Harry K. Harris

Man, 80, Kills Daughter's Boyfriend, Stabs Self

Boyd Wright Expected To Be Charged With Murder In Slaying

POSTED: 10:58 am EDT July 13, 2011

MADISON, Ind. -- Police said a man killed his daughter's boyfriend, then stabbed himself -- possibly to establish a self-defense alibi.

Police in Madison said 80-year-old Boyd D. Wright Jr. did not approve of his daughter's relationship with 57-year-old Harry K. Harris.

Wright is expected to be charged with murder by the end of the week.

Police said that shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday, Wright shot his daughter's 57-year-old boyfriend, Harry Harris, in the back -- then confessed to it.

"He made some statements that he retrieved a .20 gauge shotgun, loaded it, and shot Mr. Harris in the back," said prosecutor Chad Lewis."He made some statements that he was upset at the relationship Mr. Harris had with his daughter, and that he was at one point angry because at one point, Mr. Harris had sat in his seat at the dining room table."

Madison Police Chief Yancy Denning said when his officers arrived, Wright was bloody and holding a knife.

"We're under the impression that he was cutting himself," Denning said. "There's no indication that anyone else had cut him. When our officers got there, he still had the gun in his hand, attempting to harm himself."

Wright was treated for minor injuries at a nearby hospital, and then booked into the Jefferson County, Ind., Jail.

Family members refused to comment on the case.  Wright remains in jail, with no bond.

Harris is from Aurora, Ind. Efforts to speak to his family were not successful.

Jeremy K. Gibson

Jeremy K. Gibson (with unknown child)

Three Charged In Killing Poured Acid Over Body, Police Say

Man's Body Found Last Week In Shallow Grave

POSTED: 7:28 am EDT July 14, 2011

LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Newly filed court documents allege that three people charged in the slaying of a Lafayette man poured acid on his body to try to prevent authorities from identifying him.

The Journal & Courier reported that a probable cause affidavit filed Wednesday in a Tippecanoe County court supporting charges against the trio also allege that the suspects killed Jeremy K. Gibson, 26, by beating him with an ax or a shovel.

Carolann R. Clear, 20, Darren J. Englert, 20, and Antonio Williams, 25, were formally charged Wednesday with murder and conspiracy to commit murder charges in Gibson's death.

All three had been staying with Gibson in his downtown Lafayette apartment, and Clear had been dating him.

Police found Gibson's body Friday in a shallow grave near the north-central Indiana town of Montmorenci.

Some neighbors said they had heard Gibson had been fighting with Englert, Williams and Clear over a woman.

Also:

July 8, 2011 - A body found in a freshly dug grave in Tippecanoe County is believed to be that of a man police said they suspect was killed by three acquaintances.

Jeremy K. Gibson, 26, was reported missing Wednesday. The body was found at 8:30 p.m. Thursday in a field in the northwestern part of the county, police said.

"We believe these are the remains of Mr. Gibson. However, a final determination will be made by the coroner," said Lafayette police Capt. Bruce Biggs.

Beatrice Holdeman

Elderly couple found dead in home

Police: Appears to be a murder-suicide

Updated: Thursday, 07 Jul 2011, 11:26 PM EDT

MUNCIE, Ind. (WISH) - A Muncie couple, identified as John and Bea Holdeman, both in their 90s, took their own lives Thursday afternoon.

They were discovered in bed by their daughter, who was visiting her parents from out of town.

“She'd been here earlier in the morning, and her father had sent her out to run an errand,” Captain Mark Vollmar with the Muncie Police Department said. “And when she came back, she found out they were both deceased."

John, he said, left a note behind.

“I think he was frustrated with the quality of life for both of them,” Vollmar said.

Bea was terminally ill and relied on hospice.

Vollmar said it was recently recommended that she move to a nursing home.

John had just received his own poor diagnosis.

One neighbor, Gene Calvert, who lived next to the couple for nine years had fond memories.

"They were very nice people, good neighbors,” Calvert said. “They were quiet, no disturbance, friendly, just as nice of neighbors as you could have.”

From another source (WRTV-6):

An elderly Muncie man likely killed his ill wife and then committed suicide in their home Thursday, police said.

Officers went to the couple's condominium in the 5100 block of West Churchill Court after their daughter called police to say she believed her father may have killed her mother.

Police found the victims, John Holdeman and his wife Beatrice, both in their mid-90s, dead from gunshot wounds in their home.

Investigators said Holdeman shot his wife, then lay down next to her and shot himself. Holdeman left a suicide note with a motive, detectives said.

Neighbors said the couple used to garden together outside their west Muncie condominium, but hadn't been out of the house much lately, 6News' Tanya Spencer reported.

"They both had issues that had happened recently and their health was deteriorating," neighbor Gene Calvert said.

