Tevis Walker was convicted of murder, rape and sexual misconduct in the 2023 death of 15-year-old Janiya Carr.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN — A former Indianapolis apartment maintenance worker was sentenced Friday to 140 years in prison for the 2023 rape and murder of 15-year-old Janiya Carr, bringing the criminal case to a close more than three years after the teenager disappeared from her northeast-side apartment complex.
Tevis Walker was sentenced after a Marion County jury found him guilty in September of murder, felony murder, two counts of rape and three counts of sexual misconduct with a minor. He also pleaded guilty to a habitual offender sentencing enhancement after the verdict. Walker will serve his sentence in the Indiana Department of Correction.
Carr disappeared in the early morning hours of Oct. 28, 2023. Surveillance footage showed her outside the Carriage House East apartment complex before she got into a black Kia Optima registered to Walker, investigators said. Walker worked as a maintenance employee at the complex and also lived there. Carr, an Arsenal Technical High School student, was weeks away from her 16th birthday.
According to court records and investigators, surveillance video showed the Kia leaving the apartment complex after Carr entered it. The vehicle returned less than an hour later and was driven onto a grassy area near the wooded location where Carr was later found. Investigators said additional footage showed a person matching Walker’s description near the vehicle after it returned.
Carr’s body was discovered in the area near the apartment complex days after she was reported missing. Authorities determined that she had been shot. Police arrested Walker on Nov. 2, 2023, after investigators connected him to Carr through surveillance footage and other evidence. Prosecutors later said Walker’s DNA was recovered from Carr.
Walker told detectives during the investigation that he had picked Carr up to take her to buy an iPad, according to court records. He said the person selling the device never appeared and that he then drove Carr back to the apartment complex. Investigators said the surveillance evidence did not support key portions of that account. Walker ended the interview after requesting an attorney.
The case eventually proceeded to trial after Walker rejected an earlier plea agreement. A Marion County jury returned guilty verdicts in September 2026 on the murder and sex-crime counts. After the jury’s decision, Walker admitted to the habitual offender enhancement, which allowed additional prison time to be considered at sentencing.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said the sentence could not reverse the loss suffered by Carr’s family but expressed hope that the outcome would provide them some measure of comfort. He said prosecutors had worked to hold Walker accountable for Carr’s death and the crimes committed against her.
Carr’s disappearance and death drew attention across Indianapolis in 2023 as relatives and community members searched for the teenager. Her mother reported her missing after discovering she was gone from home. Investigators later used surveillance video from around the apartment complex to reconstruct Carr’s movements and Walker’s vehicle activity during the hours surrounding her disappearance.
Walker’s arrest also raised questions at the time about his employment at Carriage House East. Reports said he had been hired as a maintenance worker several months before Carr’s death despite outstanding warrants from other states. The apartment complex’s management company said after his arrest that it was reviewing how he had passed employment background checks.
With Friday’s sentencing, Walker has now been convicted and sentenced in the criminal case stemming from Carr’s death. He is expected to serve the 140-year sentence in state prison.
Author note: Last updated November 6, 2026.