Marsha Cocot

Marsha Cocot, pictured in center

Woman Found Dead in Gas-Filled Home

June 14, 2011

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Emergency workers found a woman dead from a possible homicide after arriving at a South Bend house filled with natural gas.

Police say officers went to the home to check on the well-being of a woman Monday evening after her husband attempted suicide in Elkhart with an overdose of drugs and alcohol.

St. Joseph County Sheriff Mike Grzegorek tells WNDU-TV that investigators are trying to determine how 38-year-old Marsha Cocot died and whether the gas filling the house was meant to cover up a crime.

Utility crews shut off the gas line to the home and some nearby residents were evacuated from their homes for a time until the gas dispersed.

Grzegorek tells WSBT-TV that firefighters wearing respirators found Cocot's body while searching the house.

UPDATE

St. Joseph County Metro Homicide arrested Brian Cocot, 38, on a preliminarily charge of murder in relation to the death of his wife Marsha Cocot, 38.

A Tuesday morning autopsy determined Marsha Cocot died of asphyxiation and blunt force trauma sometime before 5:00 p.m. Monday.

Marsha Cocot was found in the 19700 block of Southland Avenue in St. Joseph County after officials responded to a gas leak inside her home around 5:30 p.m.

It’s believed that Cocot intentionally caused the gas leak to cover-up his wife’s death. Neighbors close to police say Cocot dumped gallons of gasoline throughout the house and ripped open natural gas lines before fleeing the home.

Only hours before Cocot’s wife was found, Elkhart Police responded to a suicide attempt and found Brian Cocot apparently trying to overdose on alcohol and pills.

Paramedics rushed Cocot to Elkhart General Hospital. He is currently being held at the St. Joseph County Jail until the Prosecutor’s Office reviews the case for formal charging.

If there is one thing about Southland Avenue that sticks out, it’s that people mind their own business.

"There were some internal problems going on there, but it's not my business, so I left it at that,” neighbor Kurt Vogler said.

Last year, neighbors say Brian Cocot took a sledgehammer to his interior attic walls in a fit of anger. That damage can still be seen poking out of the home’s roof.

"Brian went out of his way to do things for other people. It's just that you could see the aggressive side with Marsha and his dogs,” neighbor William Pellow said.

The shock of it all came with guilt.

"Instinctively I knew better. Something kept nagging at me, telling me something was wrong and I didn't listen to what I should have listened to,” neighbor Jan Cohen said.

Neighbors say the sound of fighting coming from the home increased with time in the quiet neighborhood.

"We're living across the street and we had no clue. We were completely oblivious as we're working or watching TV or cooking dinner. All throughout, this woman is going through God knows what, with a poor excuse for a man that murdered her,” Cohen added.

If this murder can teach people anything, it might just be to take more ownership in their neighbor's business.

"I let her down; we all let her down, shame on me,” Cohen concluded.

The gas leak was not the home’s first criminal incident, St. Joseph County Police responded twice in the last two weeks in reference to threat reports.

Neighbors say the mounting tension had a lot to do with Cocot's wife Marsha and a girlfriend he kept on the side.

Emergency workers say this incident could have ended much worse.  Simply put, the gas pressure inside the home was such that firefighters believe an explosion was imminent. Such a blast would have sent debris in every direction and likely taken out other homes on the block.

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.

Vicky S. Wade

Seymour Man Accused in Beating Death of Wife

April 24, 2011

SEYMOUR, Ind. (AP) - Police say a southern Indiana man who tried to kill himself is accused of killing his wife.

Seymour Police Chief Bill Abbot told The Tribune of Seymour that 56-year-old Terry L. Wade was arrested Sunday after being released from the hospital.

Wade is charged with murder in the beating death of his wife, 54-year-old Vicky S. Wade. Police say they found her body at the couple's home after a request for a welfare check from a family member at the home.

Abbott says Terry Wade was also found at the home and hospitalized for an overdose after he tried to kill himself.  Following an autopsy Friday morning, the coroner's office has determined Vicky Wade's cause of death as a result of blunt force trauma.

Obituary

Vicky S. Wade, 54, of Seymour, passed away Thursday, April 21, 2011 at her residence.

