David Krawczenia, 48, was an automotive wholesaler from Portage who worked with mechanic Thomas R. Smith at All About Auto in Gary. Over time Krawczenia financed Smith’s shop expenses, and by the fall of 2014 Smith owed him about $16,000. On November 1, 2014, Krawczenia went to the shop to settle the debt; that was the last time his family saw him.

Two weeks after he was reported missing, Krawczenia’s body was found in the trunk of his own vehicle left at an apartment complex in Griffith. The remains were dismembered and missing the head and arms. A coworker later testified that Smith had confessed the same day Krawczenia disappeared, saying he shot Krawczenia in the back of the head while the victim was cleaning spent fireworks from a trunk, then put the body in the car and moved it outside.

Thomas R. Smith was charged, tried, convicted of murder and in April 2018 was sentenced to 60 years in prison; he denied committing the killing and his defense said it would appeal. Did anyone who knew either man notice unusual activity at the Gary shop around November 1, 2014?