Suspicious death investigation of Elkhart man

8-5-2012 Indiana:

Suspicious. That's how investigators are, so far, describing the death of an Elkhart man, found on Saturday at his home in the 1700 block of Morton Avenue.

The victim is identified as 69 year-old James Grant, who also went by the name Tyrannosaurus Rex Mullins.

He's said to be a registered sex offender, having been convicted of sexual misconduct with a minor going back to the late 1990's.

Right now, the case is under investigation pending an autopsy. ..Source.. by News Talk 95.3 MNC

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Elkhart police investigate possible murder

8-5-2012 Indiana:

Elkhart police are investigating a possible murder.

Officers were called to a home on Noble St., near Morton Ave. late Saturday morning. Police were called to this home on Noble Street, near Morton Avenue just after 11:00 a.m.

Inside the home, they found a man dead.

He’s identified as Tyrannosaurus Rex Mullins.

Neighbors say the man who lived there was a convicted sex offender and they stayed away from him.

“It's scary not knowing if there's somebody out there that's doing something, breaking into homes or if it's just a random act, or if it's just was somebody who knew him,” said neighbor Deb Fay.

Neighbors also told WSBT that teenagers were constantly coming and going from that house. ..Source.. by WSBT-TV Report

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Elkhart County Coroner: Autopsy determined T-Rex was murdered

ELKHART, Ind. -- We have an update on the death investigation of an Elkhart County sex offender.

The Elkhart County Coroner's Office just told us that "Tyrannosaurus Rex Mullens'" death has been determined to be a homicide.

The coroner also said that Mullens died of "multiple sharp force trauma". He would not confirm whether or not T-Rex was stabbed.

The 69-year-old man's birth name is James E. Grant.

Police found his body on Saturday morning at a home on Morton Ave. ..Source.. by Jenny Dolph

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Coroner: Man was victim of homicide

8-10-2012:

ELKHART -- The Elkhart man found dead last weekend in his home was the victim of a homicide, according to Elkhart County Coroner John White.

White confirmed 69-year-old James Grant was killed by a sharp object, what he described as "sharp force trauma,"

WSBT reported.

Grant was also known as Tyrannosaurus Rex Mullins.

Police were called to 17011/2 Morton Ave. late Saturday morning when they found Grant dead inside. ..Source.. by Staff

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Mother says teen accused of murdering convicted sex offender "T-Rex" acted in self-defense

8-22-2012 Indiana:

The mother of 18-year-old Brandon Johnston, who is accused of murdering 69-year-old convicted sex offender James Grant, aka Tyrannosaurus Rex Mullens, defended her son on Tuesday saying he acted in self-defense.

Mullens, who was convicted of sexual misconduct with a minor in 1996, was found stabbed to death in his home on the 1700-block of Morton Avenue on August 4. The Elkhart County Prosecutor’s Office announced the arrest of Johnston on Monday. Johnston’s mother believes Mullens was a predator who targeted her son for years.

Jessica Dills, Johnston’s Mother, said she, son and her parents lived on Morton Avenue for years and Mullens moved in about five-years ago. Dills claimed that nobody in the neighborhood was notified that Mullens was a sex offender and only found out after they grew concerned about Mullens’ behavior.

"He tried to buy my parents gifts, he tried to buy us stuff because he always tried to get a hold of Brandon…he would call and ask where my son was,” Dills described. “He even showed up at our house before, he showed up at my parent's house, it was just creepy."

Dills claimed she and others made numerous formal complaints and reports to the Elkhart Police Department about Mullens’ behavior, saying that he often had contact with the numerous children in the neighborhood.

"People would see him, supposedly, masturbate in front of their window," Dills explained. “The bus stop is right in front of his house.”

Eight-months ago Dills moved to her current home in Three Rivers, Michigan, in part to get away from Mullens. However, he parents (Brandon Johnston’s Grandparents) remained at their home near Mullens and her son often stayed with them. Johnston was staying with his grandparents when Mullens was murdered and has told his mother that Mullens had gotten him drunk on the night of the murder, but he can’t remember much of what happened.

"I don't know if he slipped something into the drink that he gave my son and that's why my son can't remember some of it, it knocked him out and then he woke up and that's when everything happened,” Dills claimed. “My son tried to get it to stop and he (Mullens) was hitting my son with an object and my son said, ‘I had to defend myself.’"

Brandon Johnston is in the Elkhart County Jail awaiting trial.

"I saw him by myself and when he started crying I just started to lose it, it's not easy to see your kid there," Dill described. "The rest of his life it's going to haunt him, it's going to haunt us…he wanted to join the Army, that's never going to happen, so much is going to be taken away from him just because of this.”

Dills said she believes police should have done more to investigate Mullens before his murder and that the case should serve as a reason for stricter rules about where sex offenders should be allowed to live.

“I’m not saying he (Mullens) didn’t have a right to live anywhere, but in amongst a general population with tons of kids that wasn’t right,” she said. “I don’t want this to ever happen again, this shouldn’t have happened this time.”

Brandon Johnston is scheduled to be in court for an initial hearing on August 23. ..Source.. by Tony Spehar

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Teen pleads guilty to Elkhart man's murder

12-13-2012 Indiana:

18-year old Brandon Johnston pleaded guilty to murder Thursday morning in Elkhart County.

He's accused of killing James Grant – Also known as Tyrannosaurus Rex Mullens – back in August.

Police say Grant was stabbed several times in his head, neck, and chest in his Morton Avenue home in Elkhart.

Johnston is scheduled to be sentenced next month. ..Source.. by WSBT.com

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Teen sentenced on murder charge said victim gave him drugs

1-31-2013:

GOSHEN — What exactly happened the early morning of Aug. 2, 2012, may never be known. But what came out of the incident was the death of a 69-year-old man —a registered sex offender,— and the sentencing of an 18-year-old on charges of murder.

Brandon Johnston pleaded guilty in December to the charge of murder in connection to the death of James Grant, also known as Tyrannosaurus Rex Mullens. He was sentenced to 51 years in prison Thursday morning in Elkhart Circuit Court. He also will serve four years on probation.

Grant was killed in the early hours of Aug. 2. His body was found two days later in his home located at 1701 ½ Morton Ave., Elkhart. According to the probable cause affidavit for Johnston’s case, during their investigation police found a witness who said Johnston had said he “stabbed Rex in the head.”

Police also interviewed another person who said Johnston had told them “he had hurt someone and he thought he had killed them.” Johnston had told the witness he was going to “Rex’s house” to drink some beer. According to the witness, “Rex” was known as a person who lived on Morton Avenue and frequently spent time with Johnston.

Johnston was arrested Aug. 17.

