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Zion Smith Teen Killer Indiana Crime Spree

Zion Smith was sixteen years old when he and a friend went on a crime spree in Indiana that would leave one person dead and four others hurt. According to prosecutors Zion Smith, upper left, and eighteen year old Jaquisha Love would go on a crime spree that only lasted a few hours however one person would be murdered and four others would be shot. Zion Smith would be shot in the head and lose his right eye. Both of the teen killers would be found found guilty and sentenced to prison for over a hundred years.

Zion Smith 2023 Information

DOC Number	251083
First Name	ZION
Middle Name
Last Name	SMITH
Suffix
Date of Birth	08/25/1999
Gender	Male
Race	Black
Facility/Location	Pendleton Correctional Facility
Earliest Possible Release Date * *Offenders scheduled for release on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday are released on Monday. Offenders scheduled for release on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday are released on Thursday. Offenders whose release date falls on a Holiday are released on the first working day prior to the Holiday.	04/19/2125

Jaquisha Love 2023 Information

DOC Number	240905
First Name	JAQUISHA
Middle Name
Last Name	LOVE
Suffix
Date of Birth	05/03/1998
Gender	Female
Race	Black
Facility/Location	Rockville Correctional Facility
Earliest Possible Release Date * *Offenders scheduled for release on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday are released on Monday. Offenders scheduled for release on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday are released on Thursday. Offenders whose release date falls on a Holiday are released on the first working day prior to the Holiday.	01/17/2113

Zion Smith Other News

Two Indianapolis teenagers were convicted Friday in connection with a violent, hours-long crime spree that left one person dead and four others seriously wounded.

Zion Smith, then 16, and Jaquisha Love, then 18, were charged with one count of murder, five counts of attempted murder and one count of robbery after, police say, they terrorized the Near Eastside in the overnight hours between July 18 and 19, 2016.

Police were first called around 12:15 a.m. on July 19 to the 3300 block of Robson Street. There, officers found 18-year-old Dayren Staten shot to death in the driver’s seat of a Kia Rio. Another victim, Valencia Standberry, was found critically wounded in the passenger’s seat

Crime scene investigators found three spent .22-caliber cartridge casings and two spent 9mm cartridge casings at the scene, along with a .40-caliber pistol.

While still on scene, police were approached by a young women who said she had been robbed an hour earlier by a boy she knew as Zion and a woman she knew as Jaquisha Love. She told police that Zion demanded she give him her handgun, and that when she refused he started firing at her. One of the bullets passed through her jacket and shirt, but didn’t strike her.

Three hours later, police were called to the 1400 block of North Wallace Avenue on a report of a person shot. There officers found a man lying in the living room of a home with a gunshot wound to the stomach. He was transported to the hospital in serious condition. Two other gunshot victims were found inside the house and also taken to the hospital

The victims told police they’d received a knock on the door from a young man and woman matching the description of Zion Smith and Jaquisha Love. They said when they opened the door, the young man started shooting.

One of the people inside the house told police he was able to fire back at the shooter with a revolver. He said that when he did he saw the gun fall out of the shooter’s hands.

At that scene, evidence technicians recovered a Smith & Wesson 9mm pistol, a S&W .45-caliber pistol, a S&W .357-caliber revolver and a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun. The 9mm had been reported stolen two days prior.

Within 45 minutes police received yet another call, this one reporting a person shot in the 4000 block of East 12th Street.

Officers arrived to find a 16-year-old who identified as Zion Curry suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the eye. The teen was later determined to be Zion Smith. A young woman, Jaquisha Love, was with him at the time.

Based on their investigation and witness testimony, police arrested Smith and Love on preliminary charges of robbery and murder.

Forensic analysis eventually matched Smith’s fingerprints to the door of Staten’s vehicle and to the .45-caliber S&W pistol.

