Latrice Long-Payton

 Latrice Long-Payton

Man accused of dumping woman's body in trash pleads guilty

Police said Coleman killed Long-Payton by strangling her and then put her body in the garbage.

September 29, 2011

A man accused of murdering a woman and then putting her body in the trash entered a guilty plea Wednesday.

Joseph Coleman, 29, pleaded guilty to the murder of Latrice Long-Payton, 29, in September 2010.

Police said Coleman killed Long-Payton by strangling her and then put her body in the garbage.

In October 2010, officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department received an anonymous tip there might be a dead body inside a home in the 5900 block of East Rawles Avenue. The caller told police the female was chocked and beat to death and then wrapped in plastic. The caller also stated there was a strong smell of rotting flesh inside the home.

According to a probable cause, Long-Payton was paying Coleman rent to stay in his house. He told police he last saw her three weeks before her body was found. He also told police the foul smell in his home was from dead possums he killed.

When police searched the trash can in the back of the home, they found the body of missing Long-Payton.

Police said Coleman told them he and Long-Payton got into a verbal argument, because he wanted her to move out of the home. He said she hit him in the face so he began beating and choking her until she died. Coleman also stated Samuel Taylor, 33, helped him wrap the victim’s body in plastic and place the body in the crawlspace of the home.

Taylor was charged with assisting a criminal.

Coleman will be sentenced October 28.

Tina Williams Daniels

Indy man held in shooting death of his wife

October 9. 2011

An Indianapolis man was arrested early this morning in connection with the shooting death of his wife on the city's Eastside, according to Indianapolis metropolitan police.

The suspect, identified as Kenneth Daniels, 62, was taken into custody after police arrived at a house in the 4700 block of East 30th Street. That’s where they found 50-year-old Tina Williams suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to her chest and arms.

She was pronounced dead at the scene when emergency services personnel arrived.

The suspect was holding a gun at the time officers arrived, according a news release from Ptl. Kendale Adams, a spokesman for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. Daniels told homicide investigators that he shot his wife during an argument, the release said, and he subsequently was arrested and preliminarily charged with murder.

Officers also discovered an unharmed four-year-old child in an upstairs bedroom. The child’s relationship to the victim or the suspect was not immediately known.  Daniels was transported to the Marion County Arresting Processing Center, where he awaits the filling of formal charges.

Child Protective Services arrived and took the child into custody. Tina Williams’ next-of-kin has been notified, police said.

Darrick Shelton

Darrick Shelton

Far-Eastside infant had been beaten to death

August 25, 2011

The Marion County coroner ruled that a 10-week-old boy found dead last week at a Far-Eastside apartment had been the victim of a fatal beating, police said today.

Police found the boy naked and on the floor of an apartment in the 9800 block of Gatewood Court at about 11:30 a.m. Friday, according to an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department report.

The boy, whom police did not identify by name, was not breathing when officers arrived. Medics took him to Community Hospital East, according to the report, but life-saving efforts were not successful.

The coroner found that the boy died of "multiple blunt force traumatic injuries" that cut off oxygen to his brain, Sgt. Linda Jackson said today. The death was ruled a homicide.

The boy's mother, Brianna Shelton, 22, was at the apartment when police arrived.

UPDATE:

Mother Arrested In 2-Month-Old Son's Death
Briana Shelton Faces Murder, Neglect Charges

August 27, 2011

INDIANAPOLIS -- An Indianapolis woman was arrested in connection to the death of her 2-month-old son, police said.

Homicide detectives were called to an apartment complex near 21st Street and Mitthoeffer Road just after noon Friday on a report of a child not breathing.

When detectives arrived, they found the naked infant lying on his back on the living room floor.  The baby's mother, Briana Shelton, 22, was at home at the time.

The Marion County coroner ruled that the infant died of multiple blunt-force traumatic injuries.  Shelton was arrested Saturday on murder and neglect charges, police said.

Tonya Scott

Tonya Scott

16-Year-Old Fatally Stabbed Brother's Fiancee

Woman Found Stabbed To Death On Bed

August 22, 2011

INDIANAPOLIS -- A 16-year-old boy has been arrested, accused of fatally stabbing his brother's fiancee, police said.

