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Thread: Jeffrey Alan Weisheit - Indiana Death Row

  1. #21
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Trial starts in deaths of 2 SW Indiana children

    The mother of two children who died when their Indiana home burned says her fiance told her by phone that he had put the kids to bed when prosecutors say he was actually binding them and setting the fatal fire.

    WFIE-TV reports Lisa Lynch testified Monday on the first day of Jeffrey Weisheit's trial in Jeffersonville. The 37-year-old's trial was moved from Evansville to Jeffersonville because of extensive media coverage.

    Weisheit could face the death penalty if convicted on murder and arson charges.

    The bodies of 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch and 5-year-old Caleb Lynch were found inside the home Weisheit shared with Lynch.

    Lynch was at work when fire started in April 2010.

    His defense attorney says prosecutors won't be able to prove that Weisheit deliberately set the fire.

    http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/crime...diana-children
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  2. #22
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    Southwestern Indiana man convicted of setting fire that killed fiancee's 2 children

    A jury on Tuesday convicted a southwestern Indiana man of setting the fire that killed his fiancee's two children.

    After deliberating for about an hour, the Clark County jury found Jeffrey Weisheit guilty of murder and arson in the April 2010 deaths of 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch and 5-year-old Caleb Lynch at the family's home near Evansville.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the case, which was moved to Jeffersonville because of the extensive media coverage it got in and around Evansville, 100 miles to the west. The trial now moves into a new phase as both sides present evidence for jurors to determine whether or not Weisheit deserves to be put to death.

    On Monday, Weisheit told the jury that he didn't set the fire, and suggested that faulty electrical work might have been to blame. He did, however, admit that he had stuffed a dish towel into Caleb's mouth and used duct tape to secure it in place and to pin the boy's arms behind his back before he left the children alone at about 1 a.m. Their mother was at work at the time.

    He said he used the duct tape because Caleb had been misbehaving.

    The coroner determined that the children died of smoke inhalation.

    Several hours after the fire, deputies from Boone County, Kentucky, south of Cincinnati, were pursuing Weisheit's car when he jumped from the vehicle while it was moving and charged officers with a hunting knife. He was subdued with a stun gun.

    When detectives questioned Weisheit in a hospital, court records say he indicated that he set the fire and that he knew the children were home at the time. However, he also repeatedly told investigators that he could not remember any details.

    McDaniel argued that Weisheit was experiencing a depressive episode at the time.

    http://www.therepublic.com/view/stor...ouble-Fatality
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  3. #23
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    Ind. jury may decide on death penalty Friday

    Jurors are expected to begin deliberating whether a southwestern Indiana man should be put to death after he was convicted of setting the fire that killed his fiancee's two children.

    Prosecutors intend to call one last witness Friday in the death penalty phase of Jeffrey Weisheit's murder trial in Jeffersonville. The witness likely will rebut defense arguments concerning Weisheit's mental health status at the time of the 2010 fire.

    The Evansville man is being tried on murder and arson charges in the 2010 deaths of 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch and 5-year-old Caleb Lynch. Prosecutors say Weisheit bound the children with duct tape and set fire to the house he shared with their mother.

    He denied setting the fire, but acknowledged taping Caleb.

    The trial was relocated due to media coverage.

    http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/crime...penalty-friday
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  4. #24
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    Weisheit gets death penalty

    A Clark County jury deliberated for more than five hours Friday to decide an Evansville man should be sentenced to death for the murder of his former girlfriend’s two children.

    Jeffrey Alan Weisheit, 37, was convicted by the same jury of double murder and arson, all class A felony charges, after deliberating just more than two hours Tuesday following more than two weeks of trial.

    Weisheit was on trial for setting fire to his own Evansville home in 2010 while his then-girlfriend’s children, 5-year-old Caleb Lynch and 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch, were inside.

    While the jurors’ sentencing verdict is only a recommendation, and a pre-sentencing investigation will take place prior to official sentencing, according to state statue presiding Judge Daniel Moore is bound to rule the sentencing suggested by the jury.