A sentencing hearing for Smith and Love has been set for April 12

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Zion Smith is currently incarcerated at the Pendleton Correctional Facility

Zion Smith Release Date

Zion Smith must serve over a hundred years before he is eligible for parole

Hannah Stone Teen Killer Preachers Daughter

hannah stone spenser krempetz aaron mcdonald

Hannah Stone was seventeen years old when she orchestrated the murder of her mother in Indiana. According to court documents Hannah Stone and her mother were having issues regarding Hannah’s boyfriend Spenser Krempetz. The mother and daughter arguments progressed to the point Hannah was booted from the residence for not breaking up with Spenser. The two teens would begin to plan the murder of her mother. The night before the brutal murder Hannah Stone and Spenser Krempetz would go over to the home of Aaron McDonald to enlist him in their plans.

Hannah Stone would knock on her mothers door saying she needed to grab some clothes. When the mother opened the door she was pushed over by Spenser Krempetz who bulldozed his way into the residence. Aaron McDonald and Spenser would bound the woman up then leave the residence to go collect money using the victims debit card. Hannah Stone would stay behind with her mother in case anyone showed up at the door.

When the two teenaged boys returned Spenser Krempetz would tell the victim to recite the Lords Prayer and when she was done he shot her in the head. The teens would leave the residence. Aaron McDonald returned to the victims home the next day to steal a check book however when he attempted to cash a check he would be arrested and quickly told police everything.

This teen killer would be convicted of her mothers murder and sentenced to one hundred years in prison. Spenser Krempetz would be sentenced to life in prison without parole.. Aaron McDonald received a sixty two year sentence and would die in custody in 2020 from a fatal overdose. Spenser Krempetz would take his own life in 2015 while incarcerated

Hannah Stone 2023 Information

152679
First Name	HANNAH
Middle Name	L
Last Name	STONE
Suffix
Date of Birth	03/22/1988
Gender	Female
Race	White
Facility/Location	Indiana Women’s Prison
Earliest Possible Release Date * *Offenders scheduled for release on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday are released on Monday. Offenders scheduled for release on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday are released on Thursday. Offenders whose release date falls on a Holiday are released on the first working day prior to the Holiday.	09/19/2053

Hannah Stone Other News

The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a 62-year sentence Wednesday for a Middlebury teenager who confessed to helping plan and carry out the murder of a friend’s mother.

Aaron McDonald argued that Elkhart Circuit Judge Terry Shewmaker’s sentence was too harsh because he improperly considered aggravating and mitigating factors and because it did not fit the nature of the crime and McDonald’s character.

McDonald, 19, helped Hannah L. Stone, 18, and Spenser A. Krempetz, 20, to kill Barbara Keim, a 41-year-old registered nurse, in August 2005. Keim was Stone’s mother.

McDonald and Krempetz abducted Keim from her Middlebury apartment and took her to a cornfield, where Krempetz shot her in the back of the head.

McDonald said at the sentencing hearing in April 2006 that he became involved for a promise of $400. He also returned to Keim’s apartment and wrote himself a check for $800 so he could buy cocaine and marijuana.

The appeals court panel said that whether Shewmaker properly considered aggravating and mitigating factors when the sentence is within the statutory range was not an issue for appellate review.

It also rejected McDonald’s argument that Shewmaker did not take into account the nature of the crime and his character.

“Although he helped the state by pleading guilty, McDonald received significant benefits from a plea agreement that limited his total sentence to 65 years out of a possible 140 years. McDonald’s 62-year sentence was not inappropriate based on the nature of the offense and the character of the offender,” the panel wrote.

Hannah Stone was sentenced to 100 years in prison. Krempetz was sentenced to life without parole.

https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2015/06/10/hannah-stone-accomplice-sentenced-indiana-murder/71030224/

Hannah Stone Appeal

On August 4, 2005, seventeen-year-old Hannah Stone and her mother, Barbara Keim,
argued about Stone’s boyfriend, eighteen-year-old Spenser Krempetz. Keim and Stone
eventually agreed that Stone would move out of Keim’s house. After the argument,
Stone smoked marijuana and went to the home of seventeen-year-old Aaron McDonald.
Krempetz arrived at McDonald’s house later that day. The three teens created a plan to
kill Stone’s mother.