Vicky was born July 6, 1956 in Seymour. She was the daughter of the late Doug Harmon and Anne Williams Harmon Fisbeck who survives.

Vicky was an employee of Ai-sin. She was also an Avon representative, doing fund raisers in Jackson, Jennings and Bartholomew Counties. Vicky contributed to “Kids Corner” of the Seymour Tribune. She enjoyed writing, especially short stories. One of her other enjoyments were animals.

Vicky married Terry Wade, October 29, 1983 in Hope. She is survived by her husband, Terry; a son, Travis Wade; sisters, Kristal (Sean) Hubbard and Michelle Hallett; and her mother. She was preceded in death by her father.

A celebration of Vicky’s life will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Voss Chapel. Calling will be from 4 p.m. until time of the memorial celebration Tuesday at the funeral home. Memorials may be written to the donor’s choice.

Arrangements are under the careful direction of Voss & Sons Funeral Service and Tri-County Crematory in Seymour.

Michelle Brown

Woman brain dead after Monday night shooting

by STAN MADDUX

Times Correspondent | Posted: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 12:00 am

MICHIGAN CITY

A Michigan City woman is dead from a gunshot and the father of two of her children -- currently hospitalized -- is charged with murder.

Michelle Brown, 29, was declared brain dead just before 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at St. Anthony Memorial Health Center, according to Michigan City Police Detective Bureau Commander Lt. Sue Harrison.

Randolph Sanders II, 31, was charged about 2 p.m. when a judge in LaPorte Superior Court 1 found sufficient evidence to bring him to trial.

Sanders was still in the intensive care unit Tuesday afternoon at the same hospital.

Harrison said she did not know his official condition or prognosis.

According to police, officers responded to Normandy Village Apartments on the city's south side Monday just after 5 p.m.

Harrison said Sanders and Brown were inside a vehicle in the parking lot when he shot her once in the head then turned the gun on himself.

Harrison said an argument led up to the shooting but what led to the fight was not fully clear.

According to police, inside another vehicle nearby were three children including two boys, ages 6 and 2, the sons of Sanders and Brown.

Christina Santana

Christina Santana

Man Charged With Murder In Alleged Suicide Pact

Prosecutor: Murder Charge More Appropriate Than Assisted-Suicide Charge

POSTED: 11:16 am EDT May 13, 2009

FRANKLIN, Ind. -- A man was charged with murder Wednesday after he followed through with what he described as a suicide pact with his fiancee, police said.Johnson County Prosecutor Brad Cooper said James Adam Betts, 24, told police differing stories, but Cooper said that Betts contended he and Christina Santana, 29, had agreed to kill themselves and had written each other a note that expressed that desire.

Betts said that he and Santana had sex in a barn on his grandfather's farm on May 6 before he, a former butcher at a Marsh grocery store, used a butcher knife to cut her neck. Betts originally told police that Santana had cut her own throat.

"Miss Santana was supposed to go first, then Mr. Betts was supposed to complete the act," said Johnson County Sheriff's Department Maj. Steve Byerly. "He told everybody -- the EMT people, fire people, detectives -- that she cut her neck."After he made several cuts but saw that Santana wasn't dying quickly enough and that the knife wasn't "sharp enough to do the job," he tried to snap her neck by shaking her violently, Johnson County Sheriff's Detective Kirby Cochran said.

Betts told police that he held Santana for about two hours and fell asleep. When he woke up, he decided he should tell his grandfather what had happened. Emergency medical responders took Santana to Methodist Hospital, where she died.

Betts was originally arrested on a charge of assisting suicide, but later admitted to police he had killed Santana and was charged with murder." He wanted to truly get what happened off his chest. That's when he admitted it was him alone, he provided the knife, but it was him alone that made the cuts and took her life," Byerly said.

The prosecutor said the murder charge is justified, whether Santana truly wanted to kill herself or not."If a person actually performs the act and kills another person, whether the person wants to commit suicide or not, Indiana law is clear that is defined as murder," Cooper said.

Police said the couple had apparently considered suicide after Santana lost custody of her children and Betts was despondent about his break up with another woman.


See Christina's MySpace page here.

Nancy J. Richards

Murder charge filed against Columbus man

By Chris Schilling, Reporter

A Columbus man was arrested this afternoon on murder charges following the death of his wife.

