Woman's body found in freezer

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The La Porte County

Woman’s body found in freezer

By MATT FRITZ

Staff writer 1-219-326-3887 mfritz@heraldargus.com

La PORTE — They described La Porte’s 100 block of McClung Road as a quiet neighborhood — a place where someone could feel safe.

But for couple Robert and Charlene Peals, all that changed M o n d a y morning when they learned their neighbor was SHOFFNER allegedly murdered by her 47-yearold boyfriend and stored in the freezer at her home in La Porte.

Charlene said La Porte was a quiet little town, and the victim was a sweet old woman who worked hard all her life to support her many children.

“When you get old you want to die a normal death,” she said. “You don’t want

somebody to kill you.”

According to a report from the city of La Porte Police Department, the body of a female victim was recovered Sunday night from the 100 block of McClung Road, and Daniel Shoffner, 47, of La Porte, was taken into custody on a preliminary charge of murder, pending further investigation.

Chief Adam Klimczak confirmed that the initial 911 call was made at around 8:18 p.m. on Sunday, and the incident happened at 116 E. McClung Road. Shoffner was also confirmed as rooming with the victim.

Robert, who said he worked with the victim at Plastic Services in La Porte for some 45 years, said the victim had been living with the alleged murderer for several months after the passing of her husband.

La Porte County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Szilagyi said the victim had been frozen solid in a small freezer in her home, and will have to be thawed out before

By MATT FRITZ

Staff writer 1-219-326-3887 mfritz@heraldargus.com

Photo Matt Fritz

Police tape cordons off a residence at 116 E. McClung Road, which was the site of an alleged murder on Sunday night. an autopsy can be done. He said authorities do not yet know how long she was in the freezer. He said she was in one piece as far as he

knew. pads for trucks.

Robert said he and the vicCharlene said she was tim both ran the plastic mold machines at Plastic Services.

He said he made brake shoe See POLICE, Page A3

Illinois Runners raise funds for cancer research man killed in toll road crash

By JESSICA O’BRIEN Staff writer

MICHIGAN CITY — The passenger of a car going west on the Indiana Toll Road near Michigan City died Sunday when the car’s driver hit a tractortrailer about 7:16 p.m. The La Porte County coroner pronounced Robertino Maldonado, 57, of Aurora, Illinois, dead at the scene after he was extricated from his vehicle.

His wife Maria Maldonado, 56, lost control of the car while changing lanes about 5 miles east of the Ind. 39 exit. The car first went to the right and hit the guard rail, then went back across the west bound lanes until hitting the east bound guard rail and being pushed back into a tractortrailer driven by Lawrence Letourneau, 54, of Duluth, Minnesota.

Rescue, reconstruction of the crash and clean-up caused the eastbound lanes, besides the shoulder, to be closed until 9:27 p.m.

Maria Maldonado suffered non-life threatening injuries and was taken to South Bend Memorial Hospital while Letourneau was uninjured.

Letourneau’s cargo of plastic products remained intact. All people involved were wearing seat belts.

—From Staff Reports

MICHIGAN CITY Runners on a trek around the country passed through Michigan City on Monday - one of thousands of cities they will hit on a 10,000 mile journey to raise money and awareness for sarcoma cancer research.

When the group arrived in Michigan City, about 1,800 miles had been covered.

The group of four runners, all taking part in the second annual Miles 2 Give campaign, took off April 29 in New York City - hitting northeastern states such as Maine and Rhode Island before heading west running through Detroit toward Michigan City.

Following a path that will circle the perimeter of the country, the runners will head west to Seattle, Washington, and south through

Photo by Jessica O’Brien

Grant Stieglitz of Fort Wayne, Indiana runs along U.S. 12 as part of the second annual Miles 2 Give event raising money and awareness for sarcoma cancer research. Stieglitz was a guest runner in the event which will cover 10,000 miles in a trek around the country.

California before taking the southern route to Florida and eventually back northward to New York.

Hitting 36 states in the span of eight months, the crew plans to finish back

in New York City in December, hopefully meeting the fundraising goal of $500,000. All proceeds will be given to the Huntsman Cancer Institute based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, for

sarcoma cancer research.

The founder of Miles 2 Give, Landon Cooper, is leading the effort along with his team of runners made up of Mary Flinders, Everett Smith and Naeha Breeland. In a relay-style running effort described by Cooper as leap-frogging, the runners cover between 40 to 60 miles per day.