Later that day, Hannah Stone, McDonald, and Krempetz drove to Keim’s house to carry
out their plan. Stone knocked on Keim’s door, knowing that Keim would not answer if
she saw Krempetz or McDonald. When Keim opened the door for Stone, Krempetz
entered the house and tackled Keim. Krempetz bound Keim’s hands and covered her
eyes and mouth with duct tape, and McDonald stole money, Keim’s debit card, and a
check from the home. After Stone and Krempetz put Keim in a car, Krempetz and
McDonald drove Keim to a cornfield in nearby Kosciusko County, where Krempetz shot
and killed her.

3
The State charged Hannah Stone with murder, a felony; conspiracy to commit murder, a
Class A felony; and criminal confinement, a Class B felony. Stone originally pleaded not
guilty, but in March 2006 she entered into a plea agreement, under which she pleaded
guilty as charged. The plea agreement provided, in part: “The parties agree to a
stipulated sentence of one hundred years (100).

Hannah Stone Videos

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Hannah Stone Now

Hannah Stone is currently incarcerated at the Indiana’s Women’s Prison

Hannah Stone Release Date

Hannah Stone is not eligible for release until 2053

Aaron McDonald Now

Aaron McDonald would die in prison from a fatal overdose in 2020

Spenser Krempetz Now

Spenser Krempetz would take his own life in prison in 2015

Hannah Stone Photos

Hannah Stone Other News

Eighteen-year-old Krempetz and his seventeen-year-old girlfriend Hannah Stone, along with a mutual friend, seventeen-year-old Aaron McDonald, devised a plan to rob and kill Stone’s mother, Barbara Jo Keim. Stone conceived of the idea to “get rid of” Keim because she was annoyed that her mother did not approve of her relationship with Krempetz. McDonald was promised $400 for his efforts. Stone had recently moved out of her mother’s home, and thus Keim lived alone in an apartment in Middlebury, Elkhart County, Indiana. The accomplices agreed that Krempetz and McDonald would hide in the stairwell located next to the apartment and Stone would knock on the door and ask her mother for clothing. They knew that Keim would not let them inside if she saw the two young men, especially Krempetz. Once Keim opened the door, Krempetz would tackle her and McDonald would follow armed with a handgun. Money obtained from Keim’s credit union account would be used to pay McDonald.

The trio proceeded to execute the plan. On August 4, 2005, the group went to Keim’s apartment. Krempetz and McDonald hid in the stairwell, Stone knocked on her mother’s door, and when Keim opened the door, Krempetz ran inside and tackled her. Armed with a handgun McDonald followed. Krempetz overpowered a screaming Keim, and while McDonald held her at gunpoint, Krempetz bound Keim with duct tape over her arms, eyes, and mouth. In the meantime, searching Keim’s purse, Stone retrieved Keim’s ATM card. Removing the tape from her mouth long enough to get a response, Krempetz asked Keim about the location of her credit union, her PIN, and the amount of money in her account.

Krempetz and McDonald then drove Keim to the credit union. Hannah Stone remained at the apartment because the trio was concerned that someone may have called the police after hearing Keim screaming. The plan was to throw the police off track in the event officers came to check on the incident. Arriving at the ATM McDonald gave his handgun to Krempetz, exited the car, and attempted to obtain $800 or $1000. After two failed attempts McDonald retrieved $200. McDonald returned to the car, and Krempetz drove away. After a period of time that McDonald later testified “felt like hours,” Tr. at 51, Krempetz drove to a cornfield in an adjacent county. Barefoot and still bound with duct tape, Keim was marched into the field where Krempetz fatally shot her in the back of the head. McDonald then gave Krempetz the $200. Krempetz kept half and gave the other half back to McDonald.