The couple received hospice care and Beatrice was expected to be transferred to a nursing home soon, officials said.

The couple's daughter, who was visiting from California, found her parents dead.

"(The daughter) was standing over there shaking tremendously. Obviously something had happened. So my wife went over to help her," Calvert said.

Police said the Holdeman's daughter has some health problems of her own and had to be taken to the hospital to be checked out.

Neighbors who knew John and Beatrice said that even though they were in their 90s, they acted like lovebirds.

"It is sad. They were really nice, good people," Calvert said.

Police said the Holdeman's children all live on the West Coast and they had no other family in Muncie.


(Although I don't consider this a "violent" act, it is what it is so was included. My sincere condolences to their family.)

Obituaries:

MUNCIE - Beatrice M. Holdeman, 95, Muncie, passed away Thursday July 7, 2011 at her residence.

She was born March 3, 1916 in Flint, Michigan, the daughter of Ralph and Vivian (Neyle) McBurney and graduated from Michigan State University in 1939.

Beatrice worked as a teacher for many years in Michigan. She was a member of College Avenue United Methodist Church where she was involved with A.A.U.W., and the P.E.O. Sisterhood. Beatrice also was a member of the Auburn Memorial Hospital Guild.

Mrs. Holdeman is survived by her three children, John W. Holdeman (wife, Cassandra), Dr. Mary Ann Clark (husband, Dr. Richard E. Clark), and Robert E. Holdeman (wife, Kass); six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

Cremation will take place and a memorial service will be held 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at College Avenue United Methodist Church, 1968 West Main Street, Muncie, Indiana 47303 with Pastor Chip Gast officiating.

Family and Friends may call from 4:00 until 4:30 on Wednesday at the church.

The Meeks Mortuary and Crematory is in charge of arrangements.

Contributions may be sent to Indiana Masonic Home Foundation, P.O. Box 44210, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204.

Online condolences may be directed to the family at http://www.meeksmortuary.com.

Also:

MUNCIE - John W. Holdeman, 95, Muncie, passed away Thursday July 7, 2011 at his residence.

He was born August 20, 1915 in Leipseic, Ohio, the son of Lloyd and Vivian (Cottingham) Holdeman and graduated from The University of Michigan with a degree in Mechanical engineering. Mr. Holdeman retired from Borg Warner Automotive after thirty-nine years of service. During his career at Borg Warner he served as the Associate Director of Research, Vice President of Engineering, and the Product Engineering Manager where he developed thirty-five automotive patents. He had also worked for Packard Motorcar Company and Detroit Gear division of Borg Warner. After his retirement, John served as a volunteer for the International Executive Service Corporation in Korea.

His memberships included, The Muncie Elks Country Club, Wilbur A. Full Masonic Lodge # 1744, and College Avenue Methodist Church.

Mr. Holdeman is survived by his three children, John W. Holdeman (wife, Cassandra), Dr. Mary Ann Clark (husband, Dr. Richard E. Clark), and Robert E. Holdeman (wife, Kass); two sisters, Laura M. Hartman, and Elizabeth L. Dobbins; two brothers, Stephen Holdeman, and David L. Holdeman; six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and a sister, Mary I. Gorham.

Cremation will take place and a memorial service will be held 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at College Avenue United Methodist Church, 1968 West Main Street, Muncie, Indiana with Pastor Chip Gast officiating.

Friends and Family may call from 4:00 until 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Church.

Contributions may be made to Indiana Masonic Home Foundation, P.O. Box 44210, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204.

Online condolences may be directed to the family at http://www.meeksmortuary.com.

Lisa Pattison

Lisa Pattison

Scott Pattison indicted for murder

October 25, 2010

WABASH, Ind. (WANE) - The Wabash County Sheriff's Department has arrested Scott Pattison after a grand jury indicted him for murder in connection with the death of his wife. Wabash County Prosecutor Bill Hartley announced the arrest at a news conference Monday afternoon.

According to Prosecutor Hartley, Pattison was picked up without incident by deputies at his mother's home in Swayzee. An initial hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday at 1 p.m.

When asked by NewsChannel 15 about his arrest, Pattison replied, "I am not guilty." His attorney, Shane Beal echoed his statements in a phone interview. Beal denied Pattison had any wrongdoing, or involvment in Lisa's death.

A grand jury began hearing testimony related to the death of Lisa Pattison last week. She was found dead in their home on a weight bench on July 2, by her husband Scott. The Grant County Coroner ruled her death a homicide.

The grand jury began deliberating Monday after Wabash County Sheriff's Deputies loaded a truck with disassembled exercise equipment. That equipment was taken from the judicial building where the grand jury proceedings took place to an unknown location.

Prosecutor Bill Hartley had planned on having the grand jury proceedings wrap up last week. A spokesperson for Hartley's office said a witness had been involved in a traffic accident, and was not able to testify, which delayed the proceedings.