Officers were called to a home in the 800 block of South Auburn Street just before 10 p.m. Sunday after family members found Tonya Scott, 25, stabbed to death on a bed in the home, police said.

According to a police report, a neighbor told investigators that he had seen a 16-year-old who also lived in the home leaving the scene just before police arrived.

The 16-year-old was found a short time later behind a nearby Kroger store, police said. The teen was later arrested on a preliminary charge of murder.

Police said the 16-year-old's older brother and Scott were engaged.

The teen is expected to be waived to adult court. His name and mug shot will be released at that time.

Mary Swift

Mary Swift

Stereo Volume Led To Killing Of Women

Man Arrested On 2 Counts Of Murder After Indianapolis Shooting

August 12, 2011

INDIANAPOLIS -- A man was arrested Friday morning after a shooting rampage over a loud stereo that resulted in the deaths of two women and critical injuries to another man, Indianapolis police said.

The shooting happened about 1:30 a.m. in the 1700 block of South State Avenue, and officers who were patrolling the area at the time reported hearing shots fired.

Edward Lay, 37, of Indianapolis, was arrested on two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and being a serious violent felon in possession of a firearm.

The victims were identified as Mary Swift, 37, of Indianapolis, and Kelly Jinks, 33. The man who was shot was identified as Ronald Kortz II, 40, of Indianapolis.  Kortz underwent surgery Friday and was listed in critical but stable condition at Wishard Memorial Hospital.

Witnesses told police that Swift and Lay argued over the volume of a stereo and that Lay pulled out a handgun and shot Swift multiple times. She was pronounced dead at the scene.  Jinks and Kortz were shot as they tried to intervene in the argument, police said.

"Edward Lay attempted to flee but was apprehended … a short distance from the scene," said Kendale Adams, Indianapolis police public information officer.

Neighbors told 6News' Stacia Matthews that Swift has four children and had been dating Lay for a short time.  "Mary was an awesome woman. She didn't deserve this at all," said neighbor Edna Reeves. "She was such an awesome woman and her kids are going to suffer the most."

Arguments were common, neighbors said.  "They was constantly arguing over there. It get pretty high pitched, but I didn't expect anything like this," said Richard Reeves.

Lay has a criminal background, Indianapolis police said.

Obituary:

Mary Ann Swift, 37, died Friday, Aug. 12, 2011, in Indianapolis. She was a resident of Indianapolis.

Survivors include her mother, Patricia E. (Ralph) Tuttle of Texas; her father, Melvin L. Mann of Ohio; four children, Brittany N. Swift of Indianapolis and Dustin E., Dylan P. and Alexandria L. Swift, all of Franklin; a sister, Amanda N. Patrick of Plainfield; four brothers, Melvin Mann Jr. of Texas, Richard and Christian Mann, both of Ohio, and Brandon Seibers of Indianapolis; and a grandson.

She was preceded in death by a brother, Joseph E. Mann.

Private family services will be conducted.

Jessen Funeral Home, Franklin Chapel, is handling arrangements.


See post for dear friend Kelly Jinks here.

Kelly Jinks

Two Dead, One Injured in Early Morning Shooting

August 12, 2011

INDIANAPOLIS - Two women are dead and a man is in critical condition following an early morning shooting on the southeast side.

Metro Police arrested Edward Lay, a 37-year-old Indianapolis man, in connection with the shootings. He faces two preliminary counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and a serious violent felony in possession of a firearm. He is being held at the Marion County Jail without bond.

Metro Police were called to the 1700 block of South State Ave. around 1:30 am to investigate a report of a shooting. They found three people suffering from gunshot wounds in an alley.

Police say Mary Swift, 37, of Indianapolis, died at the scene. Kelly Jinks, 33, was taken to Wishard Hospital where she later died from injuries sustained in the shooting. A third victim was identified as Ronald Kortz II, 40. He is in critical but stable condition at Wishard Hospital.

