2 charged in man’s fatal beating in Indiana forest face joint trial
Two men accused of beating a man to death with a pipe in a northern Indiana forest are facing a joint trial in April.
Murder
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Illinois man gets 55 years in stabbing of cousin in Indiana
An Illinois man has been sentenced to 55 years in prison in the 2017 murder of his cousin, who was stabbed 63 times and found near a road in Indiana. Derrick Lavelle Wandrick, 36, was sentenced in Kosciusko Circuit Court Monday for the murder of 21-year-old David Lamont Strowder Jr.
Year in Review: Baer death penalty reversal most-read IL story of 2019
A federal appeals court’s reversal of Madison County killer Fredrick Baer’s death sentence was the most-read story on the Indiana Lawyer’s digital edition, www.theindianalawyer.com. Indiana Lawyer readers clicked on stories on our website more than 2.6 million times between Jan. 1 and Dec. 10, 2019, according to Google Analytics. Here are the 50 most-viewed story headlines during that time.
Paroled killer who asked agent to help find meth pipes loses appeal
A paroled killer who admitted to smoking meth and then asked law enforcement to remove the pipes he smoked from his home so his girlfriend wouldn’t find them did not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals on Thursday that those statements were inadmissible.
72-year sentence upheld for teen convicted in convenience store murder
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed the decades-long sentence against a then-teenager who killed a convenience store clerk during an attempted robbery.
2 northwest Indiana men charged with arson killing
Two northwestern Indiana men have been charged with murder and arson in the death of a third man in a house fire, Indiana State Police said Thursday.
‘Children are children’: Coalition forms after legislative attempt to lower waiver age
The Children’s Policy and Law Initiative of Indiana and more than 20 nonprofits and community groups have joined together to form the Indiana Coalition for Youth Justice, which advocates for reform in the juvenile justice system so that it offers treatment, programs and interventions that are age-appropriate, fairly applied and result in the best possible outcomes for Indiana children and public safety.
Indiana judge stays federal execution as death penalty fight proceeds in court
An Indiana federal inmate who was scheduled to be put to death this week received a stay of the death penalty days before his execution date.
COA reverses murder conviction in trailer fire over suspect’s statements
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed a man’s murder conviction stemming from a trailer fire. The appellate court concluded the man was incorrectly denied his motions to suppress incriminating statements made to police after he indicated he was done talking to them.
Supreme Court keeps federal executions on hold
The US Supreme Court on Friday blocked the Trump administration from restarting federal executions this week after a 16-year break. Executions had been scheduled to resume today at the federal prison in Terre Haute.
4 charged in slaying of man whose body was found in Lake Station lake
A man has been charged with murder in the stabbing death of a man and three others were charged with helping take the body to a northwest Indiana lake and throwing it into the water.
Gary gun lawsuit to continue after transfer denial
A long-running firearms lawsuit in the city of Gary will continue after the Indiana Supreme Court declined to revisit a Court of Appeals’ ruling that reinstated the litigation. But not all justices agreed with the transfer decision.
Justices consider ‘de facto life sentence’ for teen convicted of murder
The sentencing fate of a man convicted as a teenager of murder is in the hands of the Indiana Supreme Court as the justices decide how they will rule in the case concerning a “de facto life sentence” for the teen.
COA: Song detailing triple-murder scene was admissible evidence
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed a man’s murder convictions, finding a song he wrote and posted online that closely described the murder scene just months later was admissible evidence.
Indiana man gets 87 years in fatal shooting of Fort Wayne barber
A Fort Wayne man convicted of fatally shooting a barber he had argued with during a haircut has been sentenced to more than 87 years in prison. An Allen County judge sentenced 34-year-old James L. Dodson Jr. on Monday to the maximum term of 87 ½ years allowed under his murder and criminal recklessness convictions.
Justices to consider ‘de facto life sentence’ against teen convicted of murder
Indiana Supreme Court justices will consider arguments this week in a teen murder case involving a question of whether the boy was denied the effective assistance of counsel such that he should receive a rehearing on his 181-year sentence.
Justices reject call for new trial in ‘Serial’ podcast case
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a Maryland man’s bid for a new trial based on information uncovered by the hit podcast “Serial.”
Federal death row inmate denied stay of execution
A man sentenced to die by lethal injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute was denied a stay of execution in federal court Wednesday, narrowing his remaining appeals and potentially setting the stage for his execution scheduled next month to proceed.
Supreme Court clears former prosecutor of disciplinary charges
A former Howard County prosecutor has been cleared of allegations brought by the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission that he paid a witness for his testimony in a 2010 murder trial.
Justices reverse grant of transfer in teen murder case following oral arguments
Just hours after hearing oral arguments on the merits in a murder case from 2000, the Indiana Supreme Court reversed its decision to assume jurisdiction over the case.