Justices take 2 cases, deny 18, split over 2
Indiana Supreme Court Justices granted transfer in two cases last week concerning a father convicted of killing his infant daughter with a pillow and a piecemeal child in need of services adjudication.
Murder
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Mishawaka teen accused in pregnant classmate’s murder appears in court
An Indiana judge has entered a preliminary not guilty plea for a high school football player accused of killing 17-year-old schoolmate Breana Rouhselang, who was pregnant with his child. The St. Joseph County judge also denied bail Tuesday for 16-year-old Aaron Trejo, who’s charged as an adult with murder and feticide.
Mishawaka teen charged with killing pregnant schoolmate
An Indiana high school football player told investigators that he killed a 17-year-old schoolmate because he was angry that she waited so long to tell him she was pregnant with his child that it was too late to get an abortion, authorities said Monday. Aaron Trejo, 16, was charged as an adult with murder in the Sunday killing of Breana Rouhselang and the fetus.
Albion man pleads guilty in death of toddler
A 42-year-old Albion man has pleaded guilty to murder in the battering death of a 2½-year-old girl he was babysitting. Trevor Wert entered the plea last week in Noble Superior Court after admitting to striking Railee Ewing's head and face multiple times and kicking her in the buttocks as she was trying to leave a bathroom, sending her into the bathroom door frame.
Indiana man pleads guilty to 1988 killing of 8-year-old girl
An Indiana man has pleaded guilty to the 1988 abduction, rape and killing of an 8-year-old Fort Wayne girl. John D. Miller pleaded guilty Friday to murder and child molestation charges in the long-unsolved killing of April Tinsley. A plea agreement calls for the 59-year-old Miller to serve 80 years in prison.
Justices consider taking case involving death of baby
The Indiana Supreme Court heard argument Thursday morning in a case involving the death of a baby, hearing testimony as to whether the baby’s father claimed the child died accidentally.
Judge denies new trial in off-duty officer’s 1980 death
A judge has denied a request for a new trial for an alleged getaway driver convicted in the 1980 shooting death of an off-duty northwestern Indiana police officer. James Hill was sentenced to 47 years in prison in October after a jury earlier convicted him of murder in perpetuation of robbery and attempted robbery, and Judge Salvador Vasquez determined there was no need for a new trial.
Murder convictions affirmed, remanded for sentencing statement
Indiana Supreme Court justices affirmed a man’s two murder convictions, finding his Miranda rights were not violated and that his sentence was appropriate. However, the high court remanded for a more specific sentencing statement as required.
Murder conviction after drug deal gone wrong stands
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a man’s conviction of two counts of murder despite his arguments that one of the deaths was unforeseeable at the time of the drug-deal gone wrong in South Bend.
Divided justices uphold guilty but mentally ill verdict in Southport pastor’s murder
A bench verdict of guilty but mentally ill against a woman twice convicted — and twice cleared by reason of insanity – in the 2012 shooting of a Southport pastor will stand after a majority of the Indiana Supreme Court found sufficient demeanor evidence to reject the woman’s insanity defense. But the two-justice dissent pointed to testimony from three experts to support their opinion that Lori Barcroft was unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of her conduct at the time of Jaman Iseminger’s murder.
Murder charges filed in Thanksgiving attack that killed 3
Prosecutors have filed three murder counts and other charges against a man in connection with a drug-related robbery that left three men dead and two others wounded at a Fort Wayne home.
Justices debate Indian control of land in Oklahoma
The U.S. Supreme Court is debating whether an Indian tribe retains control over a vast swath of eastern Oklahoma in a case involving a Native American who was sentenced to death for murder.
Indiana family seeks resolution in 30-year-old homicide
The father of a teenage girl who was fatally shot in a 1988 double-homicide in Brazil, Indiana, said he decided to give his first interviews about the killing in the hopes the three-decade-old case will finally be solved.
Teen charged as adult in killing gets 48-year sentence
An Indianapolis teenager charged as an adult in the fatal shooting of a man stemming from a botched robbery of marijuana has been sentenced to 48 years in prison.
Justices to hear appeal in northern Indiana triple-murder
Indiana’s high court is taking up the appeal of a man sentenced to life in prison without parole for the stabbing deaths of three people in northwestern Indiana.
Man competent for trial in ex-girlfriend’s gruesome killing
A Jeffersonville man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and eating parts of her body has been found competent to stand trial.
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.
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.
Hobart man charged with murder in death of father, 80
A northwestern Indiana man is accused of killing his 80-year-old father, who was found mortally wounded in his bathtub.
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.