Robert Richards was booked into Bartholomew County Jail at 12:45 p.m. today on a preliminary charge of murder.

Nancy J. Richards, 44, of Road 25E, was found by a sheriff's deputy in her bed with a gunshot wound to the back of her head, according to Bartholomew County Sheriff's Department.

Richards' body was discovered as police investigated a suicide attempt by Richards' husband, Robert, who was found in a Columbus subdivision bleeding from a serious cut to his left wrist.

Robert Richards, whose age was unavailable Saturday morning, was taken to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis for the wrist wound.

Robert and Nancy Richards had been married for seven years, Bartholomew County Sheriff Mark Gorbett said.


Additional note from ICADV:

Shot by husband, Robert (after telling him she filed for divorce), because he thought she was having an affair - he attempted to kill himself with a knife after the murder, but survived the suicide attempt.

Nancy M. Bradley

Woman Murdered In Dudleytown

January 28, 2009

A 38-year-old Jackson County man is accused of murder in the shooting death of his wife at their Dudleytown home last Thursday night.

Bryon S. Bradley of 2456 S. 750 E will be charged with the murder of his wife, authorities. Bradley remains at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, where he was taken after an incident that left his wife, Nancy M. Bradley, 39, dead of a gunshot wound. Bradley inflicted cuts upon himself in an apparent attempted suicide, Sheriff Marc Lahrman said.

Authorities said, Nancy Bradley’s 16-year-old son was home at the time but was not injured. He and others who knew the Bradleys said there had been some squabbling between the couple recently, but police had not been to the home, Lahrman said. An autopsy was conducted at Louisville on Friday morning, the sheriff said.

Police reported Nancy Bradley found dead inside the couple’s residence just south of Dudleytown after police were called there after receiving a report of a female who had been shot. Jackson County Dispatch received a 911 call at 9:22 p.m. Thursday stating that a female had been shot and the male was still inside the residence with a gun.

Officers with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and Indiana State Police arrived on the scene, spoke briefly with a witness and entered the residence. Authorities said Bryon Bradley was located, secured and his injuries were treated by Jackson County Ambulance Service.

Nancy Bradley was pronounced dead at the scene by Jackson County Coroner Roger Wheeler.

Bryon Bradley was taken to Schneck Medical Center by Jackson County Ambulance Service and treated for his injuries. Later, he was flown to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis by PHI.

Sheriff’s department personnel have been traveling to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis to stand watch over Bradley.

Lahrman said he hopes that Bradley is soon well enough to be transferred to Wishard Hospital, which has a secure lockup for inmates.

“We’ve used them before, and they do a good job,” Lahrman said of the lockup, which is manned by Marion County Sheriff’s Department personnel.

“It’s a scheduling nightmare,” Lahrman said of sending officers to Methodist. “We have someone leaving every six or seven hours to go up there.”

The sheriff said Bradley could be brought home to appear in court in connection with his wife’s murder in a week or two.

Lahrman also said police are not sure how cooperative Bradley will be once his treatment begins to wind down.

“He’s been pretty sedated most of the time,” Lahrman said.

Detectives continue to work the case and are trying to put together every little detail they can, Lahrman said.

“We think we’re in pretty good shape,” he said.

Husband Pleads Guilty:

BROWNSTOWN — A rural Seymour man pleaded guilty Monday to murdering his wife.

The murder plea of Bryon S. Bradley, 39, came less than 24 hours before he was to stand trial this morning in Jackson Circuit Court.

Bradley pleaded guilty around noon Monday before Jackson Circuit Judge Bill Vance. Vance ordered a sentencing investigation and set a hearing for 9 a.m. Jan. 4.

“I was unaware that was going to happen,” Chief Deputy Prosecutor Amy Travis said Monday afternoon.

She first learned from Bradley’s defense attorney, Shawn Louden of Seymour, that there might be a plea Monday morning.

“I checked with the mother of the victim and the father of the victim’s son, and they were supportive of a plea agreement if he was going to plead guilty to murder,” Travis said.

And that’s what Bradley was willing to plead to, the highest charge in Indiana. The charge carries what’s called an advisory sentence of 55 years imprisonment with a range of 45 years to 65 years, depending upon mitigating and aggravating circumstances in an individual case.