An autopsy revealed that Grant died of multiple sharp force injuries to the chest, neck and head. During the sentencing hearing in Elkhart Circuit Court, Deputy Prosecutor Vicky Becker said Grant received a total of 23 stab wounds. She added that Grant, who used a wheelchair to move around, had stab wounds on his forearms, which indicated he was trying to shield himself from Johnston.

Becker said Johnston had committed acts that sent red flags with his constant use of alcohol and drugs since the age of 15, which he admitted to in his pre-sentence report.

“The choices that he was making led him down the path that resulted in the death of Mr. Grant,” Becker said.

Judge Terry Shewmaker said Johnston’s case was one he had given much thought to.

A few letters filed to the court by Johnston’s mother, Jessica Dills, and other members of Johnston’s family, asked the judge for leniency in his sentencing.

In one of her letters, Dills said her son, as other children in the neighborhood, had been targeted by Grant. Dills said in her letter that several phone calls were made to police about possible ongoing molestation the last few years.

Grant was a registered sex offender who in 1996 was found guilty on two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor.

Those letters were brought up during the hearing. Shewmaker asked Johnston if it was true he had received alcohol and drugs from Grant.

Johnston admitted that he had received marijuana, synthetic marijuana, alcohol and pills from Grant on multiple occasions.

Johnston, whose address is listed in Three Rivers, Mich. said that on the day of the incident he was in Elkhart to visit family. He said he had gone to Grant’s house, which he described was just around the corner from where his family lives, to get alcohol.

The fact that Johnston was receiving drugs and alcohol from the victim was considered as a mitigator at the time of the sentence, Shewmaker said. Johnston’s acceptance of responsibility and his arguments at the sentencing hearing were also taken into consideration.

“I’m not going to make an excuse or try to justify what I did,” Johnston told the court. “I don’t want people to think I’m a psychopath or a monster.” ..Source.. by Sharon Hernandez

Inmate charged with murder

6-30-2011 Indiana:

Joseph Brown confessed to killing Charles Miller, documents say

Bunker Hill — Joseph W. Brown drank a cup of coffee and packed his personal belongings after killing his cellmate on June 19 at the Miami County Correctional Facility, according to court documents.

Brown, 56, has been charged with murder and criminal confinement in the strangulation death of Charles Miller, 62, Center.

Brown is already serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole, Miami County Prosecutor Bruce Embrey said Wednesday.

Brown has been transferred from the Miami Correctional Facility to the Westville Correctional Facility. Embrey said Wednesday he has 60 days to decide if he will seek the death penalty.

“I will review the evidence before making a decision,” he said.

Embrey said the book “Blood Trail” was written about Brown, who was sentenced for the murder of his girlfriend, Ginger Gasaway, in 2000 in Evansville.

According to a probable cause affidavit signed by Indiana State Police Detective Mike Tarrh, Brown waived his rights and confessed to the slaying of Miller in the cell the two men had shared for two weeks.

Miller reportedly told Brown that he was a convicted child molester and Brown said he hates molesters, according to the statement made to Tarrh.

Court documents indicated that between 3:20 and 3:30 p.m. the two men were talking and Brown tore three or four strips from a bed sheet and told Miller to get in the bunk and cooperate or he would kill him. Miller tried to offer Brown money so he wouldn’t hurt him.

“If he offered me a $1,000, it wouldn’t have stopped me,” Brown told Tarrh.

Brown said Miller didn’t resist when he was tied up. Brown first tied Miller’s feet, then his hands behind his back, followed by a strip of sheet he stuffed in Miller’s mouth, according to the court records. Brown then used the string from Miller’s laundry bag to strangle him.

Brown told other inmates he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life at the Miami Correctional Facility and would be “better off on death row,” according to the probable cause affidavit.

The court records indicate that Brown told other inmates he had killed “his bunkee” before dinner.

The other inmates told Tarrh that Brown was acting weird for two or three days prior to the incident.

Miller pleaded guilty but mentally ill in March to a charge of attempted murder, admitting his role in a July 15 shooting that left a delivery driver severely wounded and Miller’s Center neighbors terrified. ..Source.. by Ken de la Bastide Tribune enterprise editor

Police: Daughter meant to kill

7-16-2011 Indiana:

A Wayne County woman told investigators she intended to kill her father Friday when she used a flammable liquid, identified as "camper fuel," and a candle to light him on fire, court documents revealed Monday.

Nina M. Holbrook, 30, was officially charged Monday with murder, felony murder and two counts of arson (Class A felonies). She made her first appearance Monday in Wayne County Superior Court 1 and remains lodged in the Wayne County Jail without bond.

Nina Holbrook's father, Carl D. Holbrook, 50, of 10037 Chapel Road died at 7:21 p.m. Friday at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio, after being airlifted to the facility. He was found badly burned at about 12:10 p.m. Friday on the porch of his residence by a man who was supposed to meet with him.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, Carl Holbrook told the man who found him that Nina had set him on fire.

Nina Holbrook told investigators she got the fuel and took it to her room and poured some in a cup while her father was gone.

She said she also got a candle and a lighter and when her father returned home she lit the candle. She then called him into her bedroom, where she threw the fuel in his face and then put the candle to his chest, setting him on fire, the affidavit said.

Nina Holbrook told investigators she then climbed out her bedroom window and walked through a field and down the road, where she was spotted by her uncle, Harvey Holbrook.

The incident took place at the end of a lane on the south side of Chapel Road, between Clevenger and Hiser Station roads in Washington Township.

According to the affidavit, Harvey Holbrook told authorities when he stopped on the road to ask Nina what happened, she told him, "I torched him" and "I set him on fire."

"We are still interviewing people and still investigating this," Wayne County Sheriff Jeff Cappa said Monday when asked if Nina Holbrook provided investigators any motive for the crime. "We don't have anything to release at this time."

A plea of not guilty was entered by the judge for Nina Holbrook during her initial hearing Monday in Wayne County Superior Court 1, and Stephen Rabe was appointed as her public defender. Nina Holbrook's next court appearance will be 1:30 p.m. Sept. 8. Her trial has been scheduled for 9 a.m. Oct. 11.

If convicted, she would face between 45 and 65 years in prison for murder, where a person "knowingly or intentionally kills another human being," and felony murder, described as killing another in the act of an additional felony such as arson, burglary, rape or robbery.

She could also face between 20 and 50 years in prison for each of two counts of arson, and be fined up to $10,000 on each of the charges against her. ..Source.. by Robert Sullivan

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Daughter 'poured lighter fluid over her sex offender dad, set him on fire and left him to die'

A daughter poured a cup of lighter fluid over her sex offender dad and set him on fire before leaving his house while he burned to death, police said.

