Articles

Woman’s murder conviction vacated for ineffective counsel

A woman with a history of mental illness who was convicted in 2002 of murdering her boyfriend after testifying the she heard a voice telling her she was the Messiah has won her federal habeas case asserting ineffective assistance of counsel. She will be freed unless the state opts within 120 days to retry her.

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Police: DNA determines 1972 killer of Indiana student

Police say a man just identified as the killer of an Indiana State University student in 1972 was killed in a shootout with police six years later. Terre Haute Police Chief Shawn Keen said Monday that a DNA sample from a son of Jeffrey Lynn Hand was used to connect him to the killing of 19-year-old Pamela Milam. 

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Double murder-robbery convict avoids life sentence

A 24-year-old Evansville man convicted of two counts each of murder and robbery for killing two people has avoided a life sentence but still could spend his remaining years in prison. Tippecanoe Superior Judge Randy Williams ruled Friday a life sentence for Deshay Hackner would contradict the penal system’s goals of rehabilitation.

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Jurors deadlock on life sentence for 2 slayings in Indiana

Jurors have deadlocked on whether to recommend a sentence of life in prison for a 24-year-old Evansville man convicted of murder and robbery in the 2017 slayings of two people in southwest Indiana. Jurors were dismissed Thursday after deadlocking on the question. They convicted Deshay Hackner on Wednesday in the deaths of 29-year-old Dewone Broomfield and his girlfriend, 28-year-old Mary Woodruff.

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Hammond woman accused of driving over boyfriend twice, killing him

A northwestern Indiana woman accused of driving over her boyfriend twice with a car has been charged in his killing. Twenty-three-year-old Briana Rice of Hammond is charged with murder, voluntary manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatal accident in the April 24 death of 25-year-old Terrondy Jones.

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Woman pleads guilty to role in killings tied to Prada purse

A Fort Wayne woman has pleaded guilty to her role in a double-slaying that occurred during an attempt to retrieve a Prada purse worth nearly $10,000. Kyra Frost, 25, pleaded guilty Friday to assisting a criminal. She’ll face a maximum 8-year prison sentence when she’s sentenced July 16.

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Kentucky soldier charged in slaying of Indiana teen

A Kentucky soldier has been arrested in the fatal shooting of an Indiana teenager. Twenty-six-year-old military police Sgt. German Parra was arrested in Kentucky on charges including murder in the death of 16-year-old Xavier Weir. 

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Woman sentenced for helping brother avoid slaying arrest

A Terre Haute woman who authorities say helped her brother avoid arrest in the slaying of a woman whose body was found in her submerged SUV has been sentenced after pleading guilty to assisting a criminal. Teresa Pitts has been sentenced to serve two years in prison, one year on home detention and one year suspended to formal probation.

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May trial set for alleged gang member charged in 2 killings

A federal judge has set a May trial for an alleged Latin Kings gang member who’s charged in the 1999 beating deaths of two men at a Hammond auto shop. The double-homicide trial of 38-year-old Jeremiah Shane Farmer is set for May 6 in the U.S. District Court in Hammond and is expected to take two weeks.

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