Category: Indiana

Indiana Man Charged With Threatening to Kill Rep. Jim Banks and His Family

An Indiana man has been arrested and charged with making a series of threatening calls to Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and his family. Aaron Thompson, 33, of Fort Wayne, was arrested last month in connection with calls he allegedly made to Banks’s office in April. Thompson allegedly called Banks’s office on April 6 and another…


Man, 2 Children Found Dead in Indiana Home With High Carbon Monoxide Levels

MUNCIE, Ind.—Authorities investigating the deaths of a man and two children whose bodies were found in an Indiana home said firefighters detected high carbon monoxide levels inside the residence. The bodies of the 24-year-old man, a 3-year-old boy, and a 21-month-old girl were found Sunday afternoon in the home in the city of Muncie. Delaware…


Man Charged With Killing Indianapolis Police Officer Seeking Insanity Defense

INDIANAPOLIS—A man charged with fatally shooting an Indianapolis police officer when she responded to a domestic violence call in 2020 is seeking an insanity defense as he tries to avoid the death penalty. Attorneys for Elliahs Dorsey filed a motion with the court Wednesday saying a report prepared by a doctor states he was suffering…


Indiana Funeral Director Pleads Guilty to 40 Theft Counts After Decomposing Bodies Found

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind.—The director of a southern Indiana funeral home where 31 decomposing bodies and the cremains of 17 others were found pleaded guilty Friday to more than 40 counts of felony theft. Randy Lankford, owner of Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center in Jeffersonville, faces a proposed sentence of 12 years: four years in prison…


Doctor Reprimanded, Fined for Talking Publicly About Minor’s Abortion

A doctor was reprimanded and fined by Indiana officials on May 25 for disclosing details about an abortion she performed on a 10-year-old. Dr. Caitlin Bernard didn’t abide by privacy laws when she told a newspaper reporter about the abortion, according to Indiana’s Medical Licensing Board. The board, however, rejected accusations from Indiana Attorney General Todd…


Grenade Kills Man, Injures 2 Teens as Family Looked at Relative’s Belongings in Indiana

LAKES OF THE FOUR SEASONS, Ind.—A hand grenade exploded as a family went through a grandfather’s belongings in Indiana, killing a man and wounding his two teenage children, police said. The explosion occurred Saturday in a garage area at a home in Lakes of the Four Seasons, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Chicago,…


Indiana Adds ID Requirements to Mail-In Voting to Make Process ‘As Secure As’ Voting in Person

An Indiana law set to take effect on July 1 will ensure that mail-in voting is “as secure as voting in person,” according to the legislation’s author. Voters in Indiana currently have to show photo identification if they vote in person but don’t need to present any such ID if they apply for an absentee…


Indiana Sheriff’s Deputy Killed in Dog Attack That Left Her Son, 8, Wounded

INDIANAPOLIS—A sheriff’s deputy died after being attacked in her Indianapolis home by a dog that also bit and wounded her 8-year-old son, authorities said. Tamieka White, 46, was pronounced dead at the scene Tuesday night shortly after Indianapolis police officers responded to her home on the city’s east side, officials said. She had been a…


Indiana Law Mandating Burial or Cremation After Abortion Can Stay, Supreme Court Rules

The Supreme Court turned away a challenge on May 1 to Indiana’s law requiring the cremation or burial of the remains of aborted babies. The lawsuit is one of many nationwide that have been adjudicated in the wake of the Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned Roe…


Man Gets 240 Years in Prison for 2020 Slayings of 4 People

INDIANAPOLIS—A man convicted of four counts of murder and other charges in the fatal Indianapolis shootings of three young men and a young woman was sentenced Friday to 240 years in prison. Lasean Watkins also was found guilty in March of felony murder and robbery resulting in serious bodily injury in the February 2020 shooting…