Covering the Michigan City leg of the journey was Breeland, along with guest runner Grant Stieglitz from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Stieglitz ran with the crew for two days running about 50 miles. Guest runners are taking part around the country to help raise funds and awareness in their state.

The runners write names on their faces while they run, honoring those with sarcoma, those who have passed from the cancer or those who are currently See CANCER, Page A3

Judge to rule on suppression of evidence in murder trial

By KELLEY SMITH For The Herald-Argus

MICHIGAN CITY — The judge in the case against 20-year-old accused murderer Brian Jordan “BJ” Taylor will rule on whether to suppress some crucial evidence today at 9 a.m. in La Porte Superior Court No. 1.

During a pretrial motions hearing Monday, defense attorneys Craig Braje, Elizabeth Flynn and David Payne requested that Judge Kathleen Lang rule inadmissible all evidence obtained after 4:12 p.m. on March 14. This

Nuisance property owners may face fines

includes the gun allegedly used in the shooting death of 24-year-old Simone N. Bush, lab work, phoTAYLOR tographs, an autopsy report, witness statements and more.

The request stems from the defense’s allegation that Chief Deputy Prosecutor Robert Neary and various members of the Michigan City Police Department

eavesdropped on a private conversation that occurred between Taylor and Payne inside an interview room at the police station at about 4:12 p.m. on March 14.

Deputy Prosecutor Bethany Beckman said Neary advised he accidentally overheard a portion of that conversation in which Taylor revealed to Payne the location of the alleged murder weapon, a .40-caliber Glock Model 22.

However, she said, “As soon as that was heard, the audio was disabled.”

She assured the judge that

was the entirety of the overheard information, and said she already had agreed to the stipulation that the gun, the magazine inside the gun and the .40-caliber and .380-caliber shell casings found at the crime scene would not be used as evidence during Taylor’s trial.

“How are we to believe that?” Elizabeth Flynn asked about the amount of information that was overheard. “Because when we deposed the officers, they invoked their Fifth AmendSee TAYLOR, Page A3

La PORTE — The city of La Porte might start fining homeowners whose properties repeatedly cause a nuisance to law enforcers.

During a meeting of the La Porte City Council, council members introduced an ordinance reducing “chronic nuisance properties,” that is, an ordinance for law enforcers to help them address commercial and residential properties with a history of illegal drug use, fights, prostitution, gun use and other illegal issues.

Councilman Ron McAtee said the ordinance will be a process that essentially identifies problem properties and levies fines against homeowners who refuse to address the problems themselves. ”We have had a number of properties where the police come out again and again, revisiting the same issues, and it’s stupid,” McAtee said.

“There’s no need for it and this would help alleviate the problem by holding (homeowners’) feet to the fire.”

According to the proposed ordinance, a property shall be designated a chronic nuisance property if it has had three or more valid complaints in 60 days for certain offenses, or three or more code enforcement citations, or a combination of the two in the same time period.

A valid complaint does not include incidents where an occupant on the residence is a victim of a crime.

Code enforcement director Lynn Cains said police too often respond to repeated violations of drug abuse at a residence only to find the owners walking away and saying it’s not their fault, it’s their tenants’ fault.

He said this way the owners have to take responsibility for who they’re renting their properties to. He said a letter would be sent notifying a property owner of their pending status after the second complaint.

See PROPERTY, Page A3

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Local

Mother grateful Mom says teen son officer worked to recovering after tree fall save boy’s life INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The mother of a toddler fatally injured when a television fell onto him says she’s grateful for the Indianapolis police officer who worked to keep the boy alive.

Nakita Jones says the time with her 11-month-old son Demetrius was precious during the three weeks he was in Riley Hospital for Children before he died last week.

Jones tells WISH-TV that Demetrius survived long enough to know that he was loved while in the hospital surrounded by family members.

Jones says she’s thankful police Detective David Miller was at the apartment complex when Demetrius was injured after falling into a TV stand and gave him CPR until medics arrived.

BREMEN (AP) — A mother says her teenage son is recovering after being knocked unconscious when he fell from a tree in a northern Indiana town park.

Caralisa Staiger says she thinks a woman’s quick call to 911 after seeing her

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mated the age of the victim at about 70. He said a forensic autopsy will be conducted

by Dr. Joseph Prahlow at the St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Mishawaka in the near future. Until then, the cause of death won’t be known. He said there has been so many murders and homicides recently that the doctor is backed up.