According to witnesses, Mary Swift and Edward Lay were arguing over the volume of a stereo. Edward Lay produced a handgun and shot Swift multiple times, according to police.

A second couple, Kelly Jinks and Ronald Kortz II, attempted to intervene and they were shot. The suspect, Edward Lay, attempted to flee but was apprehended by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Southeast District officers a short distance from the scene.


See post for dear friend Mary Swift here.

Jacqueline Baxter

Restraining Order Filed Day Woman Died

June 22, 2011

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Indianapolis Metropolitan Police homicide detectives have identified the woman found dead in her home Tuesday as 54-year-old Jacqueline Baxter.

Officers got the call around 10 a.m. Tuesday and rushed to the 9700 block of East 86th Street where they found Baxter’s body. Officers are calling the incident a death investigation.

However, court documents obtained by 24-Hour News 8 show that Baxter said she was in an abusive relationship with her husband Michael Sparks. A restraining order against Sparks was filed on the same day police found Baxter’s body.

In the court document, Baxter says her husband abused her and said, “If I don't live here, you don't either. To death do us part.” She also said she thought her husband was using drugs.

Police say Sparks is not yet a person of interest in the case and has not been arrested.

Officers are waiting on the results of an autopsy before they know exactly how Baxter died.

Obituary:

Jacqueline passed away in June 2011. Jacqueline was last known to be living in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Visitation: Saturday, July 2, 2011 10:00 am - 12:00 Noon Trinity C.M.E. Church.Service: Saturday, July 2, 2011 12:00 Noon Trinity C.M.E. Church Interment: Floral Park Cemetery.


(We are still watching for any further word on autopsy results, etc, and will post anything when it is publicized.  It has been frustrating not seeing anything yet, but we assume this is to keep details of the case quiet as authorities work on it.)

Eric Bell

Eric Bell

Man Found Fatally Shot At Apartments

Police Called To Hearts Landing In Fatal Shooting

WRTV-6
June 10, 2011

INDIANAPOLIS -- A man was fatally shot early Friday morning on Indianapolis' east side during an apparent domestic argument.  Indianapolis police were called to the Hearts Landing Apartments, in the 9400 block of East 43rd Street, a little after 3:30 a.m.  Police found the body of Eric Bell, 23, after there were numerous reports of shots fired.

"There were several individuals present with the victim at the time officers arrived on scene, and they have been cooperating with detectives," said Indianapolis police Sgt. Linda Jackson.  Witnesses told police that a suspect came into the apartment and put a gun in the mouth of one of two female occupants.

According to witnesses, Bell told the suspect, whose identity wasn't immediately released, that he had to leave the apartment.  Bell and the man went outside, and the suspect shot Bell, witnesses told police.

Other information from Fox59

Police are interviewing several witnesses in an early morning east side homicide that happened in the Hearts Landing apartment complex. Shortly after 3:30am, the 911 call center received several reports of multiple shots fired in the area of 9400 E 43rd St.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers arrived a very short time later found Eric Bell shot to death in the parking lot.

"He was a good loving father and did a lot for family and didn't have enemies wasn't a trouble maker or nothing he was a good person and I don't understand why somebody would do him like that," said Quintel Williams the mother of victim's children.

Police say there was a domestic fight earlier in the evening that involved Eric Bell and a possible suspect that may have led to the shooting.  There were several people at the crime scene when officers arrived and police say they have been cooperating with detectives.

Quintel Williams says it will be difficult moving forward, "It's gonna be hard cause I don't know to explain to my kids about their father being gone but I got support we gonna make it through make it through."

UPDATE

INDIANAPOLIS -- A man was arrested Friday, hours after another man was fatally shot during an apparent domestic argument on Indianapolis' east side.

Indianapolis police said Kendall Johnson, 21, killed Eric Bell, 23, at about 3:30 a.m. at the Hearts Landing Apartments in the 9400 block of East 43rd Street.  Bell's body was found after there were numerous reports of shots fired in the area.

Police said Johnson was arrested Friday morning in the 6000 block of Massachusetts Avenue on two outstanding warrants involving battery and resisting law enforcement.  Witnesses told police the shooter came into the apartment and put a gun in the mouth of one of two female occupants.

