Was Andrea Hendrix-Steinert Murdered by a Famed Serial Killer? [The Underbelly of Evansville]

Was a 28-year old local girl murdered by well-known serial killer, Bruce Mendenhall? It's highly possible, even though Andrea's death is still listed as a cold case.

Evansville resident Andrea Michelle Hendrix-Steinert was found dead near Francisco, Indiana, off Highway 351. Highway work was being done in the area at that time, and a worker spotted her nude body in a ditch. An autopsy showed that Andrea had been strangled. She had been dead anywhere from one to two days.

Investigators believe she was not killed in the spot where her body was found. The last time anyone saw Andrea alive was at the convenience store/gas station at Virginia and Fares on October 27th, two days prior to her body being discovered. Andrea fit the profile of many serial killers victims. She had a rap sheet that included charges for drugs and prostitution, but her family said at the time Andrea had been working hard to shed her past and gain a fresh start. She had a new job and was in rehab as well.

Police exhumed her body November 19th, 1997, hoping that their forensic scientists could capture some DNA or another possible clue that could be traced back to her killer. This effort bared no new fruit.

Enter the name Bruce Mendenhall...

This long haul trucker is allegedly the killer of eight women in multiple states over a year's time.  He frequented the Evansville area on many occasions, as his usual routes took him through the Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky-Tennessee area.

His MO was to lure truck stop prostitutes into his truck cab, where a small torture room built into the sleeper birth of his cab. He'd torture and then kill the women. How horrific!

Andrea Michelle Hendrix-Steiner fit his profile.  She was just off Highway 41, where Mendenhall would have easy access to a girl like Andrea, as she fit the profile discussed here. Bruce Mendenhall is well worth reading more about, as is Andrea Michelle Hendrix-Steinert

Keep watching for my next installment of The Underbelly of Evansville.