Travis said she was unaware of what caused Bradley to enter a guilty plea but did comment on the state’s case against him. “I think our evidence was really good,” she said.

Questioned Monday afternoon about the plea, Louden declined to comment on his client’s apparent change of heart in the case.

Bradley faced a murder charge as well as charges of criminal confinement and pointing a handgun in connection with the slaying of his wife, Nancy M. Bradley, in an apparent murder-suicide attempt at their home near Dudleytown on Jan. 22.

Officers responding to the Bradley home in Dudleytown found Nancy Bradley, 39, dead from a gunshot wound. A handgun was found next to her body. Bryon Bradley was found on a bed in the bedroom of the couple’s home at 2456 S. 750E. He had at least two self-inflicted cuts to his abdomen, police said.

Bradley was hospitalized on and off for several weeks after the incident. He is now being held at the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown.

According to the court documents, Bradley told police he and his wife been arguing, he had a gun and “it went bad.”

Robert Andrews

Robert Andrews

Wife charged with murder in shooting, fire

Dottie Andrews set fire in garage before shooting estranged husband and his dog, police documents say

June 23, 2009

NASHVILLE — Dottie Andrews told a police detective that she shot her estranged husband once with a .25-caliber handgun early Friday morning.

Then, when he continued breathing, she shot him again.

Tuesday afternoon, Brown County Prosecutor Jim Oliver charged the 40-year-old woman with murder, arson and burglary.

She is accused of setting a fire at the Brown County home she once shared with her husband, breaking into the residence and then killing 44-year-old Robert Andrews as he slept.

She then put the man’s dog up on the bed and shot it dead as well.

The accused killer told police she intended to then kill herself, but the gun jammed.

From her bed at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, where she is recovering from burns and smoke inhalation, she told Indiana State Police Detective Jeff Deckard she tried to carry the dog from the house, was overcome by the fire and then ran out and called 911.

After the blaze was extinguished, a sheriff’s deputy found her lying in a three-sided chicken coop near the house at 7880 Whispering Pines Drive in northern Brown County.

She had filed for divorce April 7.

She also was granted a restraining order against her husband in May, alleging he had been threatening toward her in the past.

A notebook found inside her red Chevrolet Blazer at the scene of the shooting was open to a page with the following words written on it: “I will see you in hell. The things you have done to me, not only cheating on me, but beating me up and raped me too, you sick freak.”

According to Deckard’s account of interviews with Dottie Andrews, the couple’s 20-year marriage had ended badly.

They had been living apart for more than 18 months.

She told Deckard she drove to the Whispering Pines subdivision about three miles north of Helmsburg last Thursday evening and parked down the road from her former home. She watched her husband grill his dinner and drink beer outside. She waited for an hour after the lights had gone out, then broke a window and entered the residence.

She told Deckard she looked at her husband’s cell phone and discovered that hours earlier he had called “some people he had promised that he wouldn’t communicate with,” according to an affidavit filed in the case. “‘She said this made her furious.”

She went to the garage and set a fire, then returned to the house.

“She said she went into Robert’s bedroom where he was asleep and shot Robert with a .25-caliber handgun,” the affidavit said. “He continued to breathe, and she shot him again.”

Her relatives said she had been living in Indianapolis the past few months with her sister.

They reported that Robert Andrews had been calling and threatening her two or three times a day, in violation of the protective order granted in Brown Circuit Court.

Dottie Andrews remains hospitalized in police custody. Oliver said she will be transported to the Brown County Jail in Nashville and held without bond when she is released.

She was listed in critical condition last Friday. Tuesday, hospital officials would not release information about her condition.

Oliver said she is expected to recover and return to face the charges against her.

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez

Mother Arrested In Murders Of 4 Children

Four Children Found Asphyxiated

ELKHART, Ind. (CBS) ―

Police have arrested an Indiana mother in connection with the deaths of her four children, ages 2 to 8.

The four children were found Tuesday night in their home by the father of the two youngest. The medical examiner said they were asphyxiated.

Rescue workers originally thought the children's mother, Angelica Alvarez, was also dead at the scene, but later discovered she had a faint pulse.

