IndianaInfamy.com

This Day in Infamy: Death was the Punishment for Poor Grades

People who knew father David Wayne Johnson, 50, described him as “an excellent employee who took an active interest in his son.” That “active interest” resulted in him beating the boy to death.

On Monday, March 4, 2002, Johnson received a call from one of his son’s teachers at Prarie Heights High School. The teacher wanted to touch base because he was concerned about Kyle’s performance in class, particularly since the freshman had recently moved in with his father and even transferred schools in an attempt to raise his grades. Apparently, the boy’s efforts had failed to meet expectations—with horrifying results.

After an altercation that went on for hours, David Johnson called 911 later that same night, explaining that he and Kyle had “a little fight.” Although the boy was unresponsive, David claimed he “didn’t hit him hard,” and his son was “just a 15-year-old kid who doesn’t want to go to school and doesn’t want to do homework and he laughs at everything I say.”

Kyle was airlifted to a local hospital, but it was too late. He was DOA.

His father later confessed to slapping, kicking and punching Kyle. He further admitted that, after Kyle had been knocked to the ground, he rolled the boy onto his stomach, sat on his back, and punched him in the back of the head. A ligature of some kind was used to choke the teen. An autopsy would eventually determine his cause of death was a lascerated liver caused by blunt force trauma and strangulation.

David Johnson was initially offered a plea deal by LaGrange County Prosecutor Tim Cain which could have resulted in the killer serving only five years with time off for good behavior. Judge George E. Brown rejected that plea as too lenient, and Johnson was subsequently offered another deal. On November 6, 2002, he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in exchange for a sentence of twenty years in prison.

“I don’t think he meant to kill Kyle,” the teen’s mother, Terry Stephenson, said after her ex-husband’s appearance in court. “But he did.”

Sources:
1. Stoner, Andrew E. Notorious 92. Bloomington, Rooftop Publishing, 2007.
2. https://www.kpcnews.com/article_a7fb56b3-80a2-5c2e-b465-4fb28cee5515.html
3. https://www.kpcnews.com/article_c0502e11-4c9c-5c4b-be3f-a2d9e0f0bf7c.html

Man Arrested for Fatal Hammer Attack

*_{Daniel James Smith is accused in the fatally bludgeoning a relative.}*

A Greenfield man who police say beat his own uncle to death with a hammer has been formally charged with murder.

On February 16th, the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department responded to a report of a dead person at the residence 39-year-old Daniel James Smith shared with his mother and uncle. When investigators arrived at the home, they were directed by Smith’s mother to an unresponsive male in the living room. The man had severe facial trauma and was not breathing, but Smith’s mother was able to identify him as her half-brother, Freddie Patterson, 69. She then told officers her son, Daniel Smith, was also in the house.

Upon further questioning, the female resident stated she went to bed around 9 pm but was later awakened by banging. When she got up to find the source of the noise, her son brushed past her on his way to the bathroom, and she thought he had something in his hand like “Jell-O or blood with fruit in it.” She called out to her brother, but there was no answer. She then found him in a chair in the living room, mutilated. The woman also stated her brother and son “did not have a good relationship.”

Smith was arrested without incident. Once in custody, he made various statements to authorities concerning a cult, illegal products, and the Chinese Mafia. He then claimed his uncle was molesting a minor, which made Smith feel “angry and discussed.” Smith admitted to drinking a six pack of beer and moonshine shots in the hours before the murder but claimed he had been programmed by a brain implant to attack Patterson. Informed of the victim’s death, Smith first offered to donate a portion of his own brain to help him, but then told investigators “he was not really sure” if the man he allegedly killed was Patterson.

Smith has pled not guilty to an initial charge of murder. He is currently being held in the Hancock County jail without bond.

Missing: 12-Year-Old Middlebury Girl

UPDATE: Alleyah has returned home safely.

Police are asking for help finding an Elkhart County girl they believe is in extreme danger.

Aleeyah Cockburn, of Middlebury, went missing from her family home last Friday, February 10th. According to a statement from the girl’s mother, Aleeyah was last seen doing chores at approximately 7:30 that evening. Her instructions were to feed the family’s animals and close up the garage, then re-enter the house through the front.

No one knew that once she stepped outside, the 12-year-old would seem to just disappear.

“Apparently, she never came in the door when we noticed within minutes she wasn’t here,” said Virginia Cockburn. “We were up immediately looking all night. I think I finally went in at 3 AM in the morning and I was back out at 6 AM looking for her.”

