse was home in rural Marshall County with her girls, 41 years ago this Sunday, when a man posing as a delivery driver forced his way inside, then kidnapped and killed the young mom.
Now, the Indiana State Police are taking a fresh look at the cold case and using some new technology to try to solve it.
ABC57’s Annie Kate spoke face-to-face in an exclusive interview with the cold case detective handling this investigation, Arthur Smith.
“Somebody knows something,” Smith said.
Smith has taken over Darlene’s case since ISP’s cold case unit was formed about a year and a half ago, he said. It’s this thought, that somebody knows something, that has once again spurred renewed calls to the public for help in the unsolved murder.
“Someone knows something, whether they know something about a family member, former associate, a friend, a coworker, they know something,” Smith said. “And I’m asking, no matter how small that information may be, whether they think it’s nothing, if it pops in their head, please share it with us.”
It’s a case that’s been cold for 41 years, and Darlene’s youngest daughter, Kristen Rooks, is about to turn 42 years old. Her memories of her mom are through stories and photos and her search for answers.
“Darlene Hulse was my mother, and I was the 11-month-old baby that was left behind,” Rooks said.
It was Aug. 17, 1984, when the 28-year-old mother was ripped from her home, ripped from her three daughters, and murdered.
The killer has never been named, but the woman who was forced to grow up without her mother has never stopped demanding answers.
“I feel more hopeful right now than I ever have,” Rooks said.
That hope, she says, is because of Detective Smith.
“With new technology, we’re going to follow up with tips and leads with that technology,” Smith said. “If we need to look further into somebody, we’re going to do so, or eliminate them, which is just as important.”
He explained they are going back to old leads.
“Absolutely, doing follow-up interviews, rereading the case file, which is very large, a lot of names, a lot of stuff to look at. Trying to track people down, which can be an endeavor in and of itself.”
Smith couldn’t tell ABC57 much, such as what kind of technology ISP is now using to investigate, but he, too, thinks they are closer to finding the killer than ever.
“Do you have hope or renewed optimism that this actually could get solved?” Annie Kate asked.
“Absolutely, I do,” Smith replied. “We’re going to keep working to track these leads down, follow up on them, and I think we will find the answers. I’m very hopeful.”
Darlene’s husband and daughters have long since moved away from Indiana, but she remains near Argos, buried at the Maple Grove Cemetery.
Rooks even took her own daughters to her mom’s grave this year.
“How has this impacted the way that you think about and view motherhood?” Annie Kate asked Rooks.
“It’s a gift,” she said. “I’m so lucky that I have four girls that I can be a helicopter parent to.”
Rooks wants answers for herself, unsure if closure really exists, but she also wants answers for her sisters and father, now in his old age.
“Hopefully, try to help give him answers before it’s too late,” Rooks said.
It’s answers that Smith says the community, and this family, deserve.
“We will take any help that we can. Darlene’s family and the community deserve that,” he said.
ISP re-released the sketch of the suspect in the case, and a photo of the beat-up old car the suspect was apparently driving, hoping it jogs someone’s memory and prompts action.
“Deep down I feel like somebody knows something, nobody can walk away with such a brutal attack, and not come home and somebody see, know something,” Rooks said. “Help somebody out. Help hide a car, help get rid of clothes. I’m just begging, please do the right thing and come forward.”
ISP is urging the public to come forward with any information on this case. No detail is too small, they told ABC57.
The ISP cold case hotline is 833-466-2653. The public can also email tips to [email protected], or report anonymously to CrimeStoppers at (574) 288-STOP.