Alvarez was in critical condition yesterday at Elkhart General Hospital but a hospital spokeswoman said today she could not give out any information about her condition.

Police say Alvarez is still in the hospital but is in their custody. Police released no other details about the case.

The children were identified as 8-year-old Jennifer Lopez, 6-year-old Gonzalo Lopez, 4-year-old Daniel Valdez and 2-year-old Jessica Valdez.

Authorities say the children were found by Alvarez's husband, Fernando Valdez, who is the father of the two younger children. Valdez ran out into the street and yelled for someone to call police.

Police say they have been called to the family's residence before.

"Some of these histories show custody disputes between Angelica Alvarez, the adult female, and Gonzalo Lopez , the father of her two older children," said Steven Mock of the Elkhart Police Department.


See posts for dear brothers Daniel and Gonzalo, and dear sister Jessica.

Gonzalo Lopez

Gonzalo Lopez

Elkhart police arrest mother in children's murders

(November 2006 - WTHR)

Elkhart - Elkhart police have arrested a mother in connection with the deaths of her four young children. The children, ages 2 to 8, were found suffocated in their basement Tuesday.

Police say the children's mother, Angelica Alvarez, remained hospitalized Thursday, two days after she was found unconscious with the children in the basement of their home.

Police Captain Steven Mock didn't give any details on how investigators believe she killed the two girls and two boys. Autopsies determine they died of asphyxia.

Mock says the 27-year-old Alvarez was in custody at Elkhart General Hospital. He would not give details on her injuries, but says she is expected to survive.

Bill Wargo, chief investigator for the Elkhart County prosecutor's office, says a magistrate is expected to review the case on tomorrow to determine whether investigators had probable cause to keep Alvarez in custody.

He says the prosecutor's office would then have until Wednesday to decide on formal charges.

Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This story may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.


See posts for dear brother Daniel, and dear sisters Jennifer and Jessica.

Daniel Valdez

Daniel Valdaz

Mom Who Killed Her Four Children Ruled Incompetent to Stand Trial

Published May 17, 2007

In Goshen, Indiana on November 13, 2006, Angelica Alvarez was found at her house with a faint pulse next to the bodies of her four children. Alvarez's children, 8-year-old Jennifer Lopez, 6-year-old Gonzalo Lopez Jr., 4-year-old Daniel Valdez and 2-year-old Jessica Valdez, were all strangled to death in the basement of their Elkhart home.

Today, May 16,2007, as reported by the Associated Press, Elkhart Circuit Judge, Terry Shewmaker has ordered that Alvarez be committed to the Division of Mental Health to see that if in the near future that she could stand trial. Judge Shewmaker has asked that the determination be within three months. Alvarez cannot be tried until she is ruled competent.

Judge Shewmaker also went to say, that his decision was based on the three court-appointed psychiatrists as well as his own observations of Angelica Alvarez in the courtroom. Attorney for Angelica Alvarez, Juan Garcia Jr. stated to reporters that he had been pleased with the outcome of the ruling. He also went to say, ``I wasn't sure what to expect. I thought the judge could have gone either way,''. Alvarez went on and explained that the test for competency is whether a defendant can assist in his/her defense, and whether or not he/she understands the proceedings,as reported by the Associated Press.

During the court proceedings, one psychiatrist said that Angelica Alvarez could do both, one determined that she could do neither and the other said that she understood the proceedings and what was going on but she could not assist in her defense.

"She has no emotion one way or the other," said Martha Williams, who lives directly behind Alvarez's former home. "I think she must have had a history of being ill to do something like that." as reported by WSBT.


See posts for dear brother Gonzalo, and dear sisters Jennifer and Jessica.

Jessica Valdez

Jessica Valdez

Alvarez sentenced to life without parole

September 24, 2007

An Elkhart mom who pleaded guilty to killing her four children was sentenced to life in prison without parole Monday morning in Elkhart County Circuit Court.

Angelica Alvarez, 27, was charged with four counts of murder following the death of her four children — Jennifer Lopez, 8, Gonzalo Lopez, 6, Daniel Valdez, 4, and Jessica Valdez, 2 — who were found strangled inside their Elkhart home in November. As part of a plea agreement, she pleaded guilty to the charge on Sept. 4 of this year after being found competent to stand trial.

