A murder charge has been filed by the Brown County Prosecutor’s office today against Daniel Messel, the Bloomington man accused of murdering IU senior Hannah Wilson and leaving her body in an abandoned lot.
Messel, 49, was accused of bludgeoning 22-year-old Wilson to death. He has been charged with one count of murder.
Messel appeared in the Brown County Circuit Court for the first time at 2:30 p.m. today via video conference from Brown County jail.
During the initial hearing, Messel’s jury trial date was set for 8 a.m. July 22.
Circuit judge Judith Stewart entered a preliminary plea of not guilty to allow time for Messel to meet with his assigned public defender, Andrew Szakaly.
Wilson, a psychology student who was set to graduate next month, was reportedly last seen by witnesses outside of Kilroy’s Sports Bar at 1 a.m. Friday, according to a probable cause affidavit. Friends she was with paid for a cab ride to her residence, according to the affidavit.
A woman discovered Wilson’s body at 8:30 a.m. Friday as she drove past an abandoned lot early Friday morning in the 5800 block of Plum Creek Road, about 25 miles east of the IU campus.
Investigators have not yet disclosed how Messel and Wilson initially encountered one another, but Messel’s cellphone was found at the scene where Wilson’s body was discovered.
Messel was first arrested Friday evening in connection to Wilson’s murder.
His criminal history involves arrests for drunk driving and felony assault, according to court documents. In 1996, he was sentenced to eight years in prison after he was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. Seven years earlier, according to the Herald-Times archives, Messel was arrested and jailed for confinement after his then-girlfriend told police he wouldn’t let her leave her own apartment.
Messel’s pretrial date is set for 1 p.m. July 6, 2015, at the Brown County Circuit Court.
A bail hearing to determine whether or not Messel is entitled to bond is set for 10:30 a.m. May 15, but may be moved to an earlier date after Messel meets with his public defender.
“The Brown County Prosecutor’s office would remind everyone that a criminal charge is merely an accusation,” a press release from the office of the prosecuting attorney reads. “Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.”
This story will be updated.
Kathrine Schulze, Suzanne Grossman and Michael Majchrowicz