    While the proceedings are a Vanderburgh County case, because of media attention the case received, the trial was transferred to Clark County so an untainted jury could be assembled.

    Vanderburgh County Deputy Prosecutors Gary Schutte and Charles Berger represented the state, and court-appointed attorney Mike McDaniel, of New Albany, and Vanderburgh County court-appointed attorney Stephen Owens represented Weisheit.

    After the guilty verdict was provided Tuesday, the attorneys presented additional arguments Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning before the jury went into sentencing deliberation.

    Following the sentencing verdict, Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Nicholas Hermann said it was difficult for the victims’ family to relive the tragedy during the trial, but he hopes the loved ones have now received some closure.

    “This is a very difficult case, and you can’t bring these children back,” Hermann said. “All [prosecutors] wanted to do was finally get in court and tell our side of the story and present the facts to the jury and let them make a recommendation.”

    Hermann said it has been a “long time coming” for all those involved following the fatal fire and Weisheit’s arrest more than three years ago.

    “We are just glad to get to his point,” he said. “It is difficult for everyone involved. My heart goes out, obviously, to the victims’ family, but also to Jeff’s [Weisheit] family because this is, obviously, a very trying thing for them.”

    Hermann said Clark County officials did a great job facilitating the trial for the Vanderburgh County case.

    “I realize this put a real strain on Clark County. We clogged up one of your judges and one of your courtrooms, but everyone in Clark County, Judge Moore and his staff, everyone we came in contact with has been more than hospitable, very helpful,” Hermann said. “We have nothing but praise for Clark County.”

    A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for July 11 in Clark County Circuit Court No. 1.

    Back Story

    Emergency officials responded to Weisheit’s home that was fully engulfed with fire in the early morning hours of April 10, 2010.

    Weisheit shared his home at the time with his then-girlfriend, Lisa Lynch, and her two children.

    Lisa Lynch was working a 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. shift at a plastics plant when she received a call from a neighbor that her home was ablaze, and Weisheit’s Chevrolet Camaro was not at the property.

    Lynch testified during the trial that she had made multiple attempts to reach Weisheit, but her calls and text were never answered.

    An OnStar employee later made contact with Weisheit in his OnStar-equipped vehicle, but he declined to take the call from the growingly worried mother.

    Through the assistance of OnStar, law enforcement was able to track his Camaro, and he was taken into custody in Covington, Ky., after a vehicle pursuit that exceeded speeds of 100 mph.

    Weisheit has remained in jail since his initial arrest.

    As the early morning became day, first responders at the fire scene pulled the children’s charred remains from the burnt wreckage that had been Weisheit’s home.

    Through the testimonies of those who conducted the children’s autopsies and the processes to confirm their identity through dental records, it was determined Caleb Lynch had his arms bound by duct tape and his mouth had been stuffed with a 12-inch-by-12-inch dish cloth and covered with duct tape before the fire took his and his sister’s lives.

    While Alyssa Lynch was not found to have been bound like her younger brother, forensic experts testified that she was burnt so badly in the fire that her lips had to be removed to reveal her teeth to confirm her identification.

    During his testimony, which his attorney suggested he not provide, Weisheit told the jurors he had used duct tape to bound the boy, but said he did not set fire to the home, nor was there any fire at the home when he left the residence.

    Weisheit continued from the witness stand that he didn’t think the fire was intentionally set by anyone, but had started due to his own faulty electrical work.

    http://newsandtribune.com/local/x479...-death-penalty
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  5. #25
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    Judge to pronounce sentence on Weisheit Thursday

    Clark County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Moore will decide Thursday morning if convicted murderer Jeffrey Weisheit will be sentenced to death for the April 10, 2010, deaths of two Evansville children in northern Vanderburgh County. Weisheit, 37, was found guilty of murder and arson on June 17 after a six-day trial in Jeffersonville, Ind., in which he took the stand in his own defense against the advice of his attorneys. The trial was moved there to avoid the effects of pretrial publicity in Vanderburgh County.