According to witnesses, Bell told the man that he had to leave the apartment.  Bell and the man went outside, and the suspect shot Bell, witnesses told police.

Bobbie Jo Schaefer

Husband held in stabbing death of wife

A Fountain Square area woman is dead, her husband under arrest and their daughter injured after a fatal domestic dispute Sunday afternoon.

May 2, 2011

Indianapolis — A Fountain Square area woman is dead, her husband under arrest and their daughter injured after a fatal domestic dispute Sunday afternoon.

Bobbie Jo Schaefer, 41, was found stabbed to death inside a home in the 1200 block of Evison Street. Kenneth Schaefer, 56, was listed in serious condition with self-inflicted stab wounds. One of the couple's daughters, a 15-year-old, received superficial stab wounds reportedly suffered while trying to fight off the attack on her mother.

Family members told Fox59 News that the couple, married 23 years, returned home from church early Sunday afternoon about two hours before one of the daughters call 911. The family said there had been domestic problems recently and an area resident who passed by the home earlier Sunday agreed.

"I heard 'em arguing back and forth," said Randi Wyatt. "I'm not sure exactly what about. I do know it wasn't sounding good. I just heard him calling her some crucial names and he says he was over the crap."

The couple lived on Evison Street for 15 years. Both daughters were enrolled in charter schools and an adult son is a Marine stationed in Pensacola, Florida. Schaefer continues recovering from his wounds at Wishard Memorial Hospital.

Sparkle Majors

Sparkle Majors

Victim Found Fatally Shot On North Side

April 18, 2011

INDIANAPOLIS -- Police are looking for a 21-year-old man in connection with the fatal shooting of a woman on Indianapolis' north side early Monday morning.

The shooting happened just before 7 a.m. inside an apartment at the Presidential Estates Apartments in the 1700 block of Century Circle South, near Harcourt Road and 79th Street.

Sparkle Majors, 21, was found shot in the head inside the apartment and died at the scene, investigators said.

Two children were inside the home at the time of the shooting. Child Protective Services took a toddler and a baby from the home after the shooting.

Neighbors said they were outside with their children waiting for a school bus when shots rang out.

"I heard about three to four gunshots," said Kimberly Carver, who lives in the complex. "Before we could pick up the phone to call 911, police were already at the scene."

Indianapolis police identified the suspect as Chris Woods, 21, of Indianapolis. Police said he left the apartments southbound on foot after the shooting.

Woods is black, about 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs about 135 pounds. Woods has a high fade haircut with curls on top. He was last seen wearing dark clothing, Indianapolis police Sgt. Linda Jackson said.

The suspect and victim knew each other, but details of that relationship weren't released. Police said Majors was staying at the apartment when Woods came in and started firing.

Greenbriar Elementary School was locked down as police scoured the area. Children were allowed into the school as they arrived, but they are not allowed to leave. Westlane Middle School was also locked down, school officials said.

Police were searching in an area known as Grandview Reserves, trying to find Woods.

Some residents said they live in fear of more violence.

"I'm too scared to even look out my window to even see what apartment they're from. What if they see me looking at them?" one resident said.

UPDATE

April 20, 2011

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - The man accused of shooting and killing a woman in a northwest side apartment on Monday will be in court Thursday.

Police say they apprehended Christopher Woods following a short foot chase Tuesday evening at Community North Hospital, where security officers recognized the suspect. Officers had been searching for Woods since Monday's shooting. A court hearing is set for 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

Woods faces preliminary charges of murder, possession of a firearm without a license and unrelated drug charges. IMPD had targeted him as a suspect in the shooting death of 21-year-old Sparkle Majors.

Majors was gunned down at Presidential Estates Apartments. Her two children were home at the time. Family members say Woods is the father of one of those children, and Majors and Woods were a couple.

Lavenna Shorter

Lavenna Shorter

Man Shot, Killed Girlfriend In Alley

911 Call Alerts Officers To Victim

April 9, 2011

INDIANAPOLIS -- A man was arrested and charged with murder after a woman was found fatally shot in an alley on Indianapolis' east side early Saturday.

