GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A 64-year-old man from Florida, Gary Dean Artman, was officially charged Monday afternoon in the 1996 sexual assault and murder of a West Michigan woman.
Artman appeared in Kent County's 63rd District Court Tuesday to be arraigned on charges of open murder, felony murder, and 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct.
He faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted.
During the brief hearing, Judge Sara Smolenski asked Artman about his life before being arrested.
He said he was living in White Springs, Florida, in a home owned by some friends.
Artman was working as a flatbed trucker with Dixie Transport when he was arrested recently in Mississippi.
When Judge Smolenski asked Artman if he had any questions, he asked, "What's going to happen?"
His bond was set at $1,000,000 cash.
He is charged with the assault and strangulation of Sharon Hammack, who was 30 at the time of her death.
Hammack was discovered by investigators on October 3, 1996, on 76th St SE, between Patterson Ave. and Kraft Ave. in Caledonia Township.
Kent County Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young, along with Prosecutor Chris Becker, announced their findings at a press conference on August 22.
"Since the 1990s, we have had various task forces that have worked to try to resolve cold cases cases that for whatever reason, technology or lack of witnesses, or lack of resources, were not able to be solved when they first happened," Sheriff LaJoye-Young explained at the press conference.
“We remember the person whose life was cut short, and the impact they still have on their family, on their friends, on the people around them. That's why we continue to work cold cases to the best of our abilities throughout all these years.”
They utilized the services of Identifiers International, who work cases using genetic genealogy, to link Artman to the case.
"Our expertise in forensic genetic genealogy is complemented by its experience with both Microarray and Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) pipelines for processing even the most challenging DNA samples," their website reads.
"What truly makes Identifinders different is our versatility and personal attention to the cases that we investigate."
Prosecutor Chris Becker said at the press conference that they could not get into the details of how they arrived at Artman's DNA.
"For all the resources and everything we could do at that point in time, we couldn't solve it then," Becker explained.
"It had to take, you know, progression of the technology that we have in terms of DNA to be able to bring a solution to this case."
Identifinders International also assisted in the February 2022 arrest of Patrick Wayne Gilham for the 1987 murder of Roxanne Leigh Wood in Niles.
When Hammack was murdered back in 1996, there was talk in the media that the person responsible for her death could be involved in other similar killings.
Reports from 1996 say a task force was put together, made up of 6 police agencies, to investigate the murders of 9 women.
"All nine were white women, most had dark hair and many of them had been strangled," an Associated Press article from 1996 reads.
"In each case, police are facing difficulties in finding a killer. Three bodies were so decomposed, investigators didn't know how they died."
Investigators were tight-lipped at the August 22 press conference about whether or not they believed Artman could be responsible for any more murders.
“Once somebody has been identified as participating in a crime like this, the next thing that we're going to do is work cooperatively to vet this as being a viable suspect for other cases,” Sheriff LaJoye-Young said.
“Because of his ability to traverse many states, due to his type of occupation, it's certain that it wouldn't be just excluded to Michigan, that we should consider him as a possible candidate. So they'll reach out to other organizations who might have open cases.”
Artman will be back in court on September 12 for a probable cause hearing.