Nina Holbrook, 30, allegedly set alight dad Carl Holbrook, 50, of Wayne County, Indiana, before passing a neighbour and giving him a ‘thumbs-up’.

She allegedly told him to come inside his house and set about the horrific attack before telling her uncle what she had just done outside.

Mr Holbrook has been convicted of two sex crimes in 1995 and 2007, when he was jailed for criminal deviate behaviour, reported True Crime Report.

He was waiting outside his home last Friday for a visitor when Ms Holbrook asked him to come inside to discuss something.

But inside a bedroom she poured lighter fluid over his head and ignited it with a candle before he began to burn to death, police said.

She allegedly calmly left the house while he screamed, and bumped into her uncle Harvey Holbrook, whom Mr Holbrook had been waiting for.

She told her uncle: 'I torched him', reported the Palladium-Item.

He found Mr Holbrook with most of his clothes singed, before he was taken to a local hospital and died from his injuries soon after.

Ms Holbrook then bumped into her neighbour Kyle Carpenter and allegedly told him she had set her father on fire while smiling.

He is said to have asked her: 'Are you alright?' She allegedly smiled and replied: 'No sir, I'm fine. Thank you very much.'

Mr Carpenter claimed she then gave him a thumbs-up sign.

Police are yet to establish a motive in the killing. Ms Holbrook has been charged with felony murder and arson. She is being held without bond.

The exact nature of Mr Holbrook’s past sex crimes is not yet known but he was not a registered sex offender, according to Sheriff's Office records. ..Source.. by Mark Duell

Inmate killed at Pendleton facility

1-24-2010 Indiana:

PENDLETON – The Pendleton Correctional Facility was put on lockdown Saturday afternoon after an inmate fatally stabbed another inmate, according to authorities.

The prison said in a press release that Charles L. Jackson, 52, was stabbed at about 1:30 p.m. Saturday, when inmates were released for recreation time. He was transported to the Health Care Center Emergency Room at the facility, where he was pronounced dead.

One suspect has been separated from the other inmates, authorities said, while the prison and state police continue an investigation.

Jackson, who the prison said lived in Marion, had served almost 13 years of an 80-year sentence for rape in Grant County.

The press release said Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie would perform an autopsy. ..Source.. Christina M. Wright, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer

IN- Elkhart police find bodies of two men inside car

Posted in Related Deaths

1-20-2009 Indiana:

Authorities say one of the victims could be missing Elkhart man.

ELKHART — A daylong search Thursday for a missing Elkhart man led police to a black car west of downtown, where the bodies of two men were found inside, police said.

The discovery was made about 2:30 p.m. in the 1300 block of Leonard Street, not long after homicide detectives searched the Elkhart County landfill after receiving tips from "multiple people" the missing man was there, police said.

Police had not identified the men as of Thursday night, but they believe one of the victims is 30-year-old Kevin K. Pendleton, who was reported missing earlier Thursday.

A cause of death has not been determined, but police said they believe the deaths are related to a shooting involving Pendleton that occurred about 1 a.m. Thursday in the 300 block of Chapman Avenue.

Pendleton was last seen leaving his apartment in the 300 block of Chapman at that time to talk to two unknown men in a black vehicle.

Pendleton's 28-year-old girlfriend told police that when Pendleton was in the car, she heard gunshots and saw bright flashes. The vehicle then left the area with Pendleton inside, she told police.

Officers were able to find additional witnesses who also verified they heard shots and observed flashes inside the car, police said.

The Elkhart Police Department Homicide Unit searched all day for the man, fearing he may have been killed and dumped somewhere, according to authorities. That led them to the landfill on County Road 7, where they came up empty.

Lt. Ed Windbigler, Elkhart police spokesman, said Thursday afternoon the car found on Leonard appears to match the description of the car Pendleton got into early that morning.

No arrests had been made as of Thursday night, although police said they are searching for a "person of interest" in the shooting/missing person case, 28-year-old Shawn C. Palmer of Elkhart.

Palmer — who police describe as armed and dangerous — has black hair, brown eyes, is 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 170 pounds.

Also of note, police said, is that Palmer owns a 2002 black four-door Chevrolet Malibu, which might match the description of the car recovered on Leonard. That car was towed for processing, police said. The Malibu has an Indiana license plate number of LO6853.

Pendleton's girlfriend told police Pendleton knew both men that he got in the car with, but she only knew their street names.

Pendleton has a criminal record, according to court records, and was charged last month for failure to register as a sex offender. His next court date is Feb. 24. ..Source.. by TOM MOOR, Tribune Staff Writer

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UPDATE: Elkhart deaths ruled homicides

1-16-2009 Indiana:

ELKHART — The deaths of two men found in a car west of downtown Thursday afternoon have been ruled homicides, officials said.

Kevin K. Pendleton, 30, and John J. Williams, 26, both of Elkhart, were discovered about 2:30 p.m. in the 1300 block of Leonard Street.

Police said Friday that Pendleton died from a gunshot wound, but would not say how many times or where he had been shot. Williams also died from a gunshot wound, Elkhart County Deputy Coroner Jeff Landrum said.

Authorities, meanwhile, are still looking for 28-year-old Shawn C. Palmer of Elkhart, who they describe as a "person of interest" in the case. Palmer, police said, should be considered armed and dangerous.

Police say Palmer might have been in the car with Pendleton and Williams when they were killed. He is not a suspect at this time. ..Source..

IN- Cops: Sex offender dies after resident caught him near daughter's room

This note is for future reference: There is something very wrong with this case, something is missing, I cannot fathom why, nor have I ever heard of another act like this one, where a person, living 500 feet away from a home, leaves his home totally naked -carrying latex gloves, rope, wearing a mask- walks totally naked through neighbors yards with the intent of breaking into a home 500 feet away. That behavior is so bizarre that I am having a hard time believing that is what happened, facts gathered from news reports.

9-28-2008 Indiana:

A jobless sex offender has died after a struggle with a northside Indianapolis resident who found him in his teenage daughter’s room wearing nothing but a mask and latex gloves, police say.

About 3:20 a.m. this morning, Indianapolis metropolitan police were dispatched to a residence at the 3000 block of West 79th Street to check a reported home invasion.

When they arrived, police said they found Robert McNally, 64, resident of the home, on the floor with his arms wrapped around the neck of an unresponsive David T. Meyers, 52.

Meyers, who police confirmed with family had a history of heart problems, was pronounced dead on the scene. They said a pending autopsy would determine if Meyers died of a possible heart attack or as a result of the choke hold.

Police said McNally will most likely not be arrested or charged in the incident.