Indianapolis Metro Police were called to an alley just east of the 900 block of Sherman Drive at about 2 a.m.

A 911 caller told dispatchers that she heard a gunshot and then heard a woman screaming, 6News' Myrt Price reported.

"Officers arrived and discovered one female suffering from a gunshot wound," said Kendale Adams, Indianapolis police public information officer. "Indianapolis EMS arrived on scene and pronounced the victim deceased."

Police charged Oscar Hall, 38, in connection with the shooting. The victim was identified as Lavenna Shorter, 42.

After receiving the tip from the 911 caller, police tracked Hall down at a home in the 9400 block of East 43rd Street, where they took him into custody.

"He was transported to the homicide office, where he was interviewed and subsequently charged with murder," Adams said.

Police said the shooting may have been the result of some sort of domestic dispute. Neighbors said they believe Shorter was trying to break-up with Hall, which may have sparked the dispute.

"From what I understand, he may have been stalking her," Adams said.

Police said Hall has a lengthy criminal record and was just released from prison earlier this year.

Also:

INDIANAPOLIS -- The family of a slain Indianapolis woman who police said was killed by her boyfriend early Saturday is speaking publicly.

Lavenna Shorter's family said they are still in shock about her death, but they admit they knew she was having problems with her boyfriend, 6News' Myrt Price reported.

"He killed my daughter, and it was cold-blooded," said Marie Adams, Lavenna's mother.

"It's killing me, man. That was my baby. Words cant describe," said Lavenna's father.

Shorter's family said they are devastated and are still trying to come to terms with the fact that she is gone.

"She was a nice young lady. She wasn't into nothing. (She would) go to work and take care of her two girls. She was just a nice person, anyone will tell you in the world she was a beautiful person," Adams said.

Family members said the nightmare began Saturday morning when Oscar Hall barged into her home.

"He stole her key. She didn't know he had a key, and he opened her door. He came in and started tripping and she said, 'Let's go. I'm going to take you home.' That's where she was taking him to his mother's house," Adams said.

However, once the couple arrived in the 900 block of Sherman Avenue, police said Hall shot and killed Shorter.

Police said the shooting happened in front of Shorter's daughter, Corey Hooten.

Hooten said after the suspect shot her mother, he then pointed the gun at her.

"He put the gun to my head and asked me if I want to be next," Hooten said.

Hooten said Hall eventually lowered the gun and drove off.

"For some reason, God stepped in and saved her," Adams said.

Shorter's family said Lavenna and Hall had been dating for a few months, but she had recently been trying to break things off.

"I just don't understand why he did this," Adams said.

The family said the only way they can ever have closure is for the suspect to pay for what he allegedly did.

"I want justice," said Adams. "I want him punished severely."

Shorter's mother offered advice to women who may find themselves in a troubled relationship: get away as fast as you can and don't be afraid to get help from family and friends.

UPDATE:

August 25, 2011

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - A man was sentenced to 60 years in prison on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to killing his 42-year-old girlfriend.

Oscar Hall was charged with murder from an incident on April 9, when police say he shot his girlfriend, Lavenna Shorter, in the head after an argument escalated. It happened around 2 a.m. in an alley in the 900 block of Sherman Avenue, near 10th Street.

Shorter’s daughter was reportedly home when the shooting happened.

Rachel Wurster

 Rachel Wurster

Beech Grove Murder Was Premeditated

Police say suspect told them he'd "always hated" foster sister

January 4, 2011

Court records say the man accused of murdering his foster sister told police he went to her apartment for the express purpose of killing her.

Beech Grove police say Braxton Vaughn, 25, told them he'd "always hated" Rachel Wurster, that she was "not a good person" and treated their mother badly.

Police say Vaughn admitted choking Wurster to death in her Beech Grove apartment. They say he checked her pulse to make sure she was dead, then drove around for several hours looking for a police officer so he could turn himself in.

