Man charged in parents’ killings held in contempt

Keywords Courts / Lake County / Murder / neglect
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A northwestern Indiana man accused of killing his parents was sentenced to 18 months in jail by a judge who found him in contempt of court for repeatedly interrupting a hearing on the charges.

Thomas J. Snow, 35, cursed during Wednesday's court hearing, interrupted Lake County Criminal Judge Samuel Cappas and argued with the judge about whether his court-appointed public defender had sufficient legal experience.

Cappas warned Snow, who faces two murder counts, that he could be held in contempt of court. But Snow continued saying his attorney wasn't doing what he asked her to do, prompting the judge to hold him in contempt.

But Snow told the judge that he didn't care because he was already being held without bail in the Lake County Jail, The Times of Munster reported.

"I'm gonna do some letter-writing against you," he told Cappas. Snow also said that he didn't care if any additional time was being added because he could already face 130 years in prison if convicted in his parents' slayings.

As two court bailiffs escorted him out of the courtroom, Snow told used profanity in wishing Cappas a pleasant holiday. The judge had Snow brought back before him and then sentenced him to 18 months in the Lake County Jail on three counts of contempt.

The decomposing bodies of Joyce Snow, 66, and Clifford Snow, 68, were found in their Lowell home in October 2013. An autopsy showed that the couple died from blunt force trauma and strangulation.

Thomas Snow was arrested in Minnesota after detectives tracked his parents' credit card and cellphone records. He is scheduled to stand trial in November 2015 in the killings.

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