IU professor fatally stabbed in his home

An IU professor was fatally stabbed in his Bloomington home and police have arrested a man on a preliminary charge of murder.

IU English Department chairman Jonathan Elmer confirmed Tuesday in an e-mail to The Associated Press that the victim was Don Belton, 53, an assistant professor of English at IU.

Michael James Griffin, 25, was booked into Monroe County Jail on a murder charge around 1:45 a.m. Tuesday, said Bloomington Police Department Lt. David Drake. Griffin is being held without bond.

Drake says Griffin was acquainted with the victim, who was stabbed several times.

Belton was found around 10 a.m. Monday morning by a friend who visited his home on the 900 block of South Madison Street.

BPD detectives found in Griffin's residence a 10-inch knife that they said they believe to be the weapon used to murder Belton. Griffin was then interviewed and arrested, Drake said.

Belton documented his daily activities, thoughts and ideas in a journal, which contained Griffin’s name on dates close to the murder. Griffin soon became a suspect and police obtained a search warrant around 10:45 p.m. Monday.

Belton began teaching at IU in fall of 2008 and was a member of the Creative Writing Program faculty. He taught at Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, Pa, as well as University of Michigan, Macalester College and the University of Pennsylvania before coming to IU.

"His great talents as a writer, his extraordinary generosity to his students, and his warmth of personality were gifts to us all. We will miss him terribly,” Elmer said.
 
Belton was also the author of the novel “Almost Midnight” and editor of “Speak My Name.”