“If a person breaks into your home, you are justified in using deadly force in defending your family,” said Sgt. Matthew Mount, a spokesman for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. “In this situation, I don’t think he was trying to kill him, he was trying to hold him down.”

McNally held Meyers down after answering his 17-year-old daughter’s scream for help. Police say Meyers gained access to the girl’s bedroom after sneaking in through a window near her room.

Police said Meyers also had rope, condoms and a knife with him, and that he had knowledge of the home’s layout because his uncle owned the property.

When reached by phone this afternoon, McNally was reluctant to comment and called the incident unfortunate.

“Nobody wins,” McNally said. “It’s a lose-lose situation for everybody. He has family also.”

He said his daughter was fine and went to church today after the ordeal. “She knew how to respond so she really alerted (us),” he said.

The Indianapolis Star generally does not identify alleged victims of sexual assault.

Meyers was a registered sex offender in Marion County and had been convicted in 1999 of criminal deviate conduct. He had been living with his mother for the last couple of years, the release said, and recently had lost his job.

Meyers also had served 10 years of a 20-year sentence for criminal confinement and sexual deviate conduct out of Hamilton County and was wanted in Boone County for failure to register as a sex offender, according to an IMPD release.

-In another news report below (10-9-2008) the failure to register out of Boone County, was for "failure to tell police the EXACT DATE he left his employment, he had notified them he was leaving, but failed to tell police the EXACT DATE!

The death is under investigation and will be reviewed by a Marion County prosecutor. ..News Source.. by Tania E. Lopez

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Intruder dies after struggle with renter

9-29-2008 Indiana:

Dad restrained sex offender after finding him in teen's room

In a quiet enclave of four homes off West 79th Street, two families grieved for David Meyers late Sunday.

Earlier in the day -- in the middle of the night, actually -- Meyers, 52, broke into a teenage girl's room, naked and armed with a knife, and died after a struggle with her father, Robert McNally, 64, who heard his daughter scream for help.

The incident occurred in the home that McNally rents from Meyers' uncle, a few hundred feet away from where Meyers lived with his mother. It left both Meyers' family and McNally, who got along well with Meyers and sometimes had dinner with him, wondering why the registered sex offender did what he did. Saturday, Meyers had dinner with family members and had been talking about joining a church.

"Of the families on the lane, we're all kind of grieving together," said Bill Meyers, the older of David's two brothers, who lives in Zionsville. "Everybody seems to have taken the position that Dave kind of snapped."

About 3:20 a.m. Sunday, police said, Meyers entered the home in the 3500 block of West 79th Street through the 17-year-old girl's bedroom window, wearing only a mask and latex gloves and carrying rope, condoms and a knife.

The girl woke up, saw Meyers, and screamed, police said in a written release. McNally awoke to the screams and went to defend his daughter, according to Sgt. Matthew Mount, a spokesman for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

A struggle ensued, beginning in the hallway of the home; when police arrived, they found McNally with his arm around Meyers' neck in the kitchen, police said.

Meyers was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said Meyers had a history of heart problems and that an autopsy will be conducted to determine whether he died of a heart attack or as a result of a choke hold.

Mount said McNally was not arrested, and it appeared unlikely charges would be filed because it seemed clear the resident was defending his family against an armed intruder.

In a brief telephone interview, McNally said his daughter was doing fine and went to church Sunday. He called the incident unfortunate but declined to elaborate Sunday evening.

"Nobody wins," McNally said. "It's a lose-lose situation for everybody. He has family, also."

David Meyers' aunt and uncle live next door to the rented ranch-style home where the incident occurred. David lived with his mother in the house behind his uncle's.

Bill Meyers said his family met with McNally on Sunday evening to talk about the incident. He said there were no hard feelings between the families, and McNally even asked if he could attend the funeral.

"It was awful, it was shameful, it was unforgivable," Bill Meyers said of his brother's actions. "He was insane for that period of time. That wasn't David on a day-to-day basis."

In 1998, David Meyers was convicted of criminal deviate conduct and criminal confinement, Marion County electronic court records show. He was sentenced to 13 years.

Mount said Meyers was registered as a sex offender in Marion County but was wanted in Boone County for failure to register as a sex offender there.

Bill Meyers said his brother had lived with his mother since his release from prison about six years ago. David Meyers had worked at a delicatessen and did seasonal construction work, but he struggled financially and suffered from mental health problems, his brother said.

David Meyers had a 14-year-old daughter and was divorced from her mother, Bill Meyers said. He said David's ex-wife distanced herself from him after he was charged in connection with the incidents in Marion County.

Bill Meyers said his brother brought most of his problems on himself but that his status as a sex offender made it difficult for him to get on with his life after serving his sentence.

David Meyers worked for a book manufacturing company but lost his job a few days ago. His brother said he had been prescribed a psychiatric drug but stopped taking it as recently as the past week.

"He did some stupid, stupid things," Bill Meyers said. "And he paid a heavy price." ..News Source.. by Francesca Jarosz and Tania Lopez

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Home Invader Dies In Struggle With Father Of Intended Victim

INDIANAPOLIS -- A man who police said broke into a home with the intention of sexually assault a 17-year-old girl in her bedroom died early Sunday morning after a struggle with the girl's father.

David Meyers (pictured), 52, was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after officers arrived following a report of a home invasion in the 3500 block of West 79th Street at about 3:20 a.m.

Officers said they found Robert McNally, 64, on the floor with his arm around the neck of Meyers, struggling to hold him down.

When officers told McNally he could let go, they found that Meyers was unresponsive. Medics who were called to the scene then pronounced Meyers dead.

Indianapolis police Sgt. Matt Mount said Meyers had come into the home naked, except for a mask and latex gloves.

"He had rope, had a knife, had condoms, had a gag," Mount said.

Police said Meyers had gotten into the home through a window next to the girl's bedroom and that he knew the home well because his uncle owns it and he was an acquaintance of the family.

The teen awoke to find a naked man in her room and began screaming, alerting McNally, police said.

During a protracted struggle in the hallway of the home, McNally was able to get his arm around Meyers' neck and subdue him while his wife called police, officers said.

Meyers was a registered sex offender and was released from prison two years ago after he had served 10 years of a 20-year sentence for criminal confinement and sexual deviate conduct stemming from a case in Hamilton County.

Meyers was also being sought in Boone County for failure to register as a sex offender.

Police said Meyers had been living with his mother down a gravel road from the home that the McNally family lived in and had recently lost his job.

"When they got the mask off, both the father and daughter recognized him," Mount said.

Police said Meyers had a history of heart problems. They were not immediately sure if he died as a result of heart failure or from being choked.