He said he didn’t expect to have the autopsy done until at least Wednesday.

Detective Scott Aftowski of the La Porte Police Department said he has 48 hours to come up with formal charges for Shoffner, and he expects to have them within that time frame. He noted that investigators were at the scene from the time of the call to about 3 a.m. on Monday gathering evidence and other information, and those reports were expected to come in throughout the day.

good friends with the victim, and the victim used to regularly come over and share baked dishes like ravioli or beans.

Robert and Charlene said the murderer and victim were boyfriend and girlfriend.

Josh Montemayor, owner of JJ’s Side Out Bar & Grill in La Porte, and another neighbor of the victim, said the victim was a pleasant person and easy to get along with. He said she shared a fence with his bar, but they never had any issues with each other.

He noted that he and his staff would regularly go over to her yard in the morning and clean it up, just in case any customers tossed beer bottles or trash over the fence.

La Porte County Coroner Follow Matt Fritz on Twitter @ John Sullivan said he’s esti- matt_fritzHA.

INDIANAPOLIS — State lawmakers are returning to the Indiana Capitol Tuesday to fix a series of problems with their sweeping overhaul of the state’s criminal sentencing rules.

Shortly after lawmakers wrapped up their 2014 session this past March, legislative leaders discovered a series of drafting errors with the legislation they had just passed which had serious consequences.

In one instance, a child sex offense charge could be wrongly interpreted as a lower level felony than what lawmakers intended. In another case, Indiana law was accidentally changed so that police officers would not be able to immediately arrest a suspected thief or

PROPERTY From Page A1

CANCER

From Page A1 battling.

As they are circling the country, Cooper and his team are living out of a recreational vehicle - a green 1994 Winnebago named “Life Elevated.” Inside this vehicle, the team has written thousands of names on

TAYLOR

From Page A1 ment rights.”

Prior to Monday’s hearing, Indiana Fraternal Order of Police attorney John Kautzman advised MCPD detectives to invoke their Fifth Amendment right when asked any questions about the overhearing of Taylor and Payne’s conversation.

This includes questions about whether they were present in the MCPD’s “War Room” where the overhear allegedly occurred, other officers who may have been present, what information was gleaned as a result and how that information may have affected the remainder of the investigation.

The defense contends the overhear is a direct violation of Taylor’s right to attorneyclient privilege under the Sixth Amendment, as well as of federal wire-tapping statutes. Braje told the court on June 9 that anyone who listened to the confidential conversation potentially could be charged with a class C felony and additional federal crimes as a result.

The judge said she could not determine what evidence should or should not be allowed without hearing all of it, and charged Beckman with the task of proving that each piece of evidence stemmed from a source independent of the overhearing of Taylor and Payne’s conversation.

In all, eight Michigan City Police detectives, one La Porte County Sheriff’s detective and defense attorney Payne were called to the witness stand.

Michigan City Police Detective Cpl. Al Bush, the lead investigator in the case, testified that at about 7:30 a.m.

the walls and ceilings of those who have shared their stories.

“Life Elevated is home to thousands of stories of adversity, triumph and cancer stories,” Cooper said. “It’s a mobile museum.”

More information about this run, including ways to donate or make a dedication, is available by visiting www.miles2give.org.

on March 14, Taylor and his grandfather entered the police station. Taylor was taken inside an interview room, and police immediately began video recording in order to ensure the defendant was “never mistreated.”

Although he had been at the station for nearly eight hours, Taylor was not arrested until 3:20 p.m. He refused to sign a police waiver or talk without an attorney.

Bush said the video feed was turned off as soon as Payne arrived.

However, prior to Taylor’s arrest, detectives interviewed his family and friends and those of his girlfriend, Simone Bush. Al Bush (unrelated) told the court the majority of those interviews were conducted prior to 4:12 p.m. on March 14. Those who were interviewed after that time, he said, were people who volunteered information, and were not made known to investigators as a result of the overheard conversation.

Al Bush also informed the court that all pieces of evidence found at the crime scene and in the defendant’s car were discovered prior to 4:12 p.m. on March 14. This includes bloody fingerprint lifts, a bullet fragment, various swabs, a blood-stained sheet, .40-caliber shell casings, .380-caliber shell casings, a receipt for a .40-caliber Glock, a packing slip or receipt from firearm and ammunition retailer Cheaper Than Dirt, a backpack containing a box for a Glock Model 22 and a box for a Glock Model 23, various items of clothing and shoes and more.