Prior to sentencing, defense attorney Juan Garcia told Circuit Court Judge Terry Shewmaker that Alvarez has expressed remorse for her actions. “In spite of what she did, I don’t want anyone in the public to think that she is a monster,” Garcia said.

Prior to the deaths of the children, Alvarez left a note explaining what she had done and why. According to the note, Alvarez expressed that her husband was in the process of leaving her and she did not feel that she was capable to taking care of the four children alone. Previous testimony had suggested that the children had been drugged before they were killed. Prosecuting Attorney Curtis T. Hill presented toxicology reports that showed that the children were not drugged. Hill argued that Alvarez was competent enough to know precisely what she was doing at the time of the murder, despite treatment at a state mental health hospital in Logansport. “There was a clear conscious at the time. She had a plan and systematically thought it through and executed it. That equals murder,” Hill said.

Garcia told the court that Alvarez has “severe mental health issues” and noted that those suffering from physical health issues are “treated until they get better.” “Mental health issues should be treated with the same severity as physical health issues,” Garcia said. After sentencing, Gonzalo Lopez, the father of the two eldest children, spoke to the court about how the events have impacted him. He said that despite the events, he hold no ill will toward Alvarez. “I have peace and tranquility and have forgiven her,” Lopez said through a translator.

Hill said that he would have preferred the death penalty for Alvarez, but opted against seeking it as punishment. “This didn’t have to happen, but locking her up for the rest of her life does,” Hill said. Alvarez stated through a translator that she has “sincerely repented and I accept my responsibility.” Alvarez will be incarcerated at the Indiana Department of Corrections.


See posts for dear brothers Daniel and Gonzalo, and dear sister Jennifer.

Denise Solano

Denise Solano

Troubled history for couple in murder-suicide attempt

by Leanne Tokars

Story Created: Apr 14, 2008 at 10:46 AM EDT

MONTEREY — Police say the man who murdered his wife and then turned the gun on himself is mentally unstable. As of Monday afternoon, Tomas Solano was in critical condition at a Michigan City hospital.

Police say Solano shot and killed his wife Denise outside their home in Monterey on Sunday. That’s in Pulaski County.

He then fled about 58 miles to Michigan City. Police say they tracked his cell phone to the Greenwood Cemetery, where he shot himself in the head.

Monterey is so small, you can clearly see from one end of town to the other end.

“People come in, work, drink a little beer, take some home and work the next day,” explained Darlene Denton at the Corner Tavern.

In the quiet town, no one ever expected murder.

“They were good people, but they had problems with their family, with their relationships, with taking care of the kids,” said Joanna Perez who lives across the street and considered the couple friends.

Police were often called to their house on Center Street.

They say both Tomas and Denise had been arrested several times before, mostly for battery to each other.

In fact, they say Denise had just gotten out of jail days before the shooting.

“We tried to help them and guide them in the right way, but it just seemed like it wasn't helping,” said Perez.

But she also says Denise was trying to fix her life and get her 5 kids back from foster care this summer.

Child Protective Services wouldn’t reveal when the children were taken or why, but police confirmed the kids had been in protective custody when the shooting happened.

“She had kids she left. I mean she might not have done everything right, but she didn't need to go that way," added Perez through tears.

It’s a tragedy that's touched many in town. It’s left Denton wondering 'what if.'

“It's too bad that maybe more help wasn't available — that it had to end this way,” said Denton.

Police also arrested Timothy McCorkle of Monterey in this case. They believe he gave the rifle to Solano, knowing he planned to use it to kill his wife.

Child Protective Services says in a situation like this, they will provide counseling to the children and try to keep them together as they cope with what has happened.

Eboni Richardson

Eboni Richardson

Baby's father, charged with murder, upset by relocation plan

Published August 29, 2009 by Post Tribune

by Jon Seidel

GARY, INDIANA -- Distraught because his 19-month-old daughter might move with her mother to Texas, Cordell Richardson took the girl and, according to police, said "nobody was going to take his daughter away" before shooting and killing her.

Richardson, 22, is charged with murder in the death of the girl, Eboni Richardson. Police said he shot her in downtown Gary on Thursday just as he was expected to turn her over to her uncle. Then he shot himself in the head.