The results of the police investigation will be turned over to the Marion County Prosecutor's Office, but it is unlikely charges will be filed, police said. ..News Source.. by 6News

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Intruder dies in home invasion

Indianapolis - Metro Police say a father killed an intruder in his daughter's bedroom in an apparent act of self-defense.

According to police, 52-year-old David Meyers broke into a home in the 3500 block of West 79th Street early Sunday morning and entered the bedroom of a 17-year-old girl. He was carrying condoms, a rope and a knife, wearing nothing but a mask and a pair of latex gloves.

"He had come in, apparently, with the objective of raping her," IMPD Sgt. Matt Mount said.

She was screaming as her father ran into the bedroom and fought off the attacker. When police arrived, the father had his arm around the intruder's throat and was holding him.

"The father was able to get his arm around this guy's neck and throat and has him down on the ground. The mother calls 911, the police get there," Sgt. Mount described. "They tell the guy, 'Okay, you can let go of him now, we're here, we'll take care of this.' As he then releases his hold on him and putting the cuffs on him they realize he's unresponsive."

Meyers was pronounced dead a short time later at the scene.

Police say Meyers was a convicted sex offender, released from jail after serving half of his 20-year sentence.

"He had a warrant out for his arrest in Boone County, for failing to register," Sgt. Mount said.

For the past couple years, police say, Meyers had been living with his mother. Eyewitness News learned that home is just a few yards away from the scene of the invasion.

"The father, Robert McNally, the 64-year-old dad, when they get the mask off this guy, he realizes he knows this guy," Sgt. Mount said.

Investigators say Meyers had been in the house before. His uncle was the one renting it to the family.

"So he was familiar with the layout of the home. He had gotten in through a window of a room next to the bedroom of where the 17-year-old daughter was sleeping," Sgt. Mount said.

The case will be investigated as a homicide and it will be up to the prosecutor to decide whether to press charges. ..News Source.. by Cat Andersen, Eyewitness News

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Coroner: Intruder died of strangulation

9-29-2008 Indiana:

A registered sex offender restrained by an Indianapolis father after a home break-in Sunday died of strangulation, the Marion County coroner has ruled.

David Meyers, 52, was dead by the time police arrived in the early morning at the home in the 3500 block of West 79th Street. He had climbed through a 17-year-old girl's bedroom window, wearing only a mask and latex gloves and carrying rope, condoms and a knife.

After the girl's father heard her screams, he struggled with Meyers, police said. Officers arrived to find Robert McNally, 64, holding Meyers -- with his arm around Meyers' neck -- in the kitchen. Meyers was pronounced dead at the scene.

An autopsy determined the cause of death to be asphyxia by strangulation with contributing cardiovascular disease, said Marchele Hall, the coroner's office manager. "He had heart problems," she said.

Matthew Symons, spokesman for the Marion County prosecutor, said McNally apparently acted in self-defense.

"Based on the facts we have, we don't anticipate filing any charges," Symons said. "We will do a standard review that we do in all such situations."

The incident occurred in the home that McNally rents from Meyers' uncle, a few hundred feet away from where Meyers lived with his mother. It left both Meyers' family and McNally, who got along well with Meyers and sometimes had dinner with him, wondering why he did what he did. Saturday, Meyers had dinner with family members and had been talking about joining a church.

In 1998, Meyers was convicted of criminal deviate conduct and criminal confinement, Marion County electronic court records show. He was sentenced to 13 years. ..News Source.. by Jon Murray

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Boone County had warrant on sex offender in bizarre case

10-9-2008 Indiana:

The sex offender who died in an incident in Marion County Sunday was wanted on a warrant in Boone County.

Boone County Sheriff Ken Campbell said Monday his department had issued a warrant for 52-year-old David T. Meyers in May.

Police, responding to a call from Indianapolis’ northwest side about 3:20 a.m. Sunday, found Meyers on the hallway floor of an Indianapolis home with the homeowner, 64-year-old Robert McNally, with his arm around Meyers’ neck. Meyers was pronounced dead at the scene.

The incident began when McNally heard his 17-year-old daughter scream and found Meyers in her room.

Campbell said Meyers had been employed in the business park in Lebanon. Because he was a sex offender working in Boone County, he was required to register with the Boone County Sheriff’s Department.

Campbell said the sheriff’s department is diligent about keeping track of sex offenders who work and live in the county, and that Meyers had checked in as required through mid-May. That’s when he said he was leaving his job in the county. The sheriff’s department set the day of May 21 for a final interview with Meyer, but he called and rescheduled for the next day. When he didn’t show up for that meeting, a warrant was issued for failure to register as a sex offender. That warrant was sent to Marion County, where he lived.

“We do everything we can do to keep on top of it,” Campbell said. “If we find (someone) in violation, we try to get them in jail.”

That warrant had not been served.

Campbell said the outcome Sunday was unfortunate for everyone, “and clearly for this young woman,” he said.

Police said Meyers was naked except for a mask and latex gloves, and had entered the home through a window near the girl’s bedroom carrying rope, condoms and a knife.

Marchele Hall of the Marion County coroner’s office says the cause of Meyers’ death was ruled Monday to be asphyxia by strangulation with contributing cardiovascular disease.

Marion County prosecutor’s office spokesman Matthew Symons says no charges are anticipated against McNally, who locked his arm around Meyers’ neck and held him until police arrived.

According to information on the Indiana Sheriff’s Sex and Violent Offender Registry, Meyers was convicted in February 1999 of criminal deviant conduct and criminal confinement. He was sentenced to 20 years, with 10 years suspended. With good-time credit he was released in May 2004, but was to be on probation for 10 years and required to provide current information for the registry the remainder of his life. ..News Source.. by Marda Johnson, The Lebanon Reporter

IN- Inmate faces death penalty in cellmate's death

8-27-2008 Indiana:

CARLISLE, Ind. (AP) — A prosecutor says he intends to seek the death penalty for a man serving a life sentence who is accused of killing his cellmate.

Thirty-year-old Zachariah Melcher of Jeffersonville is charged in the strangulation death of 28-year-old Nicholas Roman at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility in Carlisle in March.

Melcher is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the 2006 murders of his infant son, wife and unborn child.


At a court hearing in June, Melcher told the judge he wanted to represent himself, but the judge appointed two attorneys to represent him. Sullivan County Prosecutor Robert Springer said this week he still pushing for a death sentence.

Melcher's trial is scheduled to begin in February. ..News Source.. by AP

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Jeffersonville murderer may have strangled cellmate

3-9-2008 Indiana:

Authorities believe Melcher killed fellow prisoner at Wabash Valley state prison

CARLISLE — A convicted murderer at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility is under investigation for allegedly strangling his cellmate Friday night.

