Case of the Week

A Bike Ride Ends in a Woman’s Disappearance

  • 1 July, 2020
  • by Unsolved Mysteries
  • 4 Comments

In May of 2000, Jill Behrman, a 19-year-old Indiana University student, left her house in Bloomington, Indiana to go for a bike ride. Sadly, she never returned home. Her bike was eventually found ten miles away from her house on a route she would not have taken due to traffic reasons. Authorities speculated multiple scenarios, such as Jill being involved in a hit and run or being abducted. However, there was no concrete evidence to support those claims.

Three years after Jill’s disappearance her remains were found in a wooded area in Morgan County, Indiana. Forensics revealed the cause of death to be a shotgun wound to the back of her head.

In 2006 authorities arrested John Myers for Jill’s murder. Numerous pieces of evidence were stacked against him, such as Jill’s bike being found just one mile from his home, and witnesses found it odd that his car was no longer parked in a visible location and his trailer windows were covered. The day Jill went missing, John was out of sorts and mentioned leaving town and not returning. Lastly, his brother noticed that their parent’s twelve-gauge shotgun was missing. It was the same type of gun that was used to kill Jill.

In October of 2006, Myers was convicted of murder and sentenced to sixty-five-years in prison. However, Myers appealed his verdict, citing that he did not have a proper defense and that there were errors made by his legal team when the case went to trial. In 2019 the federal court agreed with him and ordered his release within the following 120 days.

In 2020, Attorney General Curtis Hill rebuffed Myers’ court order. Instead of keeping Myers in prison, the judge ordered Myers’ to be released until the court made a decision on the appeal.  

Update: The court ruling to have John Myers be released from prison was overturned on August 4, 2020, thus Myers will remain in prison. The court did not deny that Myers’ attorneys made errors during his trial, however, they believe that the jury would have still convicted Myers. Specifically, the court believes the statements that Myers made to many people were self-incriminating enough for him to be convicted. Jill’s family is so relieved to know that Myers will not be released. Myers is serving a 65-year sentence at Indian State Prison in Michigan City.  

See the original Unsolved Mystery segment on this case streaming in Season 11, Episode 7 with Robert Stack and Season 3, Episode 16 with Dennis Farina.

For a list of where you can stream this episode, please go to https://unsolved.com/watch/

4 Comments

  1. Annoying

    I agree with you all, and I dread saying this but it’s Bloomington for you!! I can’t post why, but may her family find peace! Sad story….

    Reply

  2. Ant

    He lived one mile away from where the bike was found? I’m sure lots of other people did, too…

    Reply

  3. celena

    well to me it is weird that the gun was missing and is the same type of gun that killed her?

    Reply

  4. tegan

    that’s an awful lot of supposition based on circumstantial evidence. He could have been having problems with someone, but not necessarily her. how about some concrete evidence. i would not convict this guy.

    Reply

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