    The charges stemmed from the deaths of Caleb Lynch, 5, and Alyssa Lynch, 8, in a fire at Weisheit’s home. Their bodies were found inside the ruins of the house on Fischer Road. An autopsy indicated they died of smoke inhalation, according to the Vanderburgh County Coroner’s Office, indicating they were alive when the fire was set. Two flares were found near Caleb Lynch’s body, according to court testimony.

    Weisheit was arrested in Northern Kentucky after a police chase that at times exceeded 100 mph. Officers subdued him with a stun gun after he left his car and threw a knife toward them.

    In his testimony, Weisheit admitted stuffing a dish towel in Caleb Lynch’s mouth and then duct-taping it, and acknowledged that he taped the boy’s arms behind his back. He said he did it because Caleb was misbehaving on the night before the fire.

    After convicting Weisheit, the jury listened to additional testimony before recommending that he receive a death sentence.

    In arguing for the death penalty, prosecutors cited the number of victims and their ages as aggravating factors warranting a sentence of death or life without parole. The jury also could have recommended that he be sentenced to a term of years decided by the judge.

    Defense attorneys Mike McDaniel and Stephen Owens called two doctors as expert witnesses to testify that Weisheit suffers from bipolar disorder.

    http://www.courierpress.com/news/201...ne---weisheit/
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  6. #26
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    Jeffrey Weisheit sentenced to death

    Convicted murderer Jeffrey Weisheit is sentenced to death by a Clark County, Indiana judge.

    Weisheit was found guilty last month of setting fire to his girlfriend's home, killing her two young children inside back in April 2010. In addition to the two murder convictions, Weisheit was also convicted of Arson.

    Weisheit was wheeled into court Thursday morning for his sentencing hearing in a wheelchair. Donning a yellow jumpsuit, handcuffed to the chair.

    At the hearing both sides were allowed to speak.

    The prosecutor reminded the judge that he must abide by the jurors' decision on the death penalty. The same jurors who found Weisheit guilty unanimously recommended that he be executed. The judge is bound by the jury's recommendation if it is unanimous.

    The family will also able to make a statement to the judge and express their feelings on the case.

    Lisa Lynch, mother of Caleb and Alyssa, read a long letter. Incredible emotions as she told the court about her children.

    Weisheit joins 12 other Indiana prison inmates currently on death row. He is scheduled to receive lethal injection on June 19, 2014 in Michigan City.

    Of the 94 inmates sentenced to death in Indiana since 1977, 20 have been executed. Sixteen of those executions came after the defendants exhausted all appeals.

    http://www.14news.com/story/22814857...ntence-hearing
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  7. #27
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    Conviction and sentence upheld on direct appeal. Busy day in Indiana.

    http://mediaassets.courierpress.com/...648.1424372127

  8. #28
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    In today's orders, the United States Supreme Court declined to review Weisheit's petition for certiorari.
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  9. #29
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Evansville Arsonist Who Murdered Girlfriend's Two Children Challenges Death Sentence

    Attorney argues jury didn't hear mental-health testimony; Supreme Court suggests lower-court ruling is confusingly written

    By Eric Berman
    93.1 WIBC Indianapolis

    The death sentence for an Evansville man who murdered his girlfriend's two young children now hinges on witnesses the jury didn't hear and the way a lower court wrote its ruling.

    Jeffrey Weisheit was convicted four years ago of hogtying five-year-old Caleb Lynch with duct tape and using railroad flares to burn the house down. Caleb and his eight-year-old sister Alyssa died of smoke inhalation. Weisheit's new lawyer John Pinnow argues the trial lawyer failed to call a psychiatrist who would have testified Weisheit was bipolar, while the judge refused to allow a second to testify Weisheit wouldn't be dangerous in prison.