Within days of these events all three accomplices were arrested and charged as codefendants with Count I murder, a felony; Count II conspiracy to commit murder, a Class A felony; and Count III criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon, a Class B felony. The State also requested life imprisonment without parole alleging three aggravating factors: intentional killing while committing or attempting to commit robbery, Ind.Code § 35-50-2-9(b)(1)(G); the defendants committed the murder while lying in wait, I.C. § 35-50-2-9(b)(3); and the defendants committed the murder by hiring another person to kill. I.C. § 35-50-2-9(b)(5). In March 2006, without the benefit of a plea agreement, Krempetz pleaded guilty as charged. Judgment was entered accordingly.¹

Aaron Trejo Teen Killer Murders Pregnant Girlfriend

Aaron Trejo was sixteen when he murdered his pregnant girlfriend. According to court documents Aaron Trejo learned that his girlfriend was pregnant and was not ready to be a father so the best way to get out of it was murder her and the unborn child. Aaron Trejo agreed to meet Breana Rouhselang outside of her home and would fatally stab her.

Aaron Trejo was slated to go to trial in the new year however he decided to plead guilty to murder and feticide. This teen killer was sentenced to sixty five years in prison

Aaron Trejo 2023 Information

DOC Number	279380
First Name	AARON
Middle Name	R
Last Name	TREJO
Suffix
Date of Birth	01/04/2002
Gender	Male
Race	Hispanic
Facility/Location	Wabash Valley Level 3 Facility
Earliest Possible Release Date * *Offenders scheduled for release on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday are released on Monday. Offenders scheduled for release on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday are released on Thursday. Offenders whose release date falls on a Holiday are released on the first working day prior to the Holiday.	09/08/2067

Aaron Trejo Other News

A local teen says he killed his pregnant girlfriend and their unborn baby.

The heartbreaking case unfolded with surprise Wednesday morning inside a St. Joseph County courthouse. Aaron Trejo told a judge he killed Breana Rouhselang and their baby.

Aaron Trejo entered a guilty plea of murder and feticide. He and his lawyer made the surprise announcement at what was scheduled as a status hearing.

The courtroom was packed with people who knew the victim and the accused. The mood in there was somber, just like the weather outside.

People sat quietly on-edge, watching as Aaron Trejo walked with shackles to take his seat in front of the judge.

The judge read aloud the agreement Aaron Trejo signed, pleading guilty to murder and feticide. Under the agreement, the state won’t file any other charges.

Trejo also agreed to waving his right to appeal a conviction and sentence.

During questioning by Trejo’s attorney, Trejo admitted that he knowingly killed another person and terminated a pregnancy.

He also said he had multiple conversations with Rouhselang before the night of her death that she was pregnant. Aaron Trejo said when he met her outside of her house that December night they didn’t talk much, and when he stabbed her, she fell to the ground.

He said he knew she died, and he later determined the baby also died.

While it was not discussed in court today, in the days after Rouhselang’s death, Trejo told police that he put her body in a dumpster behind a restaurant.

Aaron Trejo and Rouhselang were classmates at Mishawaka High School. Reacting to today’s guilty plea, District Superintendent Wayne Barker said,

Inside the courtroom today, there were no outbursts, but we did some people crying, including Rouhselang’s parents.

After court adjourned today, we asked family members if they wanted to share their thoughts about Trejo’s guilty plea and they said not at this time. Trejo’s lawyer also told us “no comment” when we asked.

Trejo’s sentencing is in January. 80 years is his maximum sentence.

Aaron Trejo Videos

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Aaron Trejo Now

Aaron Trejo is currently incarcerated at the Wabash Valley Level 3 Facility

Aaron Trejo Release Date

Aaron Trejo is not eligible for parole until 2067

Aaron Trejo More News

A Mishawaka teen who pleaded guilty to killing his pregnant classmate and her unborn child was sentenced Tuesday.