She was reported as a runaway that same night. Someone later claimed to have spotted her in the area around State Road 120 and Indiana 13 a few hours after it’s believed she left home, around 10 o’clock.

And then… nothing.

Aleeyah Cockburn vanished.

Police believe the middle schooler is in danger and ask the for public’s help in bringing her home. Aleeyah is described as 4 feet 11 inches tall, 80 pounds. She has short black hair, green eyes, and wears glasses. When last seen, she had on a black beanie, a multicolor gray and pink jacket, blue jeans and black boots.

If you have any information regarding Aleeyah Cockburn, please contact the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department at 547-533-4151 or call 911.

Two Men Arrested in 1975 Murder of Teen Girl

*_{John Lehman (L) and Fred Bandy Jr. (R)}*

Earlier today Indiana State Police investigators and the Noble County Prosecutor announced they have made arrests in the 1975 abduction and murder of Laurel Jean Mitchell.

The North Webster 17-year-old was reported missing by her parents on August 6, 1975, when she didn’t return home from work that night. Two fisherman found Laurel’s body floating in the north end of Diamond Lake the next day, about 17 miles from her home.

John Lehman (67), of Auburn, and Fred Bandy Jr. (67), of Goshen, were arrested at their respective homes Monday. Both men were charged with one count of murder and are currently held without bond in the Noble County Jail. They are due to appear in court for their initial hearings tomorrow.

Poetry from the Twisted Mind of a Killer

Thrill killer Roger Lynn kept an audio diary of his “very deep thoughts.” On that diary, police found the following poem:

The bullet enters its chest,
Then pierces lungs, heart and breast,
The second shot comes thundering through,
And brains and skull are thrown astrew;
The man lies bleeding and dying,
Crying of happiness, victory at last,
Victory from the second blast.

January 1975: Thrill Killer Records A Murder

Roger Lynn had a bit of a reputation as a young teen. He was a well-known “chronic truant” with some very strange hobbies. Rather than obsess over cars, sports, or any number of the other, more socially-acceptable hobbies available to boys in the late 1960s, Roger preferred over-indulging in pornography, guns, and the macabre stories of Edgar Allen Poe. He played cruel jokes on his family, like putting mineral oil in his grandfather’s liquor bottles. Then there was his disturbing habit of killing pets… a couple of dogs here, a cat or duck there.

Neighbors, acquaintances, and even his own mother believed there was something was strange – and possibly even dangerous – about the boy.

Time passed. Lynn grew up, but he didn’t move on. At nineteen, his life remained roughly the same as it had been as an adolescent. Although he managed to marry, he continued living with his mother. He briefly held a job but quit within six months. He still fetishized porn, guns, and Poe. Even his best friend was the same. Lynn and Orval Lee Baker had been buddies ever since elementary school. They remained close right up until the moment Lynn shot him, making sure to get it all on tape.

According to the audio diary he kept at the time, Lynn became fixated on assassination following the deaths of the Kennedys and Martin Luther King, Jr. In a rambling, unfocused entry the day before the murder, he recited bible verses then discussed his “urge to kill.”

I will now describe a little of my plan. I will bring Lee Baker up here and have him look at these books I’ve got up here – pornographic books, magazines – then while he is looking (at them) I will shoot him once in the chest area and once in the head.

Later, he continued:

Report, it is 10 minutes after two. Lee doesn’t have to be at work until 4:30. I called up and he is supposed to come down in a few minutes. I will record the entire incident today, and there will be music in the bacground to hopefully cover up some of the noise, the two shots, so I will leave off now until I resume with the recording of the assassination.

Because he planned to kill himself after the murder, Lynn recorded a goodbye message for his wife. Then ELO’s song “Evil Woman” abruptly began playing into the tape. There was a roar of a rifle and the sound of a shell casing hitting the ground. A few seconds later, another shot.

Reluctant to relinquish what he no doubt saw as his moment in the spotlight, Lynn recorded another message for his wife. “This is it,” he vowed. “I’m sorry, but I have to do this Linda. Goodbye, Linda.”

However, that wasn’t “it” for Roger Lynn. Upon closer review, the would-be wordsmith decided not to kill himself but to call the police and confess instead. When officers arrived at the crime scene, he turned over his weapon and surrendered without incident. Scratched into the rifle’s stock was a single word: Nevermore.

Despite an insanity plea, a jury found Lynn guilty of first degree murder 0n September 29, 1976. He died in prison while serving a life sentence.

#IndianaMan Arrested After Inquiring About His Lost Meth

_{Christian Horton, 27: a man both prematurely}
_{aged and exceedingly stupid.}

An Indiana man was arrested over the weekend after inquiring at a local business about his lost meth.