Nicholas Roman, 28, was pronounced dead at 11:12 p.m., according to a Correctional Facility news release. Authorities allege Zachariah Melcher strangled Roman shortly before 10:30 p.m. Investigators are still determining what caused the incident, said Rich Larsen, the facility’s public information officer.

Larsen said Melcher was cooperating with investigators.

Facility staff provided immediate emergency medical care to Roman before he was transported to Sullivan County Community Hospital.

Melcher, 30, was already serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for killing his infant daughter, wife and unborn child in Clark County, a news release stated.

The homicide case will be turned over to the Sullivan County Prosecutor by the Indiana State Police early next week.

An autopsy is scheduled to determine Roman’s exact cause of death.

Since his incarceration, Roman had multiple major conduct offenses. He was serving time on Vanderburgh County convictions for performing sexual conduct in the presence of a minor, distribution of matter harmful to a minor and theft/receiving stolen property. ..News Source.. by CNHI News Service

IN- Montgomery Co. inmate dies from apparent strangulation

3-21-2008 Indiana:

CARLISLE, Ind. - A man convicted of sexual misconduct with a minor died after being attacked in his cell at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility.

Robert Crane, 27, who appeared to have been strangled, died while being treated at a hospital about 1:30 p.m. Friday, two hours after the attack, prison spokesman Rich Larsen said.

Indiana State Police and prison investigators named Crane's cellmate, Michael Gibson, 33, as a suspect in the attack, Larsen said.

Gibson is serving a 119-year sentence for two attempted murders, battery, burglary and possessing a weapon, with an earliest possible release date of 2063, Larsen said. His crimes occurred in Morgan and Madison Counties.

The two prisoners were being held in protective custody, Larsen said.

Following the attack, guards immediately tried to resuscitate Crane, Larsen said. He was rushed to Sullivan County Community Hospital.

Crane, who also had been convicted of attempted escape, was serving a 14-year term.

The Wabash Valley Correctional Facility houses more than 2,100 prisons in maximum and minimum security. It's located about 35 miles south of Terre Haute. ..more.. by AP

Child molester killed in prison!

12-18-2003 Indiana:

PERU, Ind. -- A state prison inmate was suspected of killing another prisoner while both were being treated in the Miami County Correctional Facility's infirmary, authorities said Friday.. The victim, David L. Hensley, 64, of Wardin, Mo., suffered multiple head wounds, state police Detective Michael Tarrah said. Hensley was pronounced dead at the prison about 50 miles north of Indianapolis after being found Thursday evening. ..more.. Associated Press)

IN- Police: Father killed his son in an argument

9-11-2007 Indiana:

Man, 69, is charged in the shooting of namesake, 40, in Northside home

Police say a family argument led a father to shoot and kill his 40-year-old son in a Northside home early Monday, but investigators have not said what the spat was about.

Charles M. Long, 69, was held without bond Monday in the Marion County Jail on a preliminary charge of murder.

Officers said Long bolted from the home and eluded police for more than eight hours after he shot his son Charles A. Long to death about 2 a.m. in a house in the 300 block of Harvard Place.

"It stemmed from an argument between the father and son," said Sgt. Matthew Mount, a spokesman for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. "The father shot the son," who was dead when police arrived.

Acting on a tip, the U.S. Marshal's Service, Indiana State Police and IMPD officers staked out I-65 in Greenwood for Long's white Cadillac, IMPD Capt. Phil Burton said.

Officers spotted the vehicle and captured Long without incident in the westbound lane of I-465 near the East Street exit about 10:30 a.m., Burton said.

Police searched Long's car for evidence, Burton said, but did not find the weapon used in the shooting.

Three or four people were in the home at the time of the shooting, Burton said.

Long requested a lawyer, Burton said, cutting short an interview with homicide detectives.

The elder Long was arrested on robbery and forgery charges 49 years ago, Burton said. He also has prior arrests on charges of drunken driving, disorderly conduct and reckless driving, Burton said, but had not been in trouble with police since 1989.

In July 2006, a pregnant woman accused Long of pushing her to the floor twice after he returned to find her sleeping in his home, according to a police report. The woman declined medical treatment. Long wasn't arrested, records show.

The younger Long was a registered sex offender who spent 17 years in prison for rape and criminal confinement. Indiana Department of Correction records show he was released from prison in November. ..more.. by Vic Ryckaert

Stabbing victim (Sex Offender) had prior conviction!

6-13-2004 Indiana:

A man convicted of exposing himself to children was stabbed by a longtime acquaintance who told investigators he believed the man was a child molester, police said.

James Patrick Seldomridge, 54, was brain dead late Tuesday and being kept alive on life support at Ball Memorial Hospital so his organs could be donated, investigators said. Officers said they found Seldomridge about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday in his apartment, unconscious and covered in blood, along with a bloody kitchen knife. "It was a very violent scene," police Sgt. Al Williams said. "There was definitely a struggle between the victim and a suspect."

Police later arrested Jeremiah Brown, 21, at a nearby apartment and charged him with attempted murder and burglary. Brown admitted to detectives that he broke through Seldomridge's front window and stabbed him several times in the shoulder and back, according to arrest records.

Brown called Seldomridge a "child molester" and a "pervert" while talking with investigators, Williams said. ..more.. by Associated Press

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Muncie man convicted in slaying returns

1-30-2011 Indiana:

A Muncie man serving a 40-year prison term for fatally stabbing an acquaintance was back in Delaware County last week continuing his pursuit of a reduced sentence. ..Source..

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There is a good explanation of the events that led to the actual stabbing in the Appellate Court decision, summarizing, Brown contends that Seldomridge molested him and his brothers earlier in time. Assuming that to be true this is a victim based crime rather than "by Acq".

Child Molester Found Dead In Prison

4-7-2007 Indiana:
PENDLETON, Ind. -- An inmate at the Pendleton Correctional Facility who had been convicted of molesting a child was found dead in his cell Friday afternoon.

Kent D. McDonald, 44, of North Vernon, was serving a sentence for child molestation and theft out of Jennings County. He was not eligible for release until 2030.

McDonald was housed in cellblock D, which houses 48 inmates and has an open common area, officials said. Inmates are locked in their cells from 11 p.m. until 4:30 a.m. each day, according to Indiana State Police.

An autopsy will be performed on McDonald on Monday at Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie.

Detective Bob May, the state police's lead investigator on the case, declined comment late Friday, saying he had yet to interview inmates concerning McDonald's death.

"All I can say is that we're conducting a death investigation," he said.

Potter said the state police's crime scene investigation team was called to the prison, and the facility was on a temporary, "modified lockdown" until McDonald's body was removed.

