On the night of February 12, 1988, James Preston Cromwell, 34, was found dead in Hammond, Indiana, alongside his colleague Walter Muvich. Both men had suffered multiple injuries that indicated a violent struggle and led investigators to conclude they were homicide victims.

Investigators pursued the case for years with little progress until a breakthrough in 1998 led to the arrest of William Benirschke, an employee of the janitorial service owned by Cromwell and Muvich. Authorities said Benirschke harbored a grievance about being shortchanged on pay, confronted the men with a .22 rifle, shot Muvich multiple times and then shot Cromwell, whom he later admitted killing because Cromwell was a witness, and took Muvich’s checkbook. Benirschke was charged with two counts of murder and one count of robbery; a jury returned a guilty verdict and he received a death sentence that was later changed to a lengthy prison term.

If anyone knew Cromwell, worked with him, or has information about the events leading up to February 12, 1988, please share what is remembered.