On Thursday of last week, Lisa Pattison's sister testified before the grand jury, as did her 18-year old son, among other witnesses. Scott Pattison testified to the jury on Wednesday, the second day of the proceedings.

According to authorities, around noon on July 2, 2009, Scott Pattison reported he found his wife Lisa unresponsive in the fitness room of their LaFontaine home on the weight bench with the bar bell across her throat.

Pattison told police he removed the bar, began CPR and called for emergency assistance. After the call, Pattison decided to place his wife in the cab of his truck and take her to Marion General Hospital.

On the way to the hospital, Pattison was stopped by Grant County police and medical personnel, where they took Lisa from the truck, placed her in the ambulance and immediately started resuscitation.

After continued resusciation efforts at the hospital failed, Lisa Pattison was pronounced dead at 12:49 p.m. . The coroner initially ruled the cause of death as asphyxia caused by compression. Lisa Pattison's death would later be ruled a homicide, clearly defining that her death was not accidental, but was at the hands of someone else.

With no confession to a crime by anyone, and no eye witnesses, Hartley said he called in a grand jury to hear the body of evidence that is for the most part, circumstantial. Hartley also said it would relieve some of the political pressure off of him whether to file murder or manslaughter charges against Scott Pattison.

Lisa Pattison left behind an 18-year old son, among other family members. Her father, Jerry Young spoke out on Lisa's death exclusively to NewsChannel 15.

"It's bad enough for a father, or mother to lose their child," said Young. "But to then not know what happened, that just adds to the pain." Young called his daughter a loving mother, and a creative and motivated marketing professional.

Court documents show Scott Pattison had filed divorce from Lisa in March, but then filed a continuance in May. The petition for a continuance showed the two parties were "trying to reconcile."

Hartley said in a grand jury indictment, charging information is not publicly available, even after charges have been filed. Details into the evidence the grand jury reviewed will not be available until a trial plays out in a Wabash County Court. That's when information about the evidence would be revealed.

Debra Aynes

Debra Aynes

Friend: Woman’s ex a bit controlling, but not violent

Pendleton diner closes temporarily after shooting deaths

By Christina M. Wright The Herald Bulletin, July 31, 2010

PENDLETON — A woman allegedly shot by her ex-boyfriend — who then reportedly killed himself — had split with the man because she wanted to be her own person, said the woman’s best friend and business partner.

“I think she still cared for him and they were just growing apart,” Donna Cantrell said Saturday afternoon. “She had things that she wanted to for herself and her family.”

Pendleton police said in a news release that Robert Jones, 56, of Madison County, entered The Diner (sometimes called Deb & Donna’s) with a revolver and a semi-automatic handgun at about 5 a.m. Saturday. He confronted his ex-girlfriend, Debra Aynes, 51, co-owner of the place, then shot her before turning the gun on himself, the police said.

Cantrell briefly spoke Saturday afternoon about Aynes’ winning personality and her recent attempts to be a better grandmother.

She stood outside the taped-off diner as a crew from Aftermath Inc. worked inside the building and former employees comforted each other outside.

A bright-orange poster hung in the front window next to a painting of a grinning chef that read: “Closed until notice. We lost our beloved Deb today. We will miss you and remember you forever. Love you.”

“She had a natural energy,” Cantrell said, eyes glistening. “She was just full of energy.”

Cantrell said the best friends of 20 years worked at a declining restaurant 14 years ago and decided to open The Diner on customers’ suggestions. She said the two worked together well, and both loved the diner.

In fact, Cantrell said, the love for the business was why she believed Aynes couldn’t have thought Jones would become violent after their break-up. She said Saturday was Aynes’ first day back to work since leaving Jones on Wednesday.

“I know, if she felt like he was a danger, she wouldn’t have brought it to work,” Cantrell said. “She wouldn’t have brought it to the diner.”

Cantrell speculated that most employees and friends wouldn’t have thought Jones would be capable of what he’s alleged to have done Saturday, Cantrell said.

She said it was well-known that Jones spun tall-tales, but no one seemed to view him as dangerous. Cantrell said there was no previous domestic violence.

Friends, Cantrell said, recognized that Jones was a bit controlling, but not overly so.

“It wasn’t to the point that she couldn’t go anywhere,” Cantrell said. “It was just, he wanted her spare time to be his. ... And he was good at spinning ideas to where she thought they were hers.”

Cantrell said Saturday evening she would call Jones’ son to ask if he would like to comment on events, but the son had not contacted The Herald Bulletin by publication time.

It was the draw of spontaneity, freedom and, mostly, a relationship with the children of her three children that finally pushed Aynes to call her relationship quits after 25 years, Cantrell said.

“In getting her own business and getting her own way, I think she thought it was time,” Cantrell said, adding that Jones wasn’t comfortable around children and Aynes yearned to have her grandchildren spend the night with her.