He finally found two officers at a Plainfield McDonald's, but had difficulty persuading them to take him into custody because he wouldn't tell them why. When an officer asked if he was wanted on a warrant, he allegedly replied, "Not yet."

The officers say Vaughn finally told them he'd killed his sister. They put him in a squad car and called Beech Grove police, who forced their way into Wurster's apartment and found her dead in the hallway.

Vaughn made his first court appearance on Tuesday on a charge of murder. Marion Superior Judge Grant Hawkins set a pretrial hearing date of February 15.

Vaughn faces 45 to 65 years in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors and family members declined comment.

See memorial page on Facebook for dear Rachel here.

Angela Dodson

 Angela Dodson

Man Arrested In Girlfriend's Killing

Woman Fatally Shot Outside Home

December 13, 2010

INDIANAPOLIS -- A man was arrested Monday in the fatal shooting of his girlfriend on the city's southeast side.  Curt Lowder, 33, was arrested on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Angela Dodson, 32.

Indianapolis police were called to St. Francis Hospital in Beech Grove just before 4 a.m., where Dodson had been taken, suffering from a gunshot wound to the head.

Police were originally told that the shooting happened at a convenience store at Southeastern Avenue and Sherman Drive, but later determined that it happened outside Dodson's home in the 1100 block of South Drexel Avenue.

Dodson was transported to Methodist Hospital from St. Francis, where she was pronounced dead a short time later.

Police questioned Lowder and said that he drove Dodson to the hospital.

"Our investigators are diligently working to ascertain the reason that led up to the shooting," said Kendale Adams, Indianapolis police public information officer.

Witnesses told police that Lowder showed up at the house to ask for alcohol before shots were fired.  Police declined to release information about a motive in the shooting.

"Once our investigators have had time to interview those folks, we will be able to come out with a determination as to what led up to this," Adams said.

Melissa Field

Melissa Field

Husband Kills Wife Then Dies in Car Accident

Mother was stabbed while children were at the home. Husband left the residence and lost control of his vehicle slamming into a tree 4 blocks from the home.

By News Staff Fox59
December 13, 2010

Indianapolis - An Indianapolis mother and her husband are dead, after a violent attack followed by a car accident.

Police received a frantic 911 call to a home in the 4700 block of south Rural St just before 5:30 a.m. Sunday. When medics arrived, they found 44-year old Melissa Field dead from stab wounds.

Three children who were in the home told police the couple had a heated argument which lead to the husband, 51-year old Kevin Field becoming angry and stabbing his wife. The husband then left the home and lost control of his vehicle, slamming into a tree in the 4600 block of Carson. The suspect was killed upon impact.

Police say they have never been called to the home. The couple had two children together.

"Certainly it is one of the more tragic incidents we've had in the last six months, you know, both parents to be so violently taken out of this community, it's really sad," said IMPD spokesperson Kendale Adams.

The children are staying with nearby family members after speaking with homicide detectives.

Nickim Cornett

West side couple found dead

Updated: Aug 27, 2010 5:44 PM EDT

Indianapolis - Metro Homicide detectives are investigating the deaths of two people on the city's west side.

Autopsy results revealed that Maurice Smith, 31, had no trauma to the body. His cause of death is pending the outcome of toxicology tests.

Nickina Cornett, 26, died as a result of gunshot wounds. Her death is being investigated as a homicide.

A friend of Smith's found their bodies in their home at 3030 North Harding Street Thursday after not hearing from him for a while.

Their bodies apparently had been in the house for several days based on the decomposition.

The couple's three-year-old daughter had been staying with a relative at the time of their deaths, according to police. Officers say it wasn't unusual for the girl to spend multiple days with the sitter because the mother and father worked long hours at multiple jobs.

Family members promise to raise the child. The young girl is now staying with an aunt.

Linda Nickle

Man, 63, held in shooting deaths of 2 Indianapolis women

A 63-year-old man has been arrested and charged with murder after he told police he shot and killed his girlfriend and her son’s fiance after their bodies were found in the couple’s Far Westside home.

The two women, 61-year-old Linda Nickle and 24-year-old Elizabeth Newcomer, were found about 5 p.m. Saturday in the 6800 block of Westdrum Road.

