Maryland police have charged a Florida man over the homicide case of a young woman in 2006, following earlier charges he faces for a murder committed in 1996.
The accused—Garry Artman, 64, of White Springs, Florida—is charged with first- and second-degree murder and first- and second-degree assault, Maryland State Police said Monday.
Artman is being held at the Kent County Correctional Facility in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The murdered woman was Dusty Myriah Shuck, 24, of Silver City, New Mexico. Shuck was last seen at a local hotel in New Mexico on April 24, 2006. She was found dead by a motorist near a rest stop in Frederick County’s Interstate 70 on May 4, 2006.
Shuck was identified by two dragon tattoos on her back, and the words “Gypsy Rose” written beneath them, as there was no other identification on her. Police in 2006 ruled her death as a homicide caused by stabbing and blunt force trauma.
The Maryland State Police Homicide Unit launched an investigation after finding the dead body, but without finding any suspects. No surveillance cameras and witnesses were in the area of the homicide.
As Shuck was found dead in another state, that was the reason police stated at the time that the perpetrator might have been a truck driver. The local truck stops were subsequently sought out and processed for potential leads, but the investigation could not name any suspect.
Unsolved 1996 Case
On Aug. 18, 2008, a search of the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) resulted in an unknown DNA match between an unsolved 1996 Michigan State Police case and a 2006 Maryland State Police case. The DNA samples in both cases could not be traced back to any person, so the investigation remained open.
Then on Aug. 17 this year, an investigator with the Maryland Police Homicide Unit received a phone call from Michigan police. The suspect, Artman, had been identified in the 1996 cold case involving the death of a Michigan woman.
Following this development, Michigan police arrested Artman in Mississippi and extradited him to Michigan for DNA comparison. The police found that Artman’s DNA matched the DNA sample from the Michigan 1996 cold case.
On Aug. 18, Michigan police confirmed that Artman’s DNA profile was a match to their unknown 1996 DNA profile and the Maryland State Police 2006 homicide. Michigan police provided Maryland police with a DNA swab which was then confirmed to belong to Artman.
On Aug. 31, investigators from Michigan police executed a search warrant on a storage unit in Florida believed to belong to Artman. Several pieces of women’s underwear were seized for biological evidence to determine whether there are other victims. Forensic analysts from the Maryland State Police Crime Lab are assisting with biological evidence examinations.
Investigators from the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit traveled to Michigan to conduct interviews and gather additional information relevant to the investigation.
Police of the two states are working together as the investigation continues.
