Wabash man shot by police after stabbing son, 10, has died

  • Print
Listen to this story

Subscriber Benefit

As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
This audio file is brought to you by
0:00
0:00
Loading audio file, please wait.
  • 0.25
  • 0.50
  • 0.75
  • 1.00
  • 1.25
  • 1.50
  • 1.75
  • 2.00

A northern Indiana man who was shot by police after he allegedly stabbed his 10-year-old son, mortally wounding the boy, has died at a hospital more than two weeks after that attack, authorities said Monday.

William L. Sendelbach, 32, died Saturday at a Fort Wayne hospital where he was taken after officers shot him Oct. 8 outside his Wabash home, said Wabash County Prosecutor Bill Hartley Jr.

Sendelbach was charged with one count of murder stemming from the death of his son, Kayden Sendelbach, who was stabbed Oct. 8 as he slept and died two days later at a hospital.

He also faced two counts of attempted murder for allegedly firing at two officers, wounding one of them, as they arrived to investigate a domestic disturbance.

The officers returned fire, striking Sendelach multiple times, before Kayden Sendelbach was found wounded inside the home after the child was stabbed as he slept in a bed in the city about 80 miles north of Indianapolis.

An autopsy found that the boy died from sharp force injuries of the head.

Hartley said during a Monday news conference that the officers who shot Sendelbach were justified in that shooting, “did exactly what we expect,” and would face no charges, WANE-TV reported.

Hartley said the criminal case will now be dropped in light of Sendelbachl’s death.

He said police interviewed Sendelbach at the hospital before he died. Hartley said Sendelbach “didn’t have a good response as to why this happened,” and while he recognized what he did was wrong, he was “not overly remorseful.”

Hartley said investigators found pentagrams drawn on the floor in Sendelbach’s home and that the Wabash man called them “devil traps.” The prosecutor said Sendelbach had a “fascination with the devil.”

Please enable JavaScript to view this content.

{{ articles_remaining }}
Free {{ article_text }} Remaining
{{ articles_remaining }}
Free {{ article_text }} Remaining Article limit resets on
{{ count_down }}