Cantrell said Jones wanted Aynes to call off the breakup. She said the one waitress and one customer in the diner Saturday morning said they’d heard Aynes say, “I’ll come back home.”

The customer was a regular who often made it to the restaurant even before the waitresses and made coffee for Aynes, Cantrell said. She said the customer and waitress were “pretty shaken up.”

Co-owner Cantrell, who wasn’t at the business Saturday morning when the tragedy occurred, later found unfinished gravy in the kitchen, which told her Aynes had just gotten to work.

“Coming around the bend and seeing all the lights, it just made you realize it was true,” she said. “I was hoping it was somebody’s really sick joke.”

Mary Alice Simonson

20-Year-Old Man Arrested In Great Aunt's Slaying

July 8, 2010

GREENSBURG, Ind. -- A man was arrested Thursday in his great aunt's slaying after he called police and told them he had "just murdered someone."Greensburg Police Chief Brian Heaton said Mary Alice Simonson, 76, was found dead in her bed in a mobile home in the 2000 block of Moscow Road, on the northwest side of the city, 6News' Renee Jameson reported.

Heaton said James LaFramboise, 20, called police at about 9 a.m. and he'd cut his aunt's throat. "He walked down to the entrance of the yard here and he called the police and said, 'Send somebody over, I killed my aunt," said LaFramboise's mother, Nicola Smith, 59.

LaFramboise was arrested without incident on a preliminary charge of murder, police said. "He was in close proximity to this trailer. He was taken into custody. He has given a statement," said Detective Bill Meyerrose.

LaFramboise and his parents lived in the mobile home with Simonson. Smith said she doesn't know why her son would act out so violently. "I talked to him and I asked him, 'Son, what happened?' And he said, 'Mom I don't know, I just don't know,' and he fell apart," Smith said. "At this point, he says he's not sure what happened, why it happened. All he knows is that he remembers the fact that she's gone. I mean, he loved her to death."

LaFramboise was being held in the Decatur County Jail on Thursday evening.

Mya Lee

Mom's boyfriend accused of murder in toddler's death

June 24, 2010

CROWN POINT | A Chicago man is facing murder and other multiple charges in connection to last year's death of a Hammond toddler left in his care.

A probable cause affidavit filed Tuesday alleges Stacey M. Daniels, 30, told police he struck his girlfriend's daughter, 21-month-old Mya Lee, with a brush causing the girl to lose her balance and hit her head.

The child died at 7:25 a.m. July 24, 2009, at the University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital from what the Cook County Medical Examiner's office determined a homicide resulting from child abuse, the affidavit states.

An autopsy found the girl suffered brain edema, a subdural hematoma and multiple scalp hemorrhages. Her legs showed signs of bruising of a type doctors said is not typical of bruising suffered by toddlers, including a large hematoma on her right thigh.

Daniels is charged with murder, two counts of battery and three counts of neglect to a dependent.

Daniels is alleged to have told police he was at his girlfriend's apartment in the 2200 block of Woodhollow Avenue in Hammond, where he stayed off and on, when the child was injured on the morning of July 23, 2009.

Daniels reported Mya as still asleep about 7 a.m. when her mother left for work leaving the child in his care, the affidavit states.

Daniels said the child woke up crying about 7:05 a.m. and continued to cry, which he said was not unusual. He was trying to get the girl ready to leave to stay with a babysitter when he picked up a hairbrush and tapped the girl on the thigh as she walked away from him, he told police.

The child lost her balance, fell, hit her head on the floor, and started to cry, he said.

Daniels said he put the child back in her crib and left the room after which he heard "a shaking sound" coming from the bedroom. Re-entering the bedroom, Daniels said he found the girl unresponsive and shaking uncontrollably before going limp.

Daniels is alleged to have told conflicting stories of how the child hit her head.

The child's mother told police she had gotten up at 5:50 a.m. to get ready for work and had asked Daniels to take the child to the babysitter for the day.

She reported the child as healthy and uninjured that morning but for a braid that had been pulled from her head when it got caught in a shopping car.

April Wills

April Wills

Police: Girl Witnessed Mother's Death At Hands Of Ex-Husband

Police: Girl, Mother Abducted By Ex-Husband

POSTED: 7:47 am EDT July 22, 2008

Patricia Shirley wishes her daughter had never fallen so hard for such a dangerous man.

"All of us always told her to leave him alone," said Shirley, 73. "He's done threatened her I don't know how many times. . . . She's had black eyes, bruises all over."

The violence exploded one final time Tuesday morning, when police said Carl Wills went to the apartment of his ex-wife, April, and killed her boyfriend. He then dragged her and her 13-year-old daughter into his car, leading police on a rush-hour chase. Along the way, he fatally shot April as her daughter watched from the backseat. Once police forced him to a stop, he put the .44-caliber Magnum to his head and pulled the trigger.