Sgt. Paul Thompson, a spokesman for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police, said Elwin Hart, Indianapolis, called police from a nearby church to turn himself in about 20 minutes after the bodies were discovered.

Thompson said a domestic dispute might have been the cause of the shootings.

The couple lived together in the home. The couple, he said, bought the house to rehab it and that there may have been an argument Friday possibly related to the house that spilled over to Saturday afternoon.

Police said Nickle’s son, who was out of the city at the time, knew about the argument and became worried when he was unable to reach his mother and Newcomer, so he had a friend break into the house in an attempt to make contact. The bodies were discovered at that point.

Newcomer also resided at the house.

Hart was arrested at the Lynhurst Baptist Church, 1250 South Lynhurst Drive, about 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

Thompson said Hart also faces charges for possession of marijuana after police found several bags of the controlled substance and a one-hitter pipe in his possession.

Also see post for her son's fiance Elizabeth Newcomer here.

Elizabeth Newcomer

2004 Fostoria grad slain in Indianapolis

2nd woman also killed; boyfriend held

INDIANAPOLIS — The prosecutor’s office was expected to file charges today against an Indianapolis man arrested after a former Fostoria woman and her fiance’s mother were found dead of gunshot wounds in the home they shared, police said Tuesday.

Elizabeth Newcomer, 24, a 2004 graduate of Fostoria High School, was killed in the attack Saturday along with Linda Nickle, 61.

Police Sgt. Paul Thompson said the women were found about 5 p.m. by a friend of Ms. Nickle’s son who had gone there to check on them at his request. Ms. Newcomer’s fiance was out of town at the time and could not reach them by phone.

Less than a half-hour after the shootings, Ms. Nickle’s boyfriend, Elwin Hart, 63, called police and said he was the person they were looking for, Sergeant Thompson said. Police picked up Mr. Hart at a nearby church about 5:30 p.m. and said they found a semiautomatic handgun in his vehicle, suspected marijuana, and a pipe believed to be used for drugs.

Sergeant Thompson said investigators believe the shootings erupted from a domestic incident, although police had no record of prior domestic violence reports at the home where Mr. Hart and Ms. Nickle lived.

“Newcomer had moved in. … Apparently [Mr. Hart] wasn’t too happy with the arrangements of the kids moving in. There may have been some other details we can’t release right now, but we think that is the focal point of what happened.”


See post for fiance's mother Linda Nickle here.

Larry Self

Larry Self

Man's body found buried in home's backyard

Victim's sister had reported him missing; partner is arrested

By Vic Ryckaert
Posted: June 17, 2010

Backyard burial victim had been shot

A man found buried in the backyard of his Near-Southside home had been shot, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police said this morning.

Larry Self, 46, was shot in the midst of a fight on March 14 with his partner, Anthony Sachse, 41, Sgt. Matthew Mount said today in a press release. Police do not know what the argument was about.

Police say Sachse confessed to his role in the killing, but are not releasing his statements.

Police recovered Self’s body on Wednesday and arrested Sachse, who is held without bond in the Marion County Jail.

(Earlier -- Man's body found buried in home's backyard)

An Indianapolis man accused of killing his partner and burying his body in the backyard of a Near-Southside home was arrested Wednesday on a preliminary charge of murder, police said.

Anthony Sachse, 41, is suspected of killing Larry Self, 45, on March 14, police said. Sachse was being held without bond Wednesday at the Marion County Jail.

Sachse admitted to the killing Wednesday morning after detectives served a search warrant at the home he shared with Self in the 1700 block of South Meridian Street, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Sgt. Paul Thompson said.

Police recovered Self's body, and an autopsy was performed Wednesday, Thompson said. Police would not disclose the cause of death.

Police stepped in when Self's sister filed a missing-person report June 4, telling officers she had last spoken to her brother by phone March 6.

"He buried him in the backyard," Patricia Self, 56, told the Indianapolis Star on Wednesday. "What kind of monster does that?"

