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The Indiana Supreme Court will hear oral arguments next week for a Jackson County case involving an overturned voluntary manslaughter conviction.
Oral arguments will be held Thursday, Sept. 12 beginning at 9 a.m. at the Supreme Court Courtroom in the statehouse.
According to court records, in July 2021, Michael Steele and Zachariah David Konkle were working at the Jackson County Fair in Brownstown.
A family attended the fair with a daughter who has “multiple mental and behavioral issues.” The girl threw a tantrum after losing the goldfish game, and a worker made fun of her. The mother went to look for a supervisor to make a complaint about the worker, and Konkle told her he would take care of it.
Later that night, Konkle told some co-workers that someone had been messing with a mentally handicapped child and that if he found the person, he would hurt them. The workers told Konkle to let management handle it.
Konkle initially attacked another worker before realizing it was the wrong person.
Konkle then told Steele that the second person was going to get it “twice as worse.” Steele had several heart problems, including significantly blocked coronary arteries and an enlarged heart.
Steele “got tired of hearing it from” Konkle and said, “Let’s go.” He then threw a punch, and the men began to fight on the ground.
Konkle was on top of Steele when he heard him making gurgling sounds. Another worker started CPR, and Konkle joined in.
Konkle told those who were there to tell law enforcement that Steele had fallen in the shower, according to court documents
Steele died, and the state charged Konkle with murder in Jackson Circuit Court.
Konkle argued he was guilty of a lesser offense instead of murder because he did not know Steele had a heart condition.
The state argued—for the first time—in closing argument that Steele was an “eggshell victim,” which would make Konkle guilty even if he didn’t intend to kill Steele. A jury found Konkle guilty of voluntary manslaughter.
The Indiana Court of Appeals held the state’s closing argument was prosecutorial misconduct, reversed Konkle’s conviction, and remanded for a new trial.
The Indiana Supreme Court has granted the state’s petition to transfer and assumed jurisdiction over the case.
The case is Zachariah David Konkle v. State of Indiana, 24S-CR-00207.
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