The couple, who had no children together, first married in 2005 and divorced soon after. They remarried in 2007 and divorced a second time in March.

During the past year, April, 30, had turned to the courts for protective orders after Carl slashed her tire and punched her in the face, according to police reports. Carl, 44, was never convicted in those incidents, but he had a volatile criminal past. He was acquitted by a jury in a 1982 slaying, only to spend seven years in prison for killing a man in 1990.

Still, family members said they continued to see each other.

Only 12 hours before the shootings, April visited Carl at his home in the 2600 block of North Alabama Street, said his mother, Christina Wills, 67, who also lives there. April stayed for about an hour chatting with them, said Christina, the only person present during the visit who is still alive.

The next morning, April Wills' 13-year-old daughter awoke just after 7 to the sound of a gunshot.

That was the sound, police say, of Carl Wills entering the apartment in the 5000 block of Winterberry Drive and killing her mother's boyfriend, John L. Cunningham III, 30.

The girl went downstairs to find Carl beating her mother. April's three other children were staying with relatives.

Nearby residents watched as Carl tried to force April into his car.

"I don't think I've ever seen anybody beat a woman that violently," said April's neighbor, Faye Miles, who rushed down to the parking lot with phone in hand, dialing 911.Miles said she saw April jump out of the rolling car and run back inside the apartment, but Carl ran after her.

"He drug her out by her hair, and that's when I seen him put the gun to her head and say, 'Do you want to die right now?' "

When the panicked teen ran out of the house toward her mother, Miles said, Carl forced her into the car, too, and drove off, the door still open. Police spotted the 1985 Buick Skylark near 58th Street and Georgetown Road and began to pursue him, but Carl refused to stop.

As police chased him, he made a cell phone call to his 26-year-old daughter, Laquinta Meeks.

"He just kept saying, 'It's over,' " Meeks said. "He said, 'I got five police cars behind me. It's over.' "

Sometime during the chase, Carl shot and killed April, said Sgt. Matthew Mount, an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department spokesman. Then, as police closed in on his car near 25th and Meridian streets at 7:28 a.m., he shot himself.

The 13-year-old climbed out of the back seat and was grabbed by officers. Now she and April's other three children are staying with their grandmother, Shirley.

April and Carl were only two weeks into their second marriage when a judge granted her a nonviolent contact protective order in August 2007. The order allowed the two to have contact but barred violence, an arrangement that underscored the two sides of their relationship. Even after their divorce in March, April kept in touch with her ex-husband -- all the way up until the night before he killed her.

Ann DeLaney, executive director of the Julian Center, a domestic violence shelter on the Near Northside, said it is common for victims of domestic violence to maintain contact with those who hurt them.

"They think if they just talk some sense into him, he'd let it go," DeLaney said. "They don't realize that the risk is death."

Cunningham and April Wills were the 14th and 15th homicide victims this month. Indianapolis has not seen killing on this pace since the summer of 2006, a near-record year for homicides.

Police suspect at least two other killings this month stemmed from domestic violence.

Dede Martin, a friend of Carl Wills, collapses in grief near 25th and Pennsylvania streets. Her friend Beverly Lamb tries to console her. - SAM RICHE / The Star

Carl Wills killed himself at the end of the police chase, officials say. - Provided by IMPD

See copy of protective order here.


Also see post for dear friend John L. Cunningham III.

John L. Cunningham III

(I don't have much on dear John and found little, if someone could please comment about him that would be great).

Appeals court calls non-violent protective orders defective

For years, advocates concerned with domestic violence have argued that court-issued "nonviolent contact orders" provide no meaningful protection to victims.

And now the courts also have taken a step in that direction.

A state appeals court has deemed one such order "defective," an opinion advocates hope will encourage judges to take stronger measures to protect potential victims of domestic abuse.

"It's obviously a yellow flag," said Marion Circuit Judge Louis Rosenberg. "We will all read it, and we will follow it."

When abuse victims or those who fear for their safety seek protection from a known person, judges typically have issued a common protective order that bars any contact. But sometimes they issue nonviolent orders that allow abusers to see their victims -- as long as they don't hurt them.

The practice made news last summer when an Indianapolis man under such an order shot and killed his ex-wife, April Wills, in front of her 13-year-old daughter.

The appellate opinion this month does not stop judges from allowing contact between victim and abuser, said Seth Lahn, who directs the Protective Order Project at Indiana University's Maurer School of Law. But it discourages that practice in cases where there is past abuse. * * *

Judges use nonviolent contact orders primarily in cases where some contact is deemed necessary for reasons such as counseling or parenting arrangements.

But domestic violence advocates say the orders provide an easy way out for judges who basically allow any contact as long as it's not violent when they should make the effort to set strict rules for such contact.

