Around the state

3 Jackson County inmates caught in escape attempt
BROWNSTOWN, Ind. – The Jackson County sheriff said three inmates are facing attempted escape charges after being found inside the suspended ceiling of a jail classroom.

Sheriff Marc Lahrman said the inmates bolted into the classroom while returning from a recreation area Monday evening. They barricaded the door to the classroom with tables and chairs before climbing into the ceiling.

An officer saw the trio on a video monitor and called guards to the classroom. Guards apprehended the inmates about 20 minutes later.

Lahrman said the escape attempt caused several thousand dollars of damage to the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown.

Two of the inmates are 17-year-olds who were transferred to adult court. The third inmate is 22.

Man fatally crushed at Muncie auto salvage yard
MUNCIE – A Muncie auto salvage yard worker was killed when a sport utility vehicle fell from a winch, crushing him underneath.

The Delaware County coroner said 30-year-old Michael L. “Tiny” Bodenhofer probably died instantly when the SUV fell Monday.

Coroner James Clevenger called the death “a very unfortunate accident.”

Clevenger said Bodenhofer used a flatbed wrecker and a winch cable to lift the 1,200-pound SUV by the bumper so he could climb beneath it and remove some parts.

The coroner said the bumper gave way, dropping the vehicle on Bodenhofer’s chest.

Co-workers at Northwest Auto and Truck parts found his body at about 10 a.m., but Clevenger said the accident occurred earlier in the morning.

Man charged in death of 17-month-old girl
HAMMOND – A Hammond man has been charged with murder for the death of his girlfriend’s 17-month-old daughter.

Twenty-eight-year-old Jose Antonio Mendoza is being held without bond in the Lake County Jail. He is charged in the death of Savannah Fullgraf, who died Saturday at a Chicago hospital.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office ruled her death was from multiple injuries due to child abuse. Doctors at St. Margaret Mercy Hospital in Hammond reported she had extensive bruises as well as burns and broken bones.

The girl’s mother called police Saturday and told dispatchers her child wasn’t breathing.

Police say Mendoza would often baby-sit the girl. He told them he would grab Savannah by the face and neck when she would not stop crying.