Elkhart County Authorities Charge Two Men in Cold Case Murder Following 45-Year Investigation into Fatal 1981 Assault

Robert Sage and Daniel Martin face murder charges for the 1981 death of Donald Wasserman. A 2024 investigation led to the arrests in Indiana and Florida.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 9, 2026, 11:32 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from WNDU

A Decades-Old Mystery Resurfaces in Elkhart County

The pursuit of justice for a Mishawaka man murdered in the early 1980s reached a pivotal milestone late last month. Authorities from the Elkhart County Prosecutor’s Office announced that formal murder charges have been filed against two elderly suspects, Robert Sage and Daniel Martin, for the death of Donald Wasserman. The case had remained largely dormant since August 1981, when Wasserman’s disappearance and subsequent discovery on a remote roadside embankment sent shockwaves through the Northern Indiana community.

The Final Known Movements of Donald Wasserman

The original investigation began on August 16, 1981, after Wasserman’s wife reported him missing to the Mishawaka Police Department. According to historical records, the victim had traveled to Elkhart for a scheduled meeting with Robert Sage but never returned home. The following day, investigators located Wasserman’s abandoned vehicle in Elkhart County. Several days later, his body was discovered near the Toll Road overpass and County Road 131, with a subsequent autopsy confirming that he died from multiple blunt force injuries and severe skull fractures.

Renewing the Search for Scientific and Verbal Evidence

After decades of remaining unsolved, the Elkhart County Homicide Unit initiated a comprehensive review of the investigative file in 2024. This renewed effort focused on two primary fronts: the application of modern scientific analysis to decades-old evidence and the re-interviewing of individuals connected to the original 1981 probe. This strategic reopening of the case allowed detectives to bridge gaps in the narrative that had persisted for nearly half a century, eventually providing enough probable cause to move forward with criminal charges.