Elkhart County prosecutors today (Thursday) announced they’ve charged two men with murder in a 45-year-old cold case.
Prosecutors say they’ve finally solved the 1981 slaying of 52-year-old Donald Wasserman of Mishawaka. Police found his body along the Toll Road in Elkhart County and it was determined he died from blunt-force trauma to the head. His wife had told police he had not returned from a meeting in Elkhart with Robert Sage.
Police recently arrested Sage, now age 76, in Ocala, Florida, along with 71-year-old Daniel Martin of Elkhart.
Prosecutors did not disclose their motive for killing Wasserman or release any information about their relationship. The county’s homicide unit reopened the file in 2024, seeking additional scientific evidence and renewing conversations with past witnesses.
Detectives re-interviewed Martin, and said he provided numerous additional facts and details that were corroborated by independent investigative efforts, and evidence uncovered through those efforts.
Martin had an initial hearing in Elkhart Circuit Court Thursday, and prosecutors have started the extradition process to bring Sage back from Florida.
