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were looking for.
    One of the first clues that emerged became a good possibility that Melissa’s attacker scaled a utility pole conduit running up alongside her balcony. The electrical boxes were bulky enough, sticking out of the outside apartment complex sidewall far enough, and also low enough to the ground, where Melissa’s attacker could have jumped up on one of them, grabbed hold of the conduit, and easily pulled himself up and onto Melissa’s balcony. In fact, along the pole was a bloody smudge, which gave the indication that he had possibly exited this same way.
    A blood smear on the utility pole conduit outside Melissa’s balcony indicates her attacker might have used the same pole to enter her apartment—he certainly used it to exit. The three following images display the position of the utility pole in relation to Melissa’s apartment balcony. ( Photos courtesy of Marion County Prosecutor’s Office )

    Inside Melissa’s apartment investigators found a kitchen drawer open—and realized her attacker had likely used a knife he took from Melissa’s apartment to stab her. He hadn’t brought his own weapon with him.
    Upon further checking the apartment, investigators uncovered a serrated steak knife on the floor near streaks of smeared blood.
    The assault weapon!
    Investigators uncovered fingerprints and blood smears, spatter and blood droplets, all over Melissa’s apartment. The amount of blood and how ransacked the apartment appeared displayed the horror of the attack. Whoever this perp was, he had come into the apartment on a mission to cause as much harm to Melissa as possible—maybe even murder her. There was no doubt he had planned to hurt her as bad as he could. And if that was the case, the Marion County Sheriff ’s Department knew it had a crazed, bloodthirsty maniac on the loose—an assailant willing to do whatever was necessary to get inside an apartment and attack females.
    The knife Melissa’s attacker took from her kitchen drawer and used to stab her repeatedly in the face. ( Photos courtesy of Marion County Prosecutor’s Office )
    The other questions that came out of this early part of the investigation at Melissa’s apartment were: How did her attacker know she was alone? How could he know that inside her apartment wasn’t a 250-pound linebacker sleeping next to Melissa? If he was simply just taking a chance, it was quite a gamble. Seasoned investigators knew that skilled serial rapists and serial attackers don’t take chances like that. They did other things in order learn about potential victims, instead.
    So, had he stalked Melissa? Had he known her every move? Had he known, for example, that her male roommate had moved out recently?
    A fingerprint and several blood smears attest to the absolute horror Melissa went through, as well as the clumsiness of the attacker, who left behind key pieces of evidence. ( Photos courtesy of Marion County Prosecutor’s Office )

CHAPTER 14
    HOME
    There was no way Melissa could go back to her apartment. The horror of what she left behind would be too much to endure, especially so soon after the attack.
    â€œWhen I finally left the hospital after four days, I went to my grandmother’s in Anderson, Indiana,” Melissa recalled. “I thought that would be my safe haven. But my grandmother really didn’t grasp how afraid I was to be alone, especially at night. She, unfortunately, was [not completely healthy herself] and would sometimes leave the house and leave the keys in the front door.”
    Melissa found comfort in television. She still “refused” to fall asleep and would generally drift off during the daytime, taking extended naps when she felt safe.
    â€œI decided to watch a lot of TV, but couldn’t stomach watching anything dramatic.”
    Thus, Melissa turned to Comedy Central, which was on twenty-four hours a day.

    I also decided to go back to work