Edward Russell Jr., of Gary, a Westville Correctional Facility inmate already facing four pending murder charges, is now accused in a fifth homicide after investigators said DNA testing linked him to the 2001 stabbing death of Tonya Renee Armstrong.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Armstrong was reported missing on March 7, 2001, after her boyfriend returned to their apartment in the 500 block of East 5th Avenue and found the door damaged, rooms in disarray and blood on a bedspread.
The following morning, Armstrong’s body was discovered inside a hall closet in a vacant apartment across the hallway. Investigators reported smelling bleach and finding an empty bleach bottle on her body. An autopsy determined Armstrong suffered two stab wounds to the chest that injured her heart and right lung. Her death was ruled a homicide.
Investigators said Russell performed maintenance work at the apartment building and had access to the property around the time of the killing. Witnesses also reportedly identified him as someone who frequented the building and knew Armstrong.
During prison interviews in 2025, Russell repeatedly discussed Armstrong’s death and accused several family members of participating in the killing or moving her body. Those individuals denied the allegations, and investigators said they found no evidence corroborating Russell’s claims.
The investigation advanced after the FBI analyzed DNA recovered from beneath Armstrong’s fingernails. According to court documents, DNA from her right-hand fingernail clippings was 640 trillion times more likely to have originated from Russell and an unknown person than from two unknown, unrelated individuals. The examiner reported the results provided very strong support for Russell’s inclusion as a contributor.
Investigators described Armstrong’s killing as the fifth stabbing homicide linked to Russell between March 2001 and February 2002. The five killings allegedly occurred within several blocks of one another east of downtown Gary.
Remains lodged in Westville Correctional Facility for a different criminal case.
Pending Charges:
Murder — 4 counts filed July 2, 2025
Murder — 1 count filed July 20, 2026, in connection with Armstrong’s death