Other evidence, such as phone records and Facebook records, were discovered or received both before and after 4:12 p.m. on March 14,

son after the accident in the town about 15 miles south of South Bend.

Joshua has been treated in the pediatric intensive care unit of a South Bend hospital. He suffered a concussion and some head bleeding but no broken bones.

Indiana lawmakers returning to correct errors

By TOM LoBIANCO

POLICE

son fall helped save his life.

She says 13-year-old Joshua Staiger wasn’t able to breath after falling from a high branch Thursday at Bremen’s Shady Side Park.

Staiger tells WNDU-TV she is grateful for many prayers of support for her

Once a property has been designated a chronic nuisance property, the owner can be issued a fine of $150 for the next citation, and every citation afterward. And legal action can be taken against the owner if he doesn’t pay his fines. ”This would bring the owners up front and encourage them to work with the city, the police department and code enforcement on

but Al Bush said none were a result of anything overheard from the conversation between Taylor and Payne.

Michigan City Police Detective Francisco Rodriguez testified that he began searching the defendant’s Facebook profile at about 8:20 a.m. on March 14. He said several status updates posted from Taylor’s account concerned him.

One that was time stamped at about 5:20 a.m. on March 14 said, “How you think you don’t gotta please yo man?”

Another, an excerpt from a song by deceased rapper 2Pac (Tupac Shakur), said, “I’m that (expletive) with the fat heat. Keep you runnin’ like a track meet.”

A third, another excerpt from a 2Pac song, said, “Lord forgive me if I smoke (expletive).”

Rodriguez told the court he had been in the War Room at different times throughout the day, but was not there at the time of the overhear.

He said he is unaware of who was in the room at that time.

Michigan City Police Detective David Cooney testified that he had collected evidence and taken photographs at the crime scene and of Taylor’s vehicle. He also was the only police officer to attend Simone Bush’s autopsy.

Cooney testified that all evidence collected, photographed and analyzed was done so as a matter of standard protocol, and not because of any information overheard in Taylor and Payne’s conversation.

He said the fingernail clippings, collection of underwear and swab of a foreign substance near the bullet wound during the autopsy also were standard procedure and not influenced by

shoplifter without obtaining a warrant first.

The problems were discovered in a sweeping overhaul of the state’s criminal sentencing rules that lawmakers, lawyers and others have spent many years putting together. The legislation was approved earlier this year.

House Judiciary Chairman Greg Steuerwald, RAvon, said that even with the thorough reviews, the effort was so extensive it’s likely to result in some other errors shaking out in the future.

“We’ve had literally a thousand sets of eyes on this thing, and the cooperation and the input has been outstanding. At this point in time we’ve discovered any issues we might have, but I’m pretty sure there are going to be others,” he

said.

The goal of Tuesday’s “technical corrections day” at the Statehouse is to approve the series of fixes before the legislation takes effect on July 1.

Lawmakers are also correcting separate legislation that was intended to limit the amount of tax credits available for natural gas vehicles, but accidentally was applied to all alternative fuels.

The General Assembly occasionally approves seemingly small errors in legislation which have big consequences. In 2011, a measure was passed that accidentally de-authorized the Family and Social Services Administration. Then-Gov. Mitch Daniels was forced to draft an executive order that allowed the agency to keep operating.

finding a solution,” he said.

“It’s a tool like a hammer, to start getting these issues resolved.”

And if a property owner threatens an individual for contacting the police or code enforcement over a crime, he can be sued for no less than $1,500.

But McAtee said the ordinance, if passed, would not affect victims. ”We’re definitely not trying to get the lady who’s being beaten by her husband or ex-husband to stop calling police,” he said.

Cains said they are not looking at victim calls, such as those reporting fires, burglaries or domestic violence.

Rather, it’s for those instances resulting from a property owner’s failures to address his own problems. ”If they know this ordinance exists,” he said, “we will see property owners stepping up to the plate and taking matters into their own hands.”

The ordinance will be voted on at the next council meeting.

any overheard information.

And like the police witnesses before him, Cooney invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to testify whether he or any other specific officers overheard the conversation between Taylor and Payne.

