Arrest made in 1992 cold case of Indiana father found without head, hands or feet

ARCADIA, Ind. (WXIN) — More than 30 years later, the family of Tony Bledsoe is finally getting answers.

On the morning of March 16, 1992, the 24-year-old Indiana father of three set out from his home in Arcadia with $8 in his pocket and an eighth of a tank of gas in his car … and disappeared.

"My dad didn’t leave,” said Justin Robinson, son of Tony Bledsoe. "My dad didn’t just leave."

On Tuesday, 33 years after his father vanished off the face of the Earth, Robinson is finally getting answers. And, perhaps, even justice.

Investigators announced that Thomas "Tommy" Anderson Jr., of Arcadia, has been arrested in connection with the decades-old cold case revolving around Tony Bledsoe. Court records show Anderson is charged with one count of murder.

At a press conference, police revealed that human remains were found in Putnam County on April 3, 1992. Court documents state the remains, a body without a head, hands or feet, were found at a dump site.

Those remains were unidentified until 2018.

"Those remains were identified as Tony Bledsoe," said Indiana State Police Sgt. John Perrine.

The investigation stretched on for years until just hours before Tuesday's press conference, when Anderson was taken into custody. While Anderson is under arrest, officials say investigators are still looking for other potential suspects.

"This arrest is not the conclusion of our investigation," Perrine said.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Indiana State Police. Tipsters can remain anonymous.

2018 tip crucial in investigation, court docs show

Court documents reveal how investigators were led to Thomas Anderson decades after the disappearance of Tony Bledsoe.

According to the documents, a tip given to investigators got the ball rolling on March 14, 2018 — almost 26 years to the day after Bledsoe vanished. The tipster allegedly told police that Anderson once told a story about witnessing another man murder Bledsoe. Details of the murder included the dismemberment of Bledsoe's body by cutting off his head, hands and feet and placing the body parts in a bucket full of concrete.

Court documents reveal one of Anderson's family members testified in front of an investigative grand jury in the fall of 2024. The family member told the grand jury a similar story, that Anderson once confessed to killing Tony Bledsoe with the other man. This account also included details about how the pair allegedly dismembered the body by cutting off Bledsoe's hands, feet and head.

Investigators confronted Anderson about the allegations. According to the court documents, Anderson spoke to police on three separate occasions and confessed to playing a part in the murder of Tony Bledsoe.

Anderson claimed the murder stemmed from a car theft racket that Anderson and the other man were part of. Bledsoe allegedly threatened to go to the cops at one point after being sold a stolen car radio.

Anderson allegedly was with Bledsoe when the pair arrived at the other man's house in Noblesville on March 19, 1992. This is where Anderson accused the second man of shooting Bledsoe in the head with a shotgun before stabbing him multiple times with a knife.

Anderson also allegedly joined in, telling investigators he struck Bledsoe with a baseball bat.

According to the court documents, Anderson described in detail the knife that was used to stab Bledsoe. Investigators said a search of the second man's home in October 2024 uncovered a knife matching the description given by Anderson hidden inside a safe.

Anderson went on to tell the police that the pair had dismembered Bledsoe, placing his head, hands, and feet in a "pickle bucket" full of concrete.

Investigators said Anderson recalls the second man driving them toward a town with "Green" in the name before they dumped the body at a dump site. Police noted how the remains eventually identified as Bledsoe's were found approximately 10 miles from Greencastle.

According to the court documents, other accounts of Anderson's tale also lined up with the state of Bledsoe's remains. These included tying up the body in nylon rope and spray-painting the body black to try and conceal it.

In a further revelation, state police said details about the body having no limbs or head were never released to the public. Nor were details about the body being spray-painted or tied up.

Despite Anderson accusing the other man of shooting Bledsoe and stabbing him multiple times, police said only Thomas Anderson is charged with the murder of Tony Bledsoe at this time.

The other man's home was searched last October with two Oldsmobile Cutlasses — the same vehicle Bledsoe was last seen driving — towed from his property. Despite this, ISP did not comment on his status in connection with this cold case beyond Perrine saying, "This arrest is not the conclusion of our investigation."

Around the same time the Cutlasses were taken from his property, the Atlanta Town Council placed the man, the town's utility superintendent and building commissioner, on administrative leave. Council records indicate he was reinstated in November, while town records show the reinstatement came due to issues related to Atlanta's water systems.

The council reported that the man resolved most of the town's water systems issues upon his return to work.