"The judge has to say, 'I'm granting a protective order. That means no showing up on her doorstep, no phone calls, no texts, no nothing. So while we're here and while we're in court, let's talk about parenting,' " said Kerry Hyatt Blomquist, legal director for the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence. "That takes time."

Lahn said the ruling means "the court should lean on the other side and say, 'We're going to prohibit all contact except for what is necessary to exchange the child for visitation.' "

Blomquist's group, which filed a friend of the court brief in the case, argues that the orders often are misunderstood and give victims a false sense of security.

"If the parties could have nonviolent contact," Blomquist said, "she wouldn't be asking the court for protection."

Blomquist said DeVone Moore, the Marion County woman whose nonviolent contact order the appeals court deemed defective, believed the measure barred visits from her husband, who had abused her.

Still, the Marion Superior Court judge who gave April Wills a nonviolent protective order against her ex-husband does not believe any kind of order would have kept her alive. He said he was in the process of making permanent an emergency protective order prohibiting contact when Wills interrupted him, saying she needed to see her ex-husband for parenting reasons.

"I get angry when people suggest that it was a defective order that led to (Wills' death)," said Marion Superior Court Judge David Certo. "He's a murderer."

In the two years before Certo handed down the nonviolent protective order in the fall of 2007, Carl Wills had slashed Wills' tire, kicked in her door and punched her in the face. She never pressed charges. On July 22, 2008, Carl Wills killed Wills' boyfriend, John L. Cunningham III, then dragged Wills and her 13-year-old daughter into his car. Minutes later, he killed April as the girl watched. As police approached, Carl Wills fatally shot himself.

Certo, who also handed down the nonviolent contact order in the Moore case, said he issues 30 to 50 protective orders per day and two or three nonviolent contact orders a month. He said he appreciates the appeals court's guidance but will continue to evaluate each case individually and hand down nonviolent contact orders when he thinks they're appropriate.

Link to briefs in the case here.

Also see post for dear friend April Wills.

Jamison Essick

Teenager Facing Felony Charges To Undergo Examination

September 17, 2009

(BEDFORD) - A Bedford teenager that is accused of battery that eventually led to the death of his girlfriend’s 7 month old baby is set to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

17-year-old Casey Garrsion of Bedford is facing a class B felony of aggravated assault, the charges stem from the death of Jamison Essick on July 16th of this year.

Court documents showed that Essick died of multiple skull fractures consistent with blunt force trauma. According to a report in the Times Mail, Garrison was dating Essick's mother at the time of the incident.

Garrison is set to undergo the psychiatric evaluation to determine if he will be tried as an adult, and the evaluation is set to take place sometime this afternoon.

Garrison is currently being held in the Jackson County juvenile facility, but if the case is move to adult court he will be transferred to the Lawrence County Jail.

Obituary:

Jamison A. R. Essick

Dec. 11, 2008 — July 16, 2009

Jamison Allen Ray Essick, seven-month-old son of Kaitlin “Erin” Essick and Steven Allen Tolbert, died July 16 at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis.

Survivors include his mother, Kaitlin Essick and her fiance, Casey Garrison, both of Bedford; his father, Steven Tolbert, Greencastle; two grandmothers; his great-grandmother; two aunts; two uncles; several cousins and other relatives; and his caregivers, Jane Mitchell and Jean Mullis.

Memorial services will be at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Friendly Bible Church, 730 Pearless Road, Bedford, with Tim Jenkins officiating.

UPDATE:

Teen gets 8 years for killing baby

June 4, 2010

BEDFORD — Still grieving, still imagining she hears his cries, Jane Mitchell confronted Casey Garrison in Lawrence Superior Court II and told him of the pain and devastation .

Jeremiah Williams

Jeremiah Williams

Child Shot at East Side Apartment Dies

July 24, 2009

Indianapolis - City leaders are expressing shock and outrage over the shooting death of an eight-year-old boy. A teenager was also wounded in the shooting incident at the Hearts Landing Apartments Wednesday night, and an Indianapolis man is facing charges.

Metro homicide detectives believe the suspect came to a home in the 4300 block of Wittfield to settle differences with the teenager that was shot, but ended up fatally hitting the eight-year-old.

Deputy Chief Bill Benjamin immediately organized officers from the violent crimes unit to find the shooter. After a brief search, they arrested 27-year-old Joshua Germany. The arrest took place in the 10700 block of East 42nd Street around 11:00 pm, a few hours after the shootings and about a mile and a half away from the crime scene.

Police say Germany fired shots into a home on Wittfield Street. Bullets struck both Namar Taylor, 18, and Jeremiah Williams, 8, in the head. Taylor is in stable condition, but Jeremiah died from his injuries early Thursday morning. Several other children were also in the home at the time of the shooting, along with the boy's mother, but no one else was injured.

