The case stems from a January 2024 home invasion at a north side apartment complex.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Indianapolis police arrested a 49-year-old man after investigators said DNA evidence linked him to a 2024 home invasion, rape and kidnapping case at an apartment complex on the city’s north side.
Leonel Catalan-Torreblanca was taken into custody more than two years after the reported attack at the Lodge at Trails Edge, near East 96th Street and North College Avenue. The arrest moves a case that had stalled into Marion County court, where prosecutors have filed several felony charges tied to the assault, the break-in and the alleged restraint of the victim.
Court records say the attack happened Jan. 24, 2024, inside a woman’s apartment at the north side complex. Investigators said the woman reported that a man entered her home, sexually assaulted her more than once, restrained her and threatened to kill her. Police collected evidence after the assault, including DNA from a sexual assault exam. The case did not immediately produce an arrest, but investigators kept the evidence as the file remained open. The Indianapolis-Marion County crime lab later notified detectives of a DNA match on April 22, 2026. Police said that match pointed to Catalan-Torreblanca. The next day, members of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit located him and arrested him.
The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges April 26. Catalan-Torreblanca faces three counts of rape as Level 1 felonies, attempted rape as a Level 1 felony, burglary resulting in bodily injury as a Level 3 felony, kidnapping, criminal confinement resulting in bodily injury as a Level 5 felony, sexual battery as a Level 4 felony and strangulation as a Level 6 felony. Jail records show the court set a $20,000 cash bond. Records also show he was being held on a federal detainer request, meaning another agency asked local officials to keep him in custody. Catalan-Torreblanca made his initial appearance in Marion County court on April 27. He has not been convicted and is presumed innocent unless proved guilty.
The court filings place the assault at the Lodge at Trails Edge, a small apartment property in far north Indianapolis. The area sits near busy commercial corridors and residential neighborhoods close to the Marion County and Hamilton County line. The case drew renewed attention because the arrest came only after forensic testing tied the evidence to a person, not because officers made an arrest at the scene in 2024. Investigators said the victim’s exam and the evidence collected after the report became central to the case. Police have not publicly released the victim’s name, and the available court and jail records do not say whether investigators believe Catalan-Torreblanca knew her before the attack. That point remains unclear in the public record.
According to court documents, Catalan-Torreblanca admitted entering the apartment and seeing the woman. The filings also describe a short exchange after his arrest, when he allegedly responded, “oh you know,” during processing. Police have not said publicly why his DNA profile became available for comparison or whether investigators used any outside genetic genealogy tool. The records made public so far focus on the crime lab match, the evidence collected in 2024 and the arrest by IMPD’s Violent Crimes Unit. Prosecutors will have to prove the charges in court through physical evidence, witness testimony, police work and any statements they seek to use.
The case now shifts from investigation to prosecution. Court records show the first hearing has already taken place, and the next steps are expected to include bond review issues, discovery, motions and future hearings in Marion County. Prosecutors may also have to address the federal detainer if it affects custody or transport. Catalan-Torreblanca could enter formal responses to the charges as the case moves forward. The most serious counts, the Level 1 felony rape and attempted rape charges, carry the highest stakes in the case. The burglary, confinement, sexual battery and strangulation counts add separate allegations tied to the reported entry, restraint and violence inside the apartment.
Neighbors at the Lodge at Trails Edge have also been watching the property after other recent police activity there. In mid-April, a reported attempted abduction at the same complex drew concern from residents and brought more attention to safety around the apartments. IMPD told reporters it had increased North District patrols in the area after that report. The 2024 rape case is separate from the more recent attempted abduction report, but both incidents have placed the complex in public view. Police have not said the two cases are connected. The DNA arrest, however, gave investigators a named defendant in a case that had remained unresolved for more than two years.
Catalan-Torreblanca remained in Marion County custody after his initial court appearance. The case will continue in Marion County court, where prosecutors and defense attorneys are expected to address evidence, custody and future hearing dates.
Author note: Last updated April 30, 2026.