Aaron Trejo learned his sentence Tuesday for the murder of Breana Rouhselang and their unborn child after pleading guilty in October.

He will serve 65 years in prison for murder and feticide.

Age and lack of psychological maturity were brought up as considerations in the sentencing, since Trejo was 16 when he stabbed and strangled Rouhselang, then left her body and unborn child for dead in a dumpster.

t’s his capacity for extreme violence and planning that violence that led to harsher sentence.

“All I just want to say is I’m glad we got justice for Bre, but no amount of time will ever replace what he took from me,” said Melissa Wallace, Rouhselang’s mother.

It was an emotional day in court. Trejo stood before Judge Elizabeth Hurley as she handed down 55 years in prison for the murder of Rouhselang

“It’s like living a nightmare every day,” Wallace said.

He was sentenced to another 10 years for the death of their unborn child, Aurora. Police say Rouhselang was six months pregnant with Trejo’s child.

“The goal of the defendant in this case was to kill the child, and Breana was in the way of that, so he killed her in order to accomplish that,” Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chris Fronk said.

The defense called forensic psychologist Dr. Anthony Berardi to the stand, focusing on age as a mitigating factor and poor psychological maturity, but one word was front and center in court Tuesday to describe the acts of Trejo: horrific.

“I thought it was very important for there to be consecutive sentences, one after the other, because there were two lives lost and two lives intentionally taken,” Fronk said.

Trejo’s family spoke on his behalf at sentencing but declined to comment after court adjourned.

Rouhselang’s family and friends continue to try and heal, fighting back tears outside the courtroom.

“My hate isn’t towards the family, it’s towards him, it was his actions that took my girls,” Wallace said. “But we did get justice.”

“Justice was served,” said Rouhselang’s grandfather Robert Wallace. “She was a good girl, she shouldn’t deserve any of this, and she had two colleges wanting her.”

Rouhselang and her unborn daughter, Aurora, were two souls taken too soon at the hands of a young man who felt extreme violence was his only means to escape becoming a father.

“She was like the sun and she just projected onto everyone; and her rays, they were so bright. I mean, it’s a darker place without her,” said Hailey Buchner, a friend and classmate of Rouhselang.

According to Hurley, Trejo will likely have to serve at least 75% of the 65-year sentence. That would put his age at release around 66 years old.

Rouhselang’s family reported her missing just hours before her body was discovered behind a Mishawaka restaurant in December 2018.

https://www.wndu.com/content/news/Trejo-sentenced-for-killing-pregnant-Mishawaka-classmate-566779361.html

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Max Winkler Teen Killer Thrill Kill

Max Winkler was seventeen years old when he wanted to know what it would feel like to kill someone. The teen killer from Indiana would pick a random victim and would shoot the seventy three year old man three times before slitting his throat. Max Winkler would try to get off on the mentally ill defence however the judge would not go for it. Maxwell Winkler would be sentenced to eighty years in prison with no chance of parole for sixty years

Max Winkler 2023 Information

DOC Number	264481
First Name	MAXWELL
Middle Name	H
Last Name	WINKLER
Suffix
Date of Birth	03/13/1997
Gender	Male
Race	White
Facility/Location	Miami Correctional Level 3 Facility
Earliest Possible Release Date * *Offenders scheduled for release on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday are released on Monday. Offenders scheduled for release on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday are released on Thursday. Offenders whose release date falls on a Holiday are released on the first working day prior to the Holiday.	11/03/2074

Max Winkler More News

A Fishers teen convicted of murder in a “thrill kill” has been sentenced to 80 years in prison.

Max Winkler pleaded guilty last month to guilty but mentally ill to murder and firearm enhancement. According to the terms of his plea agreement Winkler could be eligible for parole after serving 60 years.