The shooting outraged community leaders, who were relieved police were able to track down Joshua Germany but vowed to stop the violence.

"We are livid. We are outraged. When you beat up and shoot at our babies and deal with our seniors we are going to do something about it. We are upset to the tenth degree. We will do something about it. Write it down. We will do something about this," said Lionel Rush, community leader.

Jeremiah Williams' front porch is full of teddy bears, flowers and prayers. Young Men Incorporated summer camp boys are among those who left flowers.

"There is no reason that a kid should lose his life about somebody making bad choices," said Byron Alston, community leader.

Metro police arrested Joshua Germany on preliminary charges of murder and attempted murder. Officers took him to Wishard Hospital Wednesday night to be treated for bites from a police K-9.

Police say Germany was wanted on a domestic violence warrant issued earlier in the day involving the 8-year-old's mother. According to police, Germany is believed to have a child with the mother, but the child is not the shooting victim.

On top of the arrest of the man who police believe responsible for this shooting, even officers say it will take more than arrests to stop the violence.

"We make arrests all day long but that is not the only answer. We need more than that," said Commander Becky Lake, IMPD.

"This is about your life. This is life and death for you and your children and if you can, make that call to get out," said Julie Marsh, Domestic Violence Network.

During Eyewitness News' investigation into the suspect Joshua Germany, we learned this is not the first he's been in trouble for shooting a gun at this address. Police believe in 2007 he fired several shots into the air. No one got hurt then, but this time the gunfire claimed the life of a young child.

Shadonna D. Cheatham

Boyfriend Charged in Woman's Slaying

Police: Man shot her, held gun to his mouth

July 26, 2007

CROWN POINT | Prosecutors on Thursday charged Shadonna Cheatham's boyfriend with fatally shooting her.  Dia Nelson, 33, of Gary, faces 65 years in prison if convicted of murder.

Court records show Cheatham's mother was visiting her Thursday evening at the apartment Cheatham, 22, and Nelson shared.

The mother and daughter were outside talking when Cheatham went back inside, reports state. A short time later, the woman heard a gunshot from inside the apartment.

When she went inside, she saw Nelson's two children at the bottom of the steps calling up to their father. Cheatham's mother went upstairs and found Nelson standing in the bathroom with a handgun to his mouth threatening to kill himself, reports state.  Then she saw her daughter on the floor with a bullet wound to her head.

Nelson's children were coming up the stairs so she grabbed them and took them to a neighbor's house, where she called police, reports state.  She went back to her daughter's apartment and saw Nelson coming downstairs with the gun still in his mouth.

Another witness told police he saw Nelson go back into the apartment. When he came back out, Nelson said: "It was an accident. I didn't mean to do it," the probable cause affidavit states.

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GARY | In what has been a busy week for Gary homicide detectives, police are looking for a suspect in the Friday morning shooting death of a 22-year-old woman.

Shadonna Cheatham was found at 4456 W. 24th Ave. with a gunshot wound to the head. Cheatham's mother told police she was outside the apartment when she heard a gunshot, went back inside and found her daughter shot in a bedroom, Cmdr. Samuel Roberts said.

The mother told police she saw the suspect holding a gun and saying he was going to kill himself, Roberts said. The man then left the apartment.

Cheatham was pronounced dead at 9:56 a.m. at the Methodist Hospitals Southlake Campus.

She is the fourth person killed in Gary this week. About 10 hours earlier, 27-year-old Kenyon Tarver was shot to death about three miles away.

Elijah Harris

Hammond couple charged in toddler's beating death

July 31, 2007 (WLS) -- A Northwest Indiana couple is charged in connection with the beating death of a toddler.

Twenty-three-month-old Elijah Harris died last Thursday after suffering traumatic brain injuries at a home in Hammond.  The child's mother, 29-year-old Angela Burgher , and the boy's stepfather, Dennis Burgher, each face four counts of child neglect.  Investigators say the toddler also had scalding burns on his body.

The mother and stepfather remained in custody Tuesday night.

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CROWN POINT | Angela Burgher unfolded a crinkled piece of yellow paper Wednesday and read her apology for the circumstances leading up to her son's death.

The East Chicago woman's son, Elijah Harris, died in July 2007 of severe trauma to the head. He would have celebrated his second birthday a month later.

"I'm sorry to my children for not making better choices and decisions for them," Burgher said Wednesday in a shaky voice.

Burgher was sentenced Wednesday to an agreed term of 10 years in prison for felony child neglect that led to Elijah's death.

The 21-year-old woman, who also has another child, pleaded guilty in April in return for Lake County prosecutors dropping five other felony charges that included battery and neglect of a dependent.

Burgher admitted to watching her husband, Dennis Burgher, strike her son, Lake Criminal Court records show. She said she also noticed blisters and burns on Elijah's body but didn't do anything to get him help.