    Pinnow argues that given the horrifying details of the crime, Weisheit's only hope of escaping either a death sentence or life without parole was to present the jury with mitigating circumstances. He says Weisheit's mental health was his only hope of establishing that, and the jury was left with conflicting evidence. He says the psychiatrist could have tipped the scales, and says the lawyer also didn't do enough to track down Indiana Boys School records reporting episodes of depression.

    Deputy attorney general Kelly Loy says those records also note a history of setting fires. And Justice Steve David questions whether the psychiatrists' testimony would be enough to change the likely outcome.

    But Justice Geoffrey Slaughter says the lower-court ruling denying Weisheit's appeal raises its own concerns by repeatedly contradicting itself. Loy argues the ruling merely rehashes both sides' arguments, and the important part is the "conclusions" section.

    Slaughter says particularly in a death-penalty case, the ruling should be clearer about distinguishing the court's findings from those proposed by the attorneys.

    Pinnow wants the court to order a new sentencing hearing. Lawyers for the state argue at most, the court should ask for a clarification of the judge's findings.

    As always, there's no indication when the high court will rule.

    http://www.wibc.com/news/local-news/...death-sentence
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  10. #30
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    Weisheit loses appeal of murder convictions, death sentences for killing two children

    EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The Indiana Supreme Court has again upheld the murder convictions and death sentence of Jeffrey Weisheit for killing killed two children in 2010 in Vanderburgh County.

    This time, however, the decision was not unanimous, even though all five justices agreed Weisheit was guilty of crimes which Chief Justice Loretta Rush described as "unequivocally horrific" and "disturbingly reprehensible."

    In an opinion that partially dissented, Rush said she thought Weisheit deserved a new penalty phase.

    Weisheit was sentenced to death in 2013 on a jury’s unanimous recommendation following his convictions on two murders and of arson in the deaths of Caleb Lynch, 5, and Alyssa Lynch, 8, in a fire at his home in Northern Vanderburgh County in April 2010.

    Autopsies concluded the children died of smoke inhalation, indicating they had been alive when the fire was set. Weisheit was arrested in Northern Kentucky after a police chase that at times exceeded 100 mph. Officers subdued him with a stun gun after he left his car and threw a knife toward officers.

    The case received so much media coverage and public interest in the Evansville area, the trial was moved to Jeffersonville, Indiana. The trial lasted three weeks, and Weisheit defied his attorneys' advice and testified in his own defense. He was convicted of murder and arson and sentenced to death.

    In 2015, the court unanimously upheld Weisheit's convictions and sentence in a direct appeal. Weisheit then filed, in September 2017, a petition for post-conviction relief seeking to correct errors in the trial, sentencing and appeals process.

    Defendants seeking post-conviction relief, according to the Indiana Supreme Court, have to prove there is no way within the law a court could have reached its decision.

    Weisheit argued he received ineffective legal counsel in both the trial and the appeal process.

    Among his arguments were that during the penalty phase of his trial his lawyers failed to obtain and introduce records from the Indiana Boys School that might have helped persuade the jury against death, failed to call expert witnesses and introduce certain evidence and failed to appropriately question jurors.

    He also argued the cumulative errors prejudiced the outcome of the sentencing against him.

    In Wednesday's Supreme Court decision, justices Steven David, Mark Massa and Christopher Goff agreed while there were errors, they didn't tip the scale against Weisheit during sentencing. They also agreed he was adequately represented in his appeal.

    Four of the five justices agreed Weisheit's convictions and sentence should stand.

    In writing the majority opinion, David said: "Indeed, he has not shown that he would be given a different sentence even if counsel had committed none of the alleged errors in light of the nature of this particular crime — the murder of two small children — and the overwhelming evidence of his guilt."

    However, Rush wrote that even though "Weisheit's offenses were horrific and his guilt is clear," he should be given a new penalty or sentencing phase of his trial. She said she believed Weisheit was denied his constitutional right to effective counsel during the penalty phase.

    https://www.courierpress.com/story/n...ch/1923346002/
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