Articles

Second man faces charge in off-duty officer’s 1980 death

Another man is facing a murder charge in the 1980 shooting death of an off-duty northwestern Indiana police officer. A 68-year-old man released this summer from an Illinois prison sentence has been charged in the slaying of Hammond officer Lawrence Pucalik.

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Authorities: Montgomery Co. woman waited weekend before reporting slaying

Authorities say a 55-year-old rural Indiana woman killed her 62-year-old husband at their home and waited the weekend before calling 911 to report his death. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said Sheila Ridenour was arrested Monday on initial charges of murder and failure to report a dead body after she told 911 dispatchers she fatally shot Billy Ridenour on Friday.

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Man sentenced to 82 years for Evansville strip club shooting

A man convicted in a fatal shooting outside an Evansville strip club has been sentenced to 82 years in prison. A Vanderburgh County judge ordered the sentence Friday for 35-year-old Clarence Miller, who was convicted last month on murder and other charges for the April 2017 shooting.

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Divided justices deny child murderer death penalty relief

The Indiana Supreme Court has upheld the denial of post-conviction relief for a convicted child murderer and arsonist sentenced to death, finding that while the man’s counsel did make mistakes, those mistakes did not rise to the Strickland level of deficient performance. However, Chief Justice Loretta Rush dissented and would have allowed the case to proceed to a new penalty phase.

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Fort Wayne man accused in attack on mother now facing murder charge

A Fort Wayne Indiana man who police say told an officer he was possessed by demons and Adolf Hitler when he allegedly attacked his mother is facing a murder charge. Court records show the charge was added Tuesday against 34-year-old Jason Steiss, who last week was jailed on charges including aggravated battery.

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Man, 23, to face charges in 2011 slaying of Goshen professor

A northern Indiana prosecutor says she will file murder and attempted murder charges against a 23-year-old man for a 2011 home invasion that left a Goshen College biology professor dead and his wife badly injured. Elkhart County Prosecutor Vicki Becker announced she will file the charges against Winston Earl Corbett, who was 16 at the time of the attack on 58-year-old James Miller and his wife, Linda.

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High court won’t hear Evansville suit alleging coerced confessions

A lawsuit involving three teenagers who accuse Evansville police of violating their constitutional rights is headed to trial after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case. The high court refused Monday to review a January ruling by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which found enough evidence to warrant a civil trial in the suit filed on behalf of William, Deadra and Andrea Hurt and their mother.

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Murder charges refiled against Indiana woman in 2012 death

Charges have been refiled against a northwestern Indiana woman accused of arranging the 2012 shooting death of a business associate. Porter County Prosecutor Brian Gensel said charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder were refiled against Sheaurice Major as a result of new evidence after similar charges against Major were dismissed in 2017.

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