Angela Burgher also admitted she heard a "thump" while getting ready for work and found Elijah's body crumpled on the basement floor with Dennis Burgher standing nearby.

Dennis Burgher told her Elijah fell down the stairs, court records state. Angela Burgher left for work as usual.

Emergency responders to the Burghers' home said they found bruises to Elijah's forehead, lesions on both sides of his neck and untreated second-degree burns to his buttocks and groin. He wasn't breathing at the time, police said.

Both Burgher and her now estranged husband, Dennis, were charged with multiple felonies relating to Elijah's death.

Dennis Burgher, who was Elijah's stepfather, was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to felony neglect of a dependent.

He admitted to failing to seek medical attention for Elijah after he saw the little boy's injuries. Dennis Burgher did not admit to any abuse or violence.

Luiz A. Gonzalez

Hammond Man Killed in Domestic Violence Incident

LUIS A. GONZALEZ, age 36, of Hammond, Indiana passed away Saturday, July 21, 2007. (Ridgelawn Funeral Home).  He was shot and killed by 13 yr old male in domestic issue.

(No other information could be found.  Please comment if you'd like to add information for dear Luiz).

Mia K. Jones

Husband held in shooting

July 18, 2007

A Hobart man fatally shot his wife in the head Monday night while their two children -- including a 10-month-old baby -- were in the same apartment, police said Tuesday. Police say Tyrone Jones shot Mia K. Jones at the Lake in the Woods Apartment Complex. They lived at Apartment 735, 77 Neringa Lane.

At 11:36 p.m., a man suspected to be Jones called 911 saying he needed an ambulance for his wife, who had been shot.

Mia Jones was found inside her bedroom. Lake County Coroner's office pronounced her dead at the scene at 12:35 a.m.

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A Hobart woman police said was shot and killed by her husband last week is being laid to rest today. Mia K. Jones' funeral is set for 11 a.m. Tuesday at Mount Moriah Baptist Church, 735 E. 20th Ave., in Gary, with burial to follow at Evergreen Memorial Park in Hobart.

Jones was 25. She had two sons with her husband, Tyrone Jones. The boys, ages 3 and 10 months, were inside the family's third-story apartment July 17, at the Lake in the Woods complex, when Tyrone Jones shot and killed his wife, police said.

Beverly A. Seavers

Mitchell Man Charged With Death Of His Wife

Last updated on Monday, July 09, 2007

(MITCHELL) - Indiana State Police and the Mitchell Police Department are investigating the death of a Mitchell woman.

30-year-old Marty Seavers was arrested Saturday and faces preliminary charges of reckless homicide in the death of his wife, Beverly Seavers. An early morning 911 call alerted police on the incident.

Seavers has been taken to the Lawrence County Security Center on the Class C felony.  The case has been referred to the Lawrence County Prosecutors office.

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(BEDFORD) - 30-year-old Marty Seavers, of Mitchell, has been charged with murder in the death of his wife, 48-year-old Beverly A. Moffatt Seavers.

A probable cause affidavit states that Seavers admitted that he and his wife had been fighting and she would not stop yelling at him.

Police say Seavers put his hands around his wife's neck during the incident. An initial autopsy was performed and Beverly was found to have died from suffocation due to smothering.

Lawrence County Coroner John Sherrill will give a final cause of death once all testing from the autopsy is completed.  Marty Seavers remains in the Lawrence County jail on a $50,000 cash bond.

Archie Strickland Jr.

Dispute Ends in Fatal Shooting

July 18, 2007

While calling police for help quelling a nasty fight between her two grown sons Monday evening, Kathleen Strickland heard a gunshot.

Her older son, Archie Strickland Jr., 30, was shot. Her younger son, Andre Strickland, 22, was gone.

Archie died a short time later at Methodist Hospitals Northlake emergency room with a gunshot wound to his thigh. He was pronounced dead at 8:14 p.m., Lake County Coroner’s Chief Investigator Paul Castro said.

Andre was arrested at his girlfriend’s house in Brunswick on Monday night, but was released Tuesday by police after he was questioned.

Cmdr. Samuel Roberts said investigators believe Andre fired after his older brother, who suffered from bipolar personality and was recently released from a rehabilitation program, wouldn’t stop his attack.

“There’s an element of self-defense,” Roberts said.

Lake County prosecutors are reviewing the evidence, but no charges are expected to be filed against the younger Strickland brother.

Their mother, a radio dispatcher for the Gary Police Department, told investigators her sons were arguing downstairs in their Tolleston home when Archie began hitting Andre with his fists.

Despite her efforts to intervene, the battle continued. She went upstairs to call police when she heard the single gunshot, police said. Detective Lorenzo Davis presented the case to prosecutors Tuesday.