2 Obama Supporters Charged in Killing of Indianapolis Pastor's Pregnant Wife
Indianapolis police arrested two men Monday in the murder of Amanda Blackburn, a pregnant mother and wife of a preacher
who was shot and killed in a home invasion this month.
Larry Taylor, 18, of Indianapolis, was initially charged with murder in the shooting, Sgt. Kendale Adams of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said, but Marion County prosecutors will decide on final charges.
Larry Taylor and Jalen Watson, arrested in the murder of Amanda Blackburn.
A charging document -- which the prosecutor's spokeswoman, Peg McLeish, said was in the process of being filed with the courts -- states that Taylor will face two counts of murder, murder while in the commission or attempted commission of one of a host of other crimes, burglary resulting in serious bodily injury, robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, two counts of burglary, criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon, three counts of theft of property valued between $750 and $50,000, auto theft and carrying a handgun without a license. All but the last charge are felonies.
Later Monday, Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry announced a second arrest in the murder. Jalen Watson, 21, of Indianapolis faces the same charges as Taylor, with the exceptions that his charging document mentions only two murder charges, where Taylor's includes three, and there are no charges for criminal confinement or carrying a handgun without a license.
Detectives from the IMPD's violent crimes unit worked with the gangs unit and federal marshals to take Taylor in. IMPD Chief Rick Hite praised the cooperation that led to the arrest.
"Our detectives have worked tirelessly, going days without sleep, to solve murders in our city. With the assistance of Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler and Prosecutor Terry Curry justice will be done!" he said in a statement.
A crime spree
Blackburn was killed at the end of a three-person crime spree, according to newly released court documents that contain information from an unnamed "cooperating individual."
Taylor, Watson and a third man are accused of breaking into a home and stealing car keys, a laptop and an iPhone from the sleeping occupant's bedroom.
At some point during that robbery, the men discovered they were on surveillance video and disconnected the camera, the documents say. Taylor allegedly wanted to kill the occupant because he he had been seen on camera, but Watson and the third man convinced him to leave.
They took off in a stolen car and drove to another home, where they stole televisions, a laptop, the documents say. The three men then turned their attention to a third target -- the Blackburn's home.
There, the documents say, Taylor hit Blackburn in the mouth with a gun and stayed behind as the other two attempted to use her ATM card to get money. He later told others that he killed Blackburn after "she charged at him and he shot her somewhere in the upper body so he would not be scratched."
"Taylor them told them that he leaned over her body and shot her in the back of the head. He leaned further, looked at her face, and watched her bleed," the documents say.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/23/us/indiana-amanda-blackburn-killing-arrest/index.html