Articles

Attorneys seek competency exam in homicide case

Attorneys for a 20-year-old Fort Wayne man charged with killing a woman in a cemetery and setting her body on fire have requested mental health experts examine him to determine if he is competent to stand trial.

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Enhancement to sentence upheld by COA

Finding Indiana’s criminal gang enhancement statute can be understood by individuals of ordinary intelligence, the Indiana Court of Appeals rejected a man’s challenge to his 175-year aggregate sentence.

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7th Circuit will hear killer’s appeal en banc

The full 7th Circuit Court of Appeals will decide whether an Arkansas man on death row should die for killing a Texas woman nearly 20 years ago. The judges decided Wednesday to grant Bruce Carneil Webster’s petition for rehearing en banc.

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Justices: Pattern Jury Instruction 9.05 is correct statement of law

Clearing up confusion among the courts as to whether a jury instruction regarding the definition of “intentionally” can include that the defendant intended to “cause the result” of his conduct, the Indiana Supreme Court affirmed Pattern Jury Instruction 9.05 represents a correct statement of the law.

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Texas prosecutor: Indiana suspect’s history unknown

Texas prosecutors may not have offered a suspected serial killer such a lenient prison sentence in a 2009 sexual assault case had they known about his conviction on a similar charge in Indiana five years earlier, a district attorney's spokesman said Monday.

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Man suspected of killing 7 refuses to answer judge

A man who allegedly confessed to killing seven women in Indiana refused to speak or even acknowledge his name to a judge Wednesday, and a sheriff explained later that the suspect was upset his hearing was in open court before dozens of journalists.

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Indiana man was violent long before 7 killings

With hindsight, there were signs years ago of increasing violence against women by Darren Vann, who police say has confessed to killing seven women in northwestern Indiana and is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.

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