McDonald had been a Pendleton inmate since June 17, 2005, having transferred from the Westville Correctional Facility in northwest Indiana.

He was charged with three counts of child molesting in December 2002 in Jennings County and had a projected release date of December 2030, according to the Indiana Department of Correction. ..more.. by The Indy Channel

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Pendleton inmate’s death being investigated as homicide
4-7-2007 Indiana:

A Pendleton Correctional Facility inmate likely didn’t die of natural causes, but investigators are stopping short of formally labeling his death a homicide until an autopsy is performed.

Indiana State Police Detective Bob May said his department was treating the death investigation of 44-year-old Kent D. McDonald, of Madison, Ind., as homicide pending autopsy results.

“We need the cause of death before we concentrate on an avenue of investigation,” May said. “It doesn’t look accidental. There’s blood involved. The position of the body — nothing looked natural and nothing looked suicidal about it.”

Prison staff found McDonald early Friday afternoon, lying on his lower bunk in the cell he shared with an another inmate, according to Neil Potter, prison spokesman.

“He was obviously well expired when they found him,” May said. “We are investigating this as a homicide until the medical examiner tells us it’s not.”

McDonald was charged with three counts of child molesting, one Class A felony and two Class C felonies, in December 2002 in Jennings Circuit Court. His projected release date was December 2030, according to the Indiana Department of Correction. The circumstances surrounding the crimes weren’t immediately known.

An autopsy on McDonald’s body is scheduled to be performed Monday at Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie.

“It doesn’t look like natural causes,” said May, adding there weren’t any obvious indications that McDonald took his own life. “But you know what? I could be wrong, but I doubt it.”

May and Indiana Department of Correction Investigator Mike Raines are the lead detectives in the case.

If McDonald’s death is ruled a homicide, a possible motive could be tied to why he was sentenced to over two decades behind bars.

“Child molesters have a difficult time in prison, and that probably has something to do with it,” he said. “You really don’t want to go to prison as a child molester and be identified as that.”

But May added that McDonald “was very well liked. He had several friends in there.”

McDonald was housed in a 48-inmate cell block with an open, common area, said ISP Sgt. Mike Burns, Pendleton Post spokesman. Prisoners were locked in their cells only from 11 p.m. to 4:30 a.m.

May said McDonald’s cellmate and another inmate were transferred out of the cell block and are now being housed in another part of the prison. Neither inmate’s name was released.

May said McDonald’s cellmate was moved because the cell was being treated as a crime scene. He wouldn’t elaborate on why the second inmate was relocated.

McDonald had been a Pendleton inmate since June 17, 2005, having transferred from the Westville Correctional Facility in northwest Indiana. ..more.. by Shawn McGrath

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UPDATE: Prison inmate’s death ruled homicide
4-9-2007 Indiana:

The Madison County Coroner’s Office has officially ruled the death of 44-year-old Kent D. McDonald a homicide.

Ned Dunnichay, Madison County’s coroner, said McDonald, a convicted child molester serving time at the Pendleton Correctional Facility, died of blunt-force injuries to the head and chest.

Dunnichay said he doesn’t know what type of object may have caused McDonald’s fatal injuries.

“Not at this point,” he said. “That’s unclear until I get more information from the state police.”

Indiana State Police Detective Bob May, the lead investigator in the case, said no arrests have been made in connection with the slaying.

“We have two people of interest that we’re concentrating on,” he said. “We’re actively going to pursue an arrest warrant — or warrants — in this case.”

May said Saturday that McDonald’s cellmate and another inmate were transferred out of the cell block and are now being housed in another part of the prison. Neither inmate’s name was released, but May confirmed these are the two people of interest.

Prison staff found McDonald early Friday afternoon, lying on his lower bunk in his shared cell, according to prison officials.

McDonald was housed in a 48-inmate cell block with an open, common area, according ISP Sgt. Mike Burns, Pendleton Post spokesman. Prisoners were locked in their cells only from 11 p.m. to 4:30 a.m.

May said they are still investigating what was used to kill McDonald.

“I don’t think there was a weapon, but I don’t know,” May said. “There was definitely an instrument of destruction used, but that could be your hands.”

McDonald had been a Pendleton inmate since June 17, 2005, having been transferred from the Westville Correctional Facility in northwest Indiana.

McDonald was charged with three counts of child molesting, one Class A felony and two Class C felonies, in December 2002 in Jennings Circuit Court. His projected release date was December 2030, according to the Indiana Department of Correction. The circumstances surrounding the crimes weren’t immediately known.

McDonald was born in Madison, but had spent most of his life in North Vernon.

May reiterated that the possible motive in McDonald’s slaying could be tied to his child molestation convictions.

“That’s the most likely (reason),” he said, but added that McDonald did have several friends at the facility. “They don’t make too many close friends in prison, but he had a few in there.” ..more.. by SHAWN MCGRATH

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9:45 p.m.: Investigator: Inmate may have been slain by white supremacists
4-11-2007 Indiana:
A convicted child molester killed at the Pendleton Correctional Facility was the target of two white supremacist gang members, according to the lead investigator in the case.

Indiana State Police Detective Bob May said during a probable cause hearing on Monday that 44-year-old Kent D. McDonald, a white male, was beaten to death and discovered lying in a pool of his own blood.

“McDonald appeared to be lying face-down on his bunk surrounded by a pool of blood with a pillow case over his head that was slightly twisted around his neck,” May told Madison County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Jim Nave during the hearing to obtain the pair of search warrants.

“Also, it appeared he had been hog-tied, with his hands behind his back to his ankles,” May testified. “However, there was no ropes or any binding restraints at the time he was discovered by (Indiana Department of Correction) staff and rigor mortis had set in when I saw him.”

The hearing in Madison Circuit Court was to get warrants to obtain possible DNA evidence from a pair of purported Aryan Brotherhood members: McDonald’s cellmate, Clay M. Howard, 24, and 21-year-old Paul M. Rayle.

Circuit Court Judge Fredrick Spencer approved the warrants to get hair, blood, saliva and finger-nail scrapings. Spencer ordered the two to be transported to Saint John’s Medical Center on Tuesday to have the potential evidence collected.

While both men are labeled as suspects in McDonald’s death according to the warrants, no charges have been filed against either man.

“That case is still under investigation and we’ve not received any additional information from the state police,” Madison County Prosecutor Thomas Broderick Jr. said late Tuesday. “So we’re just waiting for that investigation to be completed so we can review it and make decisions on what we’re going to do.”

May said during the hearing that Howard suffered hand injuries that may be connected to McDonald’s death, and Rayle and Howard had argued with McDonald in the past.

