Murder strikes regional campus

Early Thursday morning, the otherwise quiet Miller Beach neighborhood in Gary surrounding 7217 Locust Ave. woke up to the sounds of sirens as the police arrived on the scene of the violent murder of retired IU-Northwest Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Silas W. "Bill" May.\nMay had been beaten and stabbed to death inside his home as the neighborhood slept Wednesday night.\nMay was pronounced dead upon the arrival of county officers at 6:55 a.m. on Thursday.\nBy the end of the day Friday, Lamar Pierre Ricketts, 23, of Gary, had been arrested and charged by Lake County authorities in connection to the brutal altercation.\nLake County Coroner David Pastrick said the official autopsy revealed the cause of death to be homicide. There was blunt force trauma inflicted to May's head, followed by multiple stabbing wounds with a sharp object. The specifics of the murder weapon could not be revealed as the investigation is ongoing.\n"Nobody deserves a death like this," Pastrick said.\nPolice on the scene indicated that it seemed as though the confrontation between May and his assailant had been significantly drawn out.\n"It appears as if some type of struggle took place on the outside of the house that continued into the house and ended in death," said Det. Lanita Titus of the Gary Police Department.\nA resident living near May notified the police sometime between 10 and 10:30 p.m., Titus said, saying that "sounds of a struggle" were heard in the vicinity of May's home. A police patrol was sent to survey the area, but turned up nothing.\nIt wasn't until just before 7 a.m. when a neighbor, Kenny Shultz, went out to walk his dog and discovered blood stains on May's garage door that he became assured of trouble and had his wife phone the police.\nAmidst the shock and grieving of neighbors and relatives, investigators were already pursuing leads in the case. Officers in Merrillville, Ind. stopped a 1999 Black Chrysler 300, driven by Ricketts, and took him in for questioning.\nRicketts told the police that he had gotten into a dispute with May over the payment of May's car, which he intended to buy, Carter said. May did own a black Chrysler, but it was not for sale, and it is unclear as to how the man could have known about it. \nLake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter said Ricketts is being charged with the murder and also murder in the perpetration of a robbery in connection to the altercation. Ricketts was being held without bond in the county jail pending a Monday court appearance.\nThe sense of loss in May's neighborhood equally extends to the IU-Northwest campus where May had been a noticeable presence for many years.\nMay retired in December of 2001 after serving the campus in roles ranging from professor to Head of the Division of Education to Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs.\nDr. Spencer Cortwright, professor of Biology at IUN remembers May's energetic and vibrant spirit.\n"If you had to use one word to describe (May), it would be 'jovial,'" Cortwright said. "It didn't matter if you were clerical, janitorial or administrative, May's joy touched everybody."\nLong time colleague and friend, recently retired Dean of Arts and Sciences, John Kroepfl spoke of May's commitment to the University, the breadth of work he completed and the life he gave to the moments in-between.\n"There was no job too big or too small for him," Kroepfl said. "He was an energetic and positive person who was a good influence on the whole psyche of the campus.\nCortwright said May can never be replaced.\n"When he retired, we certainly missed his daily appearances," Cortwright said. "But now we'll miss it all the way."\nThe Associated Press contributed to this report.