A Methodist Hospitals spokeswoman declined to release information about Richardson's condition Friday afternoon at its Merrillville campus where he's hospitalized. He faces a maximum of 65 years in prison if convicted. The Lake County Prosecutor's Office said he is to be held in the county jail without bond.

In a charging affidavit filed in Lake County Superior Court on Friday, Gary police describe a frantic attempt by friends and family to return the girl to her mother, Shaina Hill, hours before the shooting.

Hill, of Gary, told police she gave Richardson permission to take the child, according to the affidavit.

However, Cpl. Gabrielle King said Richardson called her at 4 p.m. Thursday and said she would never see Eboni again if she didn't meet him at his house by 4:30 p.m.

She arrived with police, according to reports, but Richardson wasn't there. Richardson then called Hill and refused to return Eboni.

Hill went to the home of Jamell Campbell, Richardson's brother-in-law, and told him Richardson was refusing to give Eboni back. Campbell told police he called Richardson, who told him he didn't want to lose his daughter.

Campbell called Jerry Wheeler, Richardson's friend, and Thomas Murray, Richardson's brother. Wheeler said Richardson called him and said he had kidnapped Eboni, according to court documents.

After several phone calls, Richardson agreed to meet Campbell, Wheeler and Murray at Murray's grandfather's home in Gary. When they got there, Richardson called again and told them to meet him at Bennigan's restaurant, 500 E. 5th Ave. in Gary.

The men found Richardson's truck in the parking lot and parked next to it, police said. Richardson was seen sitting on the driver's side in the back seat, holding Eboni.

Campbell told police he was walking up to the truck, heard two gunshots and saw a flash from inside. Murray opened the back door and discovered that Richardson had shot himself in the head.

Wheeler opened the door on the other side, police said, and Eboni, who had a gunshot wound in her chest, fell into his arms. Wheeler took her, got back into the car he had arrived in, and tried to drive to the hospital with Murray. Campbell got into Richardson's truck to drive there, as well.

Police said the car carrying Eboni broke down at 4th Avenue and Monroe Street, and Campbell had to pick the men and the baby up on the way to the hospital.

Members of Eboni's family could not be reached Friday.

Reggie Johnson, Hill's neighbor, said Eboni was a happy baby who liked to dress up for church and had joined his grandchildren to play outside less than a month ago.

"They were all out here playing with the bubbles," Johnson said.

He described Hill as a "work-aholic" who took care of her grandmother. He said he never noticed a problem between her and Richardson.

"He loved that baby," Johnson said.

Contact Jon Seidel at 648-3068 or jseidel@post-trib.com.

Amenda Yang

Amenda Yang

Man Charged In Beating Death Of Estranged Wife

Michael Yang Says He Didn't Kill Amenda Yang

POSTED: 10:15 am EDT May 11, 2009

INDIANAPOLIS -- A Lawrence man was charged Monday in the death of his estranged wife after he adamantly denied killing her as he headed into court. Prosecutors filed a formal murder charge against Michael Yang, 53, in the beating death of Amenda Yang, 43 Monday afternoon.Yang told police that he was having lunch with a coworker at the time of his wife's killing, but that alibi did not hold up, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Investigators said they also recovered a watch, coat and tennis shoes that Michael Yang was wearing on the day of the killing that all tested positive for blood.Still, Yang adamantly denied having any part in his wife's death outside court Monday morning."I did not kill my wife. I want people to know that I did not commit that crime," said Yang, who is on suicide watch at the Marion County Jail. "I love my family and I miss my children."Four of Amenda Yang's six children came home from school to find that their mother had been bludgeoned to death at the Lawrence home in the 4300 block of Clinton Street on May 6, prompting a horrifying 911 call from one of the children, between ages 11 and 17."My mom is probably dead. Somebody hit her in the head. She is bleeding all over. Mom, can you hear me? Mom! Mom!" one of the children said."Can you imagine coming home to find your mother laying in a pool of blood in the floor?" said Marion County Chief Deputy Prosecutor David Wyser. "It's absolutely horrifying."Police said the couple were married but had separated last month.Yang is scheduled for an initial hearing on Tuesday. He is a convicted sex offender who served time for attempted rape in 1998. He is being held without bond at the Marion County Jail.

