On March 31, 2018, police found the bodies of 39-year-old Heather Rayner and her companion, 52-year-old Manuel Frank Alfaro inside a residence in New Chicago, Indiana, near Hobart. Both had fatal gunshot wounds, and investigators quickly concluded the killings were targeted rather than random.

Evidence at the scene and witness statements pointed police toward a dispute over a drug debt as the possible motive. The Lake County Sheriff’s Department assisted New Chicago Police in reconstructing events and identifying a suspect. In February 2019 authorities arrested 26-year-old Teal L. Cross of Hammond and charged Cross with two counts of murder, alleging Cross went to the home to collect on a debt and a confrontation turned deadly.

By July 2019 prosecutors moved to dismiss the murder charges, citing delays in DNA processing and other evidentiary problems; the dismissal was without prejudice. Are there readers who knew Heather Rayner or have information about the events of March 31, 2018?