Daniel Messel would go to work, come home and spend time with his nephew before heading out to trivia on Thursday nights. He didn’t come home after leaving for a night out last Thursday, and his stepfather, Gerald Messel, didn’t know why.
He also didn’t know IU student Hannah Wilson was missing and that “Danny,” as he calls him, would be arrested in the front yard Friday in connection with her death.
When Daniel finally arrived home sometime Friday afternoon, Gerald said, the police were already there waiting. Daniel walked into the house, collected some clothes and said nothing.
“He wouldn’t tell me anything,” Gerald said.
Police had already obtained a warrant and seized Daniel’s computer, car and cell phone. He was arrested on a preliminary murder charge and is currently being held in Brown County Jail.
Around 8:30 a.m. Friday, a woman who was driving discovered the body behind an abandoned lot near the Needmore area of Brown County, according to ?police.
Typically, when investigators arrive, they process the scene and collect evidence.
Though he couldn’t specify, Brown County Coroner Earl Piper said evidence was found at the scene that links Daniel to Hannah’s body. Hours after police finished their work at the crime scene, they arrested Daniel.
Wilson, 22, was a senior studying psychology who was set to graduate in two weeks.
On Saturday, Piper ruled Wilson’s death a homicide. She had been hit on the head with an unknown blunt object three or four times. Protective wounds were present, Piper said. Piper also indicated no signs of sexual assault were found during the autopsy. The toxicology report administered will take about 10 more days to process.
Prior to Daniel’s arrest Friday, his criminal history involved charges 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.
So on Sunday, while his stepson waited in a jail cell 30 minutes away, Gerald stood outside with Daniel’s beagle named Max.
“It’s not more of a surprise,” Gerald said. “More of a shock.”
When Daniel left for downtown Bloomington on Thursday evening, Gerald didn’t know where he had gone except that he usually played trivia on certain weeknights.
Two weeks ago, Daniel competed in the Volunteers in Tutoring Adult Learners annual Quiz Bowl. Community Access Television Services Channel 3 broadcast the competition, Gerald said.
Before last week, Gerald said, Daniel mentioned someone named “Hannah” after playing trivia at a ?Bloomington bar.
Sunday, Gerald stood outside on the bright afternoon with the beagle as strangers drove past their home.
“We got gawkers going up and down the road,” Gerald said. “This is a bad deal and the worst thing in my life.”
