Nearly a decade after her daughter’s unsolved killing, an Indiana mother says she is still waiting for answers—and for communication from Indianapolis prosecutors.
For Christina Kramer, the 10-year anniversary of Angie Barlow’s disappearance has renewed painful questions about what happened to her daughter and whether the investigation is moving forward.
Barlow was 23 when she vanished on Oct. 26, 2016. Before leaving for a private dancing job, she texted her roommate the address of the Landmark Apartment and Townhomes in Indianapolis.
Angie Barlow, 23, disappeared on Oct. 26, 2016, in Indianapolis. Her remains were found nearly eight months later. (Courtesy of Christina Kramer)
“About to work this private party in case I go missing LOL,” Kramer recalled Barlow writing in the message, according to News Media.
Almost eight months after Barlow disappeared, her remains were discovered in the backyard of a home near Harcourt in Indianapolis, WISH-TV reported. Kramer said her daughter had been killed by a gunshot.
Kramer said her frustration has intensified since the special prosecutor assigned to the case left the office. She estimates that roughly two years have passed since she last received an update from the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.
“I had been sending a bunch of emails for I don’t even know how long to absolutely nobody,” Kramer told News Media. She said she no longer knows whom to contact about the case.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said the investigation into Angie Barlow’s death remains open. (Courtesy of Christina Kramer)
Kramer also said she made repeated attempts to contact Marion County Prosecuting Attorney Ryan Mears, but has not heard back.
The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office did not respond to multiple requests for comment from News Media.
Surveillance footage and GPS tracker
According to Kramer, surveillance video from the apartment complex showed two vehicles departing at approximately 3:30 a.m. on Oct. 27, 2016. One of them, she said, was Barlow’s blue Pontiac G6.
A black sedan appeared to follow the Pontiac. Kramer believes it belonged to a woman who knew Barlow and worked with her at Club Rio in Indianapolis. The woman was reportedly at the private party with her boyfriend. Because both vehicles had tinted windows, investigators could not determine who was inside, WISH-TV reported.
After several days passed without a breakthrough, Kramer contacted the dealership that sold Barlow the car. Using the vehicle’s GPS system, employees helped locate it about eight miles from the apartment complex.
Kramer said Barlow took great care of her Pontiac, but the vehicle was found badly damaged and filthy inside. It appeared, she said, to have been driven beneath a fence.
“That car had been on some kind of journey,” Kramer said.
Alleged taunts
Months later, Kramer said, she received a call from the woman who had attended the private gathering with her boyfriend. Barlow knew the couple, Kramer said, but did not consider them friends.
Kramer believes her daughter accepted the job because she needed money. “She needed some quick cash, and this was the way to do it,” she said, adding that Barlow would never have taken the assignment if she had known who would be there.
During the January 2017 phone call, Kramer said she asked the woman what she and Barlow had talked about at the party.
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No charges have ever been filed in Angie Barlow’s Indianapolis killing. (Mark E. Gibson via Getty Images)
“Oh, you want to know what her last words were,” Kramer recalled the woman saying.
Kramer said the remark stayed with her because she interpreted it as a taunt. The woman denied making the call and having that conversation, according to what Kramer told News Media.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said that no criminal charges have been filed in Barlow’s death.
IMPD told News Media that the investigation remains open with Detective Jose Torres as the lead investigator but declined to comment further.
‘I’m her voice’
Despite standing less than 5 feet tall, Barlow excelled as a softball catcher, her mother said. She also competed in basketball, shot put, volleyball and bowling.
“She was a very gifted athlete. There was not a sport that she did not do,” Kramer said. “Whenever I talk about her, especially the good things, it just, it makes you happy.”
She was the eldest of four sisters, whom she remained close to after she left the family’s Muncie home.
“My daughter was the victim,” Angie Barlow’s mother, Christina Kramer, said. “She can’t speak for herself. I’m her survivor. I’m her voice, and I speak for her.” (Courtesy of Christina Kramer)
Kramer said Barlow’s death continues to affect the family, particularly her youngest daughter, who was 4 when Barlow disappeared.
The youngest child turned to violent video games to learn “how to escape the bad people,” Kramer said.
Kramer said she will continue pressing authorities to solve her daughter’s murder.
“When you remain silent, you’re a victim. When you have a voice, you’re a survivor, and I refuse to be a victim of my circumstances,” Kramer said.
“My daughter was the victim. She can’t speak for herself. I’m her survivor. I’m her voice, and I speak for her.”
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department urges anyone with information to contact its homicide office at 317-327-3475.
Tipsters can also contact Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-TIPS (8477), where callers can remain anonymous.