“Mr. Howard had injuries to the knuckles of his hands,” May said during the hearing. “Also, he had bruising and scratches to his upper torso. Mr. Rayle also had ... knuckles (that) were scraped.

“They had several arguments before (McDonald’s) death.”

The detective said Rayle’s and Howard’s alleged ties to white supremacy groups may have been the motive behind McDonald’s killing.

“They’re members of the Aryan Brotherhood or Aryan Nation and white supremacists,” May said. “They have a pact to kill child molesters.”

When investigators searched the cell McDonald and Howard shared, they discovered correspondence and “news clippings” about other child molesters that Howard “might possibly be on the lookout for while he’s in the DOC,” May said.

However, none of the news clippings were about McDonald, he said.

“The first day in that dorm unit, (Howard) was talked to by Paul Rayle,” May said. “And Paul Rayle told him that his new bunkmate was a child molester.”

May could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.

The cellblock where the three men were living houses 48 men with a common, shared area. The cells are locked from 11 p.m. to 4:30 a.m., but otherwise the inmates are free to roam. Howard and Rayle have since been moved out of the cellblock.

McDonald had been a Pendleton inmate since June 17, 2005, having been transferred from the Westville Correctional Facility in northwest Indiana.

McDonald, of North Vernon, was charged with three counts of child molesting, one Class A felony and two Class C felonies, in December 2002 in Jennings Circuit Court. His projected release date was December 2030, according to the Indiana Department of Correction.

McDonald was convicted of molesting several preteen boys at his camper trailer in rural North Vernon, threatening to kill one of the youths if he ever talked about the incidents. The boys were friends of his extended family members, according to documents from the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department.

For the mother of one of McDonald’s then-10-year-old victims, prison time was warranted for his crimes, but it should not have amounted to a death sentence.

“He shouldn’t have died like he did,” the woman, a North Vernon resident, said Tuesday. “But him spending time in prison, yeah, because he did molest them. (But) he didn’t deserve to die for it.”

The Herald Bulletin generally doesn’t reveal the identities of sex-crime victims or their immediate relatives if that could possibly expose the victim’s identity.

The woman said some of McDonald’s family members have been harassing her family, believing they are somehow connected to McDonald’s death.

“It’s not our fault that their son passed away,” she said. “I didn’t have anything to do with it and none of my family had anything to do with it.

“I wish it never happened.”

Attempts to reach McDonald’s family were unsuccessful. His funeral arrangements are pending at a North Vernon funeral home.

Howard was imprisoned at Pendleton after being convicted of attempted murder and burglary charges in Tippecanoe County in 2003. He was scheduled for release in January 2018. The circumstances surrounding the charges weren’t immediately available.

While Howard has over a decade left on his sentence, Rayle was scheduled to be released in July 2008, according to the DOC. In 2004, he was sentenced in Allen County to 10 years in prison on a single armed robbery count. ..more.. by Shawn McGrath

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Charges filed in '07 prison killing

1-7-2011:

ANDERSON, Ind. — Two prisoners who were named as suspects days after a 2007 killing at the Pendleton Correctional Facility were charged with murder in the final week of former Prosecutor Thomas Broderick Jr.’s term.

Broderick on Dec. 27 filed murder charges against Clay M. Howard, 27, and Paul M. Rayle, 25. They were inmates at Pendleton and are accused in the beating and strangulation death of Kent D. McDonald, a 44-year-old child molester who was found in a pool of his own blood in his prison cell on April 6, 2007.

Prosecutor Rodney Cummings said Friday that he was aware of the charges, but he had not reviewed the case. He said Broderick sat on the charges that “probably should have been filed three years ago.”

Broderick denied he procrastinated in filing the charges, saying there was circumstantial evidence and many people at the reformatory had access to the victim. “It took time to make sure there was sufficient evidence to file it,” he said Friday.

Indiana State Police investigators received warrants days after McDonald’s murder to collect DNA and other evidence from Howard and Rayle, who were purported members of the Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist gang that authorities say had taken a vow to kill child molesters. All three men were white.

An autopsy concluded that McDonald died of head and neck blunt force injury and asphyxiation.

An affidavit of probable cause dated Dec. 21, 2010, and signed by Broderick’s chief of staff, Ed Leonard, says that Howard and Rayle were examined after McDonald was found slain. ISP investigator Robert May “reported that both had injuries to their knuckles and fingers that he stated were consistent with being in a fight.”

The affidavit says that several inmates told authorities that Howard and/or Rayle confessed to killing McDonald.

Pendleton Correctional Facility officials later confiscated a letter they say Howard wrote to his father in which he appears to brag about killing McDonald, according to the affidavit. The letter says, “I still go hunting. Just not your typical game though! ... I bagged and tagged a (deleted).” The affidavit says Howard also wrote, “The charges never stuck.”

“That was 2 birds w/one stone,” Howard is accused of writing. “Not only did he play with kids, he played with boys. ... How about th(a)t for earning some stripes.”

McDonald, from North Vernon, was sentenced in June 2005 to at least 40 years in prison on multiple counts of child molestation, according to Department of Correction records.

Howard, who is now at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, was serving a 32-year sentence on a charge of attempted murder and a 15-year sentence for burglary, according to DOC.

Rayle, who is now serving time in Fort Wayne, was sentenced in 2004 by an Allen County court to 10 years in prison on a charge of armed robbery.

Charges against Howard and Rayle have been filed in Madison County Superior Court 3 before Judge Thomas Newman. No court dates have been set. ..Source.. by Dave Stafford

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Accused prison killer in court

1-14-2011:

Rayle charged with slaying molester at Pendleton facility

ANDERSON, Ind. — One of two inmates charged in an April 2007 killing at the Pendleton Correctional Facility was transferred to Madison County for an initial court hearing on Friday.

Paul M. Rayle, 27, who is serving a 10-year prison term in Fort Wayne, was formally charged last week in the beating and strangulation death of Kent D. McDonald, a 44-year-old child molester who was found in a pool of his own blood in his prison cell on April 6, 2007.

An automatic plea of not guilty was entered and Madison County Magistrate Stephen Clase ordered Rayle held without bond in the Madison County Jail.

Clase appointed Patrick Ragains as Rayle’s public defender, and Rayle’s case has been assigned to Madison County Superior Court 3 Judge Thomas Newman Jr.

Newman’s court also is the venue for murder co-defendant Clay M. Howard, 25. An affidavit for probable cause says that Howard and Rayle, former Pendleton inmates, were members of the Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist gang that authorities say had taken a vow to kill child molesters.

Howard has not yet had his initial hearing. He is serving a 32-year sentence on a charge of attempted murder and a 15-year sentence for burglary in the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, according to the Indiana Department of Correction. ..Source.. by Dave Stafford