The case remains unsolved.
By Samantha Maffucci — Written on May 22, 2019
When someone is killed in an act of senseless violence, entire communities are impacted in addition to family and friends. Taking one's life is a heinous crime in itself, but taking the life of an unborn child is unbelievably tragic. And for one victim’s family in Indianapolis, Indiana, the scars of this murder have left questions unanswered and closure unattainable.
Who killed Shelia Tabari? It appears that investigators still don’t have a conclusive answer in this unsolved murder.
On January 18, 1992, Tabari was found shot to death in the front seat of her Camaro. At the time, she was pregnant and allegedly in an unhappy marriage.
According to Detective Roy West, authorities received a call to respond after neighbors heard gunshots. “It was a Saturday morning at 11:36 AM when she was found in the 2900 block of North Moreland Avenue. She was found shot to death in the front seat of her dark gray 1987 Chevrolet Camaro. The unique thing about her car, it had a personalized plate on the front, ‘SHELIA E,’ and that’s how many people knew her from that vehicle,” West said.
Could her car have made her an easy target? For West, he believes the murderer was someone who knew Tabari, and would have been able to easily identify her vehicle. “Shelia Tabari was known to have a firearm, and that gun was never recovered. Her purse was never found. Multiple gunshots, which indicates anger.”
At the time of her death, Tabari worked at a phone company payment center, and co-workers recall she was entangled in an argument with a man in the lobby the day before she was murdered. But is that argument connected to her killing? West isn’t so sure.
“The marriage isn’t going well, she’s out doing cocaine all night long, didn’t want to go back home,” West revealed, also indicating her husband, whom she’d been married to for less than a year, was home with Tabari’s son while she went out with her friends. “She spent the night out with these particular people.”
According to a neighbor, Tabari was seen returning home around 4 AM, but suddenly drove away and was followed by what appeared to be a vehicle driven by her husband. Ninety minutes later, residents heard gunshots.
Continued West, “A witness reported on the morning this happened that approximately 5:30 AM she was up waiting on her newspaper and looked out the window, and saw a car slowly rolling up the street towards the corner of 30th and Moreland, and heard what sounded like popping sound, and saw a subject get out the right passenger side of the vehicle carrying something and disappear from the area.”
So, was it Tabari’s husband, the friends she was seen partying with, or a stranger who ended her life? West is hoping that someone out there has information to put this case to rest before he retires from the police in a few weeks.
Samantha Maffucci is an editor for YourTango who focuses on writing trending news and entertainment pieces. In her free time, you can find her obsessing about cats, wine, and all things Vanderpump Rules.