The Elkhart County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney has filed formal charges against Robert L. Sage (76) of Ocala, Florida, and Daniel Martin (71) of Elkhart, for the Murder of Donald Wasserman, Mishawaka, in August of 1981.
Donald’s wife originally reported her husband missing to the Mishawaka Police Department after he had not returned from a meeting with Sage in Elkhart on August 16, 1981. Donald’s abandoned car was located the following day in Elkhart County, and his body was discovered several days later on an embankment near the Toll Road overpass and County Road 131 in Elkhart County. Mr. Wasserman’s death was ruled a homicide as a result of multiple blunt force injuries and associated skull fractures.
The Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department continued to investigate the case for a period of time, but without sufficient evidence to charge a perpetrator, the investigation remained unsolved for decades. However, the Elkhart County Homicide Unit began evaluating the investigative file again in 2024, seeking additional scientific evidence and renewing conversations with past witnesses. Daniel Martin was re-interviewed and provided numerous additional facts and details that were corroborated by independent investigative efforts and evidence uncovered through those efforts.
Daniel Martin was taken into custody on March 27 in Elkhart. Robert Sage was arrested in Florida on March 30 and is being held pending extradition proceedings that are being initiated by the Prosecutor.
Martin’s Initial Hearing will be held on April 9, 2026, in the Elkhart Circuit Court, at which time a trial date will likely be set.
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“Under Indiana law, all persons arrested for a criminal offense are innocentuntil proven guilty in a court of law.”