Shirlen Dyson

Daughter Speaks Out After Father Kills Mother

Shirlen Dyson was just seconds away from her mother's house in Noblesville when her estraged husband, Vincent Dyson, shot and killed her.

October 19, 2010

Noblesville, Ind. — Shirlen Dyson was just seconds away from her mother's house in Noblesville when her estraged husband, Vincent Dyson, shot and killed her.

Police say he had followed her from her job near downtown Indianapolis and when she arrived in the subdivison, he ended her life. Then, minutes later, he killed himself near I-465 and Meridian Street in the middle of the evening rush hour.

In one day, Sheena Dyson lost both of her parents.  "I'm not angry but I am hurt. And it's a hurt I don't wish on anybody," she told Fox59's Kara Brooks.

Shirlen and Vincent had broken up 20 years ago but they reunited about year ago and got married. They lived in a northwest side neighborhood where neighbors knew something just wasn't right back in August.  "He heard some knocking in the garage and he heard her cry for help. And so when he heard that he called the police," said neighbor Michelle Perkins.

Sheena also knew there was trouble in her parent's relationship. She was very close with her mother and they talked often.  "After he hit her, she told me 'Sheena I'm scared.' I said, 'Mom you got to get out of this, you know.' She was like, 'I don't know how," said Sheena.  "Once he hit her she just finally got the courage to leave. He was acting crazy."

Shirlen got a protective order against Vincent but neighbors still saw him lurking around.  "{He} went real fast passed and then went on around. So I think he had been stalking her," said Michelle.  So she moved in with her mother to get away but he still found her.  "My momma is gone and that's hard to believe because I was just on the phone with her," said Sheena.

Sheena Dyson says her mother had a strong faith and described her as someone who always found the best in somebody.

Police: Noblesville, Carmel shootings were murder-suicide

Police now say two deadly shootings that occurred Monday in Noblesville and Carmel are connected. They're calling the incidents murder-suicide.

Marion County court records show a pending divorce and allegations of abuse leading up to the murder-suicide on Monday in Noblesville. Police say that 46-year-old Shirlen Dyson was shot and killed in her car by her husband, 46-year-old Vincent Dyson, in a Noblesville neighborhood near Verizon Wireless Music Center.

Police believe Vincent Dyson ran her off the road and fired two rounds into the vehicle, hitting Shirlen Dyson in the chest.  A short time later on I-465 in Carmel, Fishers police stopped a vehicle matching the description of the suspect vehicle given by witnesses at the Noblesville shooting scene. Police say as they approached the car, Vincent Dyson shot himself in the head.

Shirlen Dyson filed a burglary report with Indianapolis Metro Police on August 11th after the home she shared with her husband was burglarized. That was two days after officers were called to the home for a domestic disturbance.

According to court records, Shirlen Dyson filed for a protective order the following week saying that her husband struck her and that she planned to file for divorce. The judge granted the protective order in September.prohibiting Vincent Dyson from calling or contacting his wife. Investigators are zeroing in on what was apparently a stormy relationship.  "What the situation was between the two of them and then what potentially led up to this incident," said Lt. Bruce Barnes, Noblesville Police Department.

According to court records, when Shirlen Dyson filed for protective orders, she also requested an eviction notice forcing her husband to leave the home they shared.

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.