Winkler was a 17-year-old high school student when prosecutors said he killed 73-year-old Henry Kim, shooting him three times and cutting his throat. It happened in November 2014 while Kim was walking in a park near his home. Court records showed Winkler had a handwritten note with the supplies and steps needed to carry out a murder. In one note, he wrote himself a reminder to “enjoy the kill.”

A jury trial had been scheduled to start on Jan. 19, but Winkler and his attorney agreed to a plea deal before the trial began.

Max Winkler Other News

Feb. 5 update: Maxwell Winkler, 18, was sentenced Friday to 80 years in prison for the killing of an elderly man. The sentence was part of a plea agreement Winkler reached with Hamilton County prosecutors in January.

Earlier: An 18-year-old Fishers resident accused of killing an elderly man is pleading guilty to murder and firearm charges — a decision that could send him to prison for much of his adult life.

A plea agreement that Maxwell Winkler reached with Hamilton County prosecutors calls for a sentence of 65 years in prison for the murder charge and another 20 years for the firearm enhancement. The plea deal requires Winkler to spend 80 years in prison and to be on probation for five years.

The Hamilton County prosecutor’s office is dropping its request for life imprisonment without parole as part of the plea deal.

Winkler is facing a murder charge in the death of 73-year-old Henry Kim. Police found Kim’s body, along with several .22-caliber shell casings, on Nov. 1, 2014 at Windermere Park in Fishers. He was shot three times and his throat was slashed.

The Fishers teen was arrested three days later, after police found a .22-caliber handgun, ammunition and handwritten notes outlining details of a seven-step plan to kill. Court records say the notes contained a list of supplies, including gloves and “kill tools.” The items were found in Winkler’s mother’s home.

Winkler, dressed in an orange jail uniform during a hearing Thursday in Hamilton Superior Court, was previously diagnosed and treated for a mental illness. But experts who examined Winkler found he is still able to understand the consequences of his actions.

Winkler’s jury trial was previously scheduled to start on Jan. 19.

A judge must accept the plea deal before it becomes final. That won’t happen until Winkler’s sentencing hearing on Feb. 5.

Indiana law requires Winkler to serve 75 percent of his sentence.

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Max Wrinkler Now

Max Wrinkler is currently incarcerated at the Miami Facility

Max Wrinker Release Date

Max Wrinkler current release date is 2074

Jeff Pelley Teen Killer Prom Night Murders

In 1989 Jeff Pelley would be arrested for the murders of four members of his family when he was seventeen years old and allegedly killed his family the night of prom. According to court documents Jeff Pelley was upset with his family regarding prom and he decided the best way to fix that situation was through murder. Jeff Pelley would murder his father Reverend Robert Pelley, his mother Dawn Pelley, and two step sisters. Thankfully three members of the family were not home the night of the murders or the number could be even higher. After his family was massacred Jeff Pelley would go ahead and have a great night out with friends and classmates.

Jeff Pelley would not be charged in the murders until 2002 when a cold case squad linked him to the four murders. Ultimately this teen killer would be convicted of four counts of murder and sentenced to 160 years in prison, forty years for each murder. Now Jeff Pelley has been insisting that he is innocent since he was arrested and continues to fight through the court system in hope of getting a new trial and release. I could not find him initially in the Indiana Department Of Corrections how ever that is because Jeff is actually his middle name and Robert his first.

Jeff Pelley 2023 Information

DOC Number	168287
First Name	ROBERT
Middle Name	J
Last Name	PELLEY
Suffix
Date of Birth	12/10/1971
Gender	Male
Race	White
Facility/Location	Indiana State Prison
Earliest Possible Release Date * *Offenders scheduled for release on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday are released on Monday. Offenders scheduled for release on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday are released on Thursday. Offenders whose release date falls on a Holiday are released on the first working day prior to the Holiday.	10/03/2082

Jeff Pelley Other News

On April 30, 1989, Pastor Robert Pelley didn’t show up for church at Olive Branch UB in Lakeville, Ind. (just south of South Bend). Eventually, two men went next door to the parsonage. They knocked several times, but got no response. The blinds were tightly drawn.

