WWI veteran’s murder in Indiana solved nearly 50 years later, suspect now dead

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A murder case from 1977 has been solved, announced by Indiana State Police Wednesday morning.

According to police, Everett Armstrong was found dead in his mobile home on CR 300 west in Adams County in northeast Indiana. Armstrong was found by a fuel oil delivery driver and his death was ruled a murder due to a gunshot wound.

Armstrong was World War I veteran and well-known banjo player. Witnesses heard a single gunshot on Aug. 18, 1977 in the initial investigation. But no suspects were identified early on, but four witnesses later came forward in Oct. 1977 to identify a potential suspect.

The case went cold for three years. Police then arrested three people in 1981 in connection to the case. But six months after the arrest, the charges were dropped as it became clear the suspects weren't involved in the murder.

ISP said the case went cold for decades.

ISP reopened the case in 2013 and were able to corroborate the initial information. Police said James A McBride II confessed to four people within 24 hours of the crime, and McBride showed the gun used in the crime to one witness.

Police said witnesses learned specific details from McBride about the crime that matched the scene.

McBride died in Adams County in 2024. He was around 70 years old.

According to police, overwhelming circumstantial evidence showed that McBride committed the murder of Armstrong. The Adams County Prosecutor said if McBride was still alive, he would be charged with murder.

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