Christian Horton, proud citizen of Madison and an early frontrunner for 2023’s Criminal Mastermind of the Year Award, allegedly misplaced his bag of methamphetamine last Saturday. Later that same day, an employee of a local business whose bathroom Horton had patronized found the drugs and called police.

That’s where the matter probably would have ended, if Horton weren’t a complete and total idiot.

The twenty-seven year old apparently decided to retrace his steps in search of his stash and soon returned to the unnamed business – where he was caught on security cameras asking if anyone had, perhaps, turned in his crank to the Lost and Found.

Police caught up with Horton via a traffic stop the next day. He was in possession of more meth at the time of his arrest.

Horton’s initial hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

DNR Seeks Hunters Who Shot Caretaker

Authorities are asking for the public’s help to identify the people who maliciously shot the caretaker of a Union County property.

According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, the incident occurred in the early morning hours of Friday, January 6th, when the caretaker found four hunters illegally hunting on private property. An argument ensued, which led to the caretaker receiving a single non-life threatening gunshot wound.

Other details are scarce due to DNR officers withholding key information – such as the exact location of the property, its owner, and the caretaker’s identity – in order to preserve the integrity of the investigation.

Anyone with information concerning this case or the possible identities of the hunters should call Conservation Officer Central Dispatch @ 812-837-9536, or leave an anonymous tip at 800-TIP-IDNR (800-847-4367).

Child Abducted from Scott County School

Brittany Hurtt, 34, was arrested on a variety of charges
stemming from the kidnapping.

A woman was arrested yesterday after police say she abducted a child from an Indiana elementary school.

According to a statement from Scott County District 1 Superintendent Trevor Jones, the woman who was later identified as Austin resident Brittany Hurtt, 34, gained access to the second-grader by jumping a fence. After snatching the girl from the playground, Hurtt reportedly fled with the child.

The little girl was returned safely, something Jones credits to the quick thinking of both staff and local law enforcement.

“Our staff notified the office, who notified our school resource officer who notified the local police,” Jones said. “And fortunately, we had the student back within minutes. The adult was arrested within minutes. We are very fortunate that the student is physically fine.”

Hurtt – who apparently is not related to the child she abducted – was charged with kidnapping, resisting law enforcement, battery resulting in bodily injury to a public safety official, criminal tresspass, and public nudity.

Superintendent Jones said Hurtt was fully-clothed when she was at the school.

The motive for abducting the child is currently unknown.

Man Murders, Mutilates Father after Mistaking Him for Robot

_{“I need to know for sure that that is a robot that looks like my dad before I shoot at it,”}
_{Shawn Hays wrote on Faebook.}

A Lawrence County man has been arrested and charged with nine felonies in connection with his father’s murder.

According to a probable cause affidavit, on the evening of December 20th, Lawrence County Central Dispatch received a call requesting a welfare check on 73-year-old Mitchell man Rodney Hays. The caller told police Rodney’s son Shawn, 53, had made some troubling Facebook posts over the past week, including at least one in which he claimed someone had abducted his father and replaced him with an identical robot. The caller then went on to explain that, in a private phone conversation, Shawn said he had shot and mutilated the impersonating automoton.

Deputies went to the home the father and son shared, arriving just as a Chevy pickup pulled away from the house. Due to the nature of their visit, deputies intercepted the truck, preventing it from leaving the scene.

Behind the wheel sat Shawn Hays. A shotgun rested beside him in the passenger seat.

Confronted by police, Shawn became combative and refused to exit the vehicle. When questioned about his father’s whereabouts, he said Rodney was “over there” and made a vague motion toward their residence. “It’s a robot that looks like a human… laying over there,” he said at one point during the exchange. “I had to shoot at it to destroy it.”

While one of the deputies talked to the obviously-disturbed man, distracting him, the other deputy was able to grab the gun out of the truck. A brief struggled ensued before the two officers removed Hays from the pickup then placed him in handcuffs.

A search of the property quickly led to the discovery of Rodney Hays’s lifeless body laid out in his own front yard. He had been shot in the head and chest, his corpse mutilated.

Shawn allegedly admitted to the murder and dismemberment in a later interview. However, he continued to insist he had not harmed his father but, rather, a robotic replica. Police charged him with nine felonies, including murder, aggravated battery, reckless homicide, domestic battery, battery, abuse of a corpse, criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, pointing a loaded firearm and obstruction of justice, as well as a misdemeanor of resisting law enforcement.

He is currently in custody at the Lawrence County Jail in Bedford.