Larry Self was on disability, his sister said, and she thinks Sachse cashed her brother's Social Security checks after his death. Patricia Self, Springfield, Ill., said her brother and Sachse had been in an off-and-on relationship for more than two decades.

"I really didn't believe he would just throw him in the ground, someone who loved him for 20 years-plus," she said.

Patricia Self said she spoke to her brother often by telephone, and she became concerned when the calls stopped. She said she received e-mails from her brother's account, starting in April, that she now believes Sachse wrote.

In late May, her brother's doctor's office called, saying it could not reach him and that someone had told the office he had died. About a week later, she said, she got a message from her brother's e-mail account that seemed suspicious.

"It was a nasty e-mail . . . saying he didn't want to talk to me," she said. "My brother would never send me a hateful e-mail. Never."

She filed the missing-person report later that day. According to the June 4 report, she told police she feared her brother had become a victim of foul play.

Police dug up Self's body with help from University of Indianapolis forensic anthropologist Stephen Nawrocki. Officers also seized a 9 mm handgun from the home, the report said.

According to a police report, Sachse called a suicide hotline and threatened to kill himself March 25. Police went to the home and took Sachse to St. Francis Hospital -- Beech Grove.

"Mr. Sachse stated that his partner passed a couple weeks ago, and he has had a very hard time getting past this," officer Klinton Streeter wrote in the report.

Patricia Self said Self relocated from Texas about five years ago in hopes of helping Sachse get away from bad influences.

"My brother had a big heart. He didn't have any enemies," she said. "He was HIV-positive and . . . stayed with Joe because he didn't want to endanger anyone else."

Franziska Stegbauer

Woman Killed Trying To Break Up Swordfight

Police: Men Fought With Swords During Argument

POSTED: 11:48 am EDT April 9, 2009

INDIANAPOLIS -- A woman was killed when she tried to break up a swordfight between her brother-in-law and a grandson in her home on Indianapolis' far-northwest side early Thursday morning.Franziska Stegbauer, 77, died as a result of stab wounds, Indianapolis police Sgt. Matt Mount said.Chris Rondeau, 39 and Adolf Stegbauer, 69, got into an argument at a home in the 5200 block of Raceway Road at about 1 a.m. that escalated when one of the men grabbed a sword, prompting the other man to also brandish a sword.

Police were initially unsure if Franziska Stegbauer's death resulted from stab wounds or from a medical condition brought on by the fight.Investigators are trying to determine which man stabbed the woman, but Rondeau was already being held on an attempted murder charge because of wounds that Adolf Stegbauer suffered.Adolf Stegbauer was listed in critical condition at Wishard Memorial Hospital Thursday afternoon after undergoing surgery."We're unsure yet who started this fight, how the swordplay got involved," said Indianapolis police Sgt. Matt Mount. "We're not sure who it was who stabbed the woman. We'll have to do some testing on the swords and figure out who had which sword, whose blood is on which sword."Rondeau, who was also hospitalized with stab wounds, was held Thursday afternoon at the hospital's detention unit.

Also see post for dear Adolf Stegbauer here, who did not survive.

Adolf Stegbauer

Man Dies Days After Swordfight That Killed Woman

Charges Expected To Be Upgraded Against Other Man In Stabbing

POSTED: 1:11 pm EDT April 13, 2009

INDIANAPOLIS -- A man died Monday, days after he was stabbed in a swordfight with the grandson of a woman who was also fatally stabbed when she tried to intervene in the fight, police said.Adolf Stegbauer, 69, died from complications of a stab wound, Indianapolis police said. Charges that were already pending against the man who police said stabbed Stegbauer, Chris Rondeau, 39, were expected to be upgraded.Franziska Stegbauer, 77, also died as a result of stab wounds after the fight early Thursday morning, but police were not initially sure which of the men had stabbed her.

Rondeau and Adolf Stegbauer got into an argument at a home in the 5200 block of Raceway Road that escalated when one of the men grabbed a sword, prompting the other man to also brandish a sword.Rondeau was being held on an attempted murder charge stemming from the stabbing of Adolf Stegbauer.

Also see post for dear Franziska Stegbauer here.