'Truck-stop serial killer' convicted of killing woman in Indianapolis

By Jason Ronimous

'Truck-stop serial killer' convicted of killing woman in Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) -- 73-year-old Bruce Mendenhall, dubbed the "Truck Stop Serial Killer" was convicted in a Marion County courtroom for the 2007 murder of an Indianapolis woman.

Carma Purpura, who was 31 at the time, was last seen by a witness near Mendenhall's semi-trailer at the Flying J truck stop on the south side of Indianapolis. Her body was found four years later on the side of an interstate in Kentucky.

Shortly after the murder, a Tennessee police officer pulled Mendenhall over in his big rig. The police officer noticed blood in the cab and a bag of bloody clothes.

After searching the truck, police found Purpura's ATM card and a receipt from an Indianapolis gas station.

Mendenhall told police that Purpura in the back of the head at the Flying J in Indianapolis and put into a vehicle. He also described the bloody clothing in the bag found in his truck.

Mendenhall has denied killing Purpura. Police say the blood in Mendenhall's truck was a DNA match to DNA provided by Purpura's parents.

The trail started Monday, with the jury reaching a verdict Wednesday afternoon.

Police say Mendenhall is responsible for several killings across the country that closely resemble the circumstances surrounding Purpura's murder.

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