Detective Sgt. Pat Cicero, of the La Porte County Sheriff’s Department, testified that he assisted the MCPD with the investigation and crime scene reconstruction.

He said he was told about the overhearing of the privileged conversation, but that he was not told who had been present.

Cicero told the court he conducted most of his work based on “a series of logical deductions,” and none of it based on any information contained in any overheard conversation.

He said the defendant entered the police station wearing bloody clothes, which is why they were photographed both before and after 4:12 p.m. on March 14.

Cicero said the blood stain analysis experimentation he conducted and digital microscope photos he took were standard procedure.

And he said he conducted a firearm test with a .40-caliber Glock because two Glock boxes had been found in the defendant’s backpack and because a firearms examiner had determined a bullet fragment found at the crime scene to be size .40-caliber.

Cicero also testified that he had deduced on his own that a struggle had occurred between Taylor and Simone Bush prior to the shooting because of superficial wounds present on Taylor’s chest. He said the wounds he observed could not have been inflicted after the gunshot, as the bullet had severed the victim’s spinal

Follow Matt Fritz on Twitter @matt_fritzHA.

cord.

During the argument phase of Monday’s hearing, Beckman told the judge she believes she has proven that all her evidence, except the gun, have a source independent of the overheard conversation between Taylor and Payne.

However, Flynn maintained that all evidence obtained after 4:12 p.m. on March 14 should be suppressed because of the inability of the defense to determine who overheard the privileged conversation, what was overheard and the effect that overhearing had on the investigation.

She also raised the question of why the La Porte County Prosecutor’s Office is being allowed to try a case in which a prosecutor, Neary, has been accused of prosecutorial misconduct.

After Lang delivers her ruling this morning, the jury selection for Taylor’s trial will begin. The court has reserved two weeks for the trial to be conducted.

As he awaits the resolution of the case, Taylor remains incarcerated at the La Porte County Jail, where he is being held without bond.

If convicted of the sole count of murder he faces, Taylor could be sentenced to 45 to 65 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections.

AREA BRIEFS Man arrested after fight LA PORTE — At about 6:20 p.m. Saturday, La Porte Police responded to a fight in the 1000 block of Harrison Street.

The victims told police that they had just arrived home from a bike ride and were entering their fence gate when the suspect, Eric J. Harrill, 39, of La Porte, yelled at them about the loud noise the gate makes when closing. They stated Harrill had approached them before about fixing the gate.

The male victim said he and Harrill began to argue when Harrill kicked the gate off its hinges.

According to police reports, the male approached Harrill to keep him from damaging anymore property when Harrill started to throw punches at the victim. The two men wrestled to the ground when Harrill got up, ran to a nearby flower bed and picked up a brick.

When Harrill attempted to throw the brick, it flew backwards out of his hands.

He then retrieved another one and threw it through the rear window of the victims’ car.

During this time Harrill also assaulted the female victim, who tried to intervene, according to the report. She had facial eye injuries and refused medical treatment.

Harrill told police he’d spoken to the victims prior, asking them to fix the noisy gate. On this date, he’d approached them again and kicked the gate from it’s hinges.

The victim confronted him about the damage and Harrill picked up a brick, but accidentally dropped it.

He stated the male victim punched him and he (Harrill) picked up another brick and threw it at the vehicle.

Harrill denied ever striking the female victim.

Harrill was taken into custody on charges of battery, a Class A misdemeanor and disorderly conduct, a Class B misdemeanor.

A review of charges for the damage to the gate and vehicle was forwarded to the La Porte County Prosecutor’s Office.

Man arrested after stabbing LA PORTE — At about 3:18 a.m. Sunday, La Porte Police responded to the 300 block of Park Street for a large fight outside.

On arrival, police observed a large crowd of people standing outside.

The victim said he had heard a lot of noise and screaming outside. He went out to investigate and observed Joshua L. E. Tawney, 22, of La Porte, yelling obscenities at everyone.

An attempt was made to get Tawney to leave, when Tawney picked up a barbecue grill and threw it, starting a small fire.

As the victim tried to assist in getting Tawney under control, Tawney removed a knife from its sheath and started swinging it at bystanders.

The victim said he did not realize he’d been stabbed until someone told him he was bleeding. The victim had sustained a stab wound to the abdomen. He declined medical treatment at the scene.

Tawney was located at in apartment in the 300 block of Park Street and was taken into custody on the charge of battery with a deadly weapon, a Class C felony.

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