Previous Stories:

• May 8, 2009: GPS To Help Track Accused Abusers
• May 8, 2009: Husband Arrested In Woman's Beating Death
• May 7, 2009: Children Find Mother Beaten To Death In Home
• May 7, 2009: Woman Found Beaten To Death

Marva Diana Rhea Strasser

Man gets 20 years in slaying

Boyfriend pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for strangling former Logansport woman

September 12, 2007

MUNCIE — Justin D. Suits got the maximum 20 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter Monday for killing the mother of their child with his bare hands just before Christmas.

“This was not premeditated murder,” said Prosecutor Mark McKinney, saying that the facts in the killing of Marva Diana Rhea, Suits’ girlfriend, did not support a murder charge.

McKinney said he was still bothered by the killing, which was pleaded down by prosecutors and defense attorneys from murder, a class A felony, to voluntary manslaughter, a class B felony. The couple’s son, Jackson, was in the next room of the Selma couple’s home when Rhea was killed.

Delaware County Circuit Court 3 Judge Robert Barnet Jr. sentenced the 28-year-old Suits on the lesser charge, giving him the maximum prison time of 20 years.

“Why did it happen?” Barnet asked Suits, who was handcuffed and wearing an orange jail uniform.

Suits responded, “When Marva would lose control, it was a lot more extreme. Our son was put in danger and I reacted wrongly.”

Defense attorney Jack Quirk had portrayed a stormy relationship between the couple, explaining how Suits had attempted suicide after killing Rhea, and how the defendant suffered from depression and post-traumatic stress.

McKinney countered that Suits did not seem to remember that he told his brother and a welfare case worker that Rhea was leaving him with their son.

Given that the plea agreement made a trial unnecessary, “We are never going to get the entire truth,” McKinney said.

There was plenty of emotion from family members who testified in behalf of Rhea and Suits.

Don and Sharon Strasser, who adopted Rhea, wanted Barnet to reject the plea agreement and make Suits stand trial for killing their daughter.

Rhea had been in a children’s home in Logansport, and went from foster home to foster home until the Strassers came into her life.

“She was always stand-offish and did not trust anybody,” Don Strasser said.

His wife said Rhea opened up only when they expressed their unconditional love for her.

Rhea moved to Muncie, attended Ball State University and was a licensed beautician before meeting Suits at a local bar. The couple had split up until Suits learned Rhea was pregnant, and rekindled their relationship.

Sharon Strasser said she hoped that Suits would provide the family life that Rhea never had. They had been planning for Christmas when they were devastated by the news that Rhea had been killed and Suits was the suspect.

“We spent our Christmas planning a funeral,” Strasser said.

Suits’ mother, Sally Suits, said there were many versions of what happened and that she encouraged the couple to seek counseling for their psychological problems.

“It was not about broken records,” said Suits’ mother. “It was about temporarily broken souls.”

Suits’ parents, both teachers at Liberty-Perry schools, along with his brother, Vincent, hugged the defendant and kissed him as he was returned to jail, awaiting prison.

McKinney said the case was the most difficult he had faced, adding it was not easy to accept the plea agreement. Quirk said the evidence pointed to voluntary manslaughter.

“There was a lot of emotion,” he said.

Obituary:

Strasser, Marva Diana Rhea

Services for Marva Diana Rhea Strasser, 26, Selma, will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday in Gundrum Funeral Home
.
She died at 9:05 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 23, 2006, in her residence.

Born April 19, 1980, in Whittier, Calif., she was the daughter of Don and Sharon Smith Strasser.

Marva attended Knox High School and was a 1998 graduate of Logansport High School. While in high school, she enjoyed being on the swim team and being a cheerleader.

Marva was a self-employed beautician.

She was an avid reader and attended the Farmland Friends Church of Selma.

She enjoyed spending time with her family and friends, especially her son, Jackson.

Surviving are one son, Jackson David Suits, Selma; parents, Don and Sharon Strasser, Logansport; and grandmother, Margaret Flowers, Logansport.

The Revs. Jim Abbott and Chris Sorensen will officiate at the services. Burial will be in Davis Cemetery, Burnettsville.

Friends may call from 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday in the funeral home.