The found a spare key, entered the house…and discovered a grisly scene. Robert Pelley (38), lay dead in the upstairs hallway, killed with two deer slugs. In the basement were wife Dawn (32) and her two youngest daughters from a previous marriage, Janel (8) and Jolene (6). All had been shot in the head. Three children were not at home: Robert’s son Jeff and his sister Jacqueline, from a previous marriage, and Dawn’s daughter Jessica, 9. (Both Robert and Dawn were widows.)

Jeff Pelley, a 17-year-old high school senior, was always the leading suspect, but wasn’t arrested or charged. There just wasn’t sufficient evidence. He moved to Florida, developed a good career, married, had a child, and was teaching Sunday school.

Thirteen years passed. Then a Cold Case squad reopened the investigation. Jeff Pelley was arrested in August 2002 and charged with the four murders. In July 2006, he went on trial.

The evidence was very circumstantial. No murder weapon was ever found (Bob’s 20 gauge Mossberg was never located). No fingerprints linked Pelley to the crime itself. Rather, the prosecution relied on a carefully constructed timeline which put Jeff Pelley at the parsonage during a particular 20-minute period, during which he did a whole bunch of things (commit the murders, change clothes, load the washing machine, take a shower, locate and pick up the shell casings, draw the blinds, lock the doors, get rid of the gun and casings, and more).

Investigators said he was angry at his father for grounding him from attending pre- and post-prom activities, and from driving his car. After the killings, they said, he cleaned up, went to the prom with his girlfriend, stayed overnight with friends, and the next day went with friends to the Great America theme park in Chicago, where he was located on Sunday.

During the trial, Jeff Pelley’s attorneys insisted there wasn’t enough time for him to kill his family, do everything they claimed he did, and still make it to the prom, and that after committing an act like that, nobody would act normal, which is how friends testified that he acted during the prom events.

After a six-day trial which included nearly 40 witnesses, jurors deliberated for 34 hours and returned a guilty verdict. Jeff Pelley, now 34 years old, was sentenced to 160 years in prison (four consecutive 40-year sentences). A Court of Appeals reversed the conviction in 2008, but in 2009 the Indiana Supreme Court upheld the conviction. He is now incarcerated at the Wabash Correctional Facility near Terra Haute, Ind.

On This Day in UB History: April 30 (Pelley Murders)

Jeff Pelley Videos

Jeff Pelley Photos

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Jeff Pelley Now

Jeff Pelley is currently incarcerated at the Indiana State Prison

Jeff Pelley Release Date

Jeff Pelley is not scheduled for release until 2082

Jeff Pelley Retrial

A 50-year-old man was back in court today to make a case for what he did and didn’t do on prom night 1989.

In 2006, a jury in St. Joseph County found that Jeff Pelley was guilty of the shotgun murders of his father, stepmother and two stepsisters under the age of 10.

The Olive Branch Church parsonage in Lakeville was the scene of the crimes.

Prosecutors argued that Rev. Robert Pelley was killed because he had grounded his 17-year-old son, preventing Jeff Pelley from attending prom related activities that he wanted to attend anyway.

Jeff Pelley was sentenced to 160-years in prison, with his earliest possible release date listed as 2082, unless he and his attorneys can convince a judge that he deserves a new trial or some other form of post-conviction relief at a three and a half day hearing that began today.

About a dozen years ago, the Wrongful Conviction Clinic at Indiana University took Pelley’s case. Attorney Fran Watson today criticized investigators for telling jurors that Pelley’s jeans, shirt and socks were found in the washing machine, having been washed.

Watson found absolutely no evidence to back that up—not in police reports or crime scene photos.

Watson suggested the investigation was plagued by political overtones and asked one officer if clothes in the washer was what he would have preferred to see.

https://www.wndu.com/2022/03/14/man-convicted-1989-pelley-murders-seeks-retrial/