He is charged with one count of murder for the death of IU senior Hannah Wilson, who was found dead Friday morning. An autopsy declared her death a homicide by blunt force trauma to the back of ?the head.
When the hearing began, Messel sat alone at a table in an empty room inside the Brown County Jail. He stared straight into the camera that connected him to the Brown County Courthouse just a half mile away.
Dressed in a short-sleeved shirt of thick black and grey lines, he rose his right hand and swore to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help him God. Behind him on the wall was a cross wrapped in a deep purple tattered sash. Unidentifiable words bannered beneath it.
Brown County Prosecutor Ted Adams sat directly across from the screen. He was silent except for a moment when the judge asked him if he had anything to say.
No, not right now, he ?replied.
Messel didn’t say much throughout the hearing. He had mostly yes-and-no answers when Judge Judith Stewart asked him ?questions.
He was told the advisory sentence for murder in Indiana was 55 years but carried a minimum sentence of 45 years and a maximum sentence of 65. It could also carry a fine of no more than $10,000, Stewart said. The judge asked if he had any questions about his possible sentence. His voice shook as he replied, “No.”
She read him the rights guaranteed to him when charged with a criminal offense. He had the right to face all witnesses against him and to see, hear and question those witnesses. He had the right to remain silent and to be heard in his own defense and a right to an ?attorney.
She asked if he would hire an attorney.
“No,” Messel said. “I can’t afford it.”
Stewart asked him a series of questions that would let her know if he qualified for a public defender.
He doesn’t own a home, his car is not his own, he possesses nothing more than $200 in value and has less than $100 in the bank. He has no family that can help him pay for an attorney. All he has is a full-time job at Fine Print Printing in Bloomington that pays him $15.50 an hour.
Judge Stewart appointed Andrew Szakaly as Messel’s public defender. His plea would be not guilty until Messel could speak with his public defender. The judge told Messel that Szakaly would be his public defender provided his schedule allowed, and that it was Messel’s responsibility to ?contact Szakaly.
The judge recited ?Messel’s upcoming court dates to Messel and had him repeat them back to her.
When the schedule was clear and no questions remained, Messel’s initial hearing was over. Almost half an hour later, Prosecutor Adams emerged from the courthouse into a crowd ?of reporters.
“Out of respect for the victim and the victim’s family, we’re playing this close to the vest, and I don’t want to make a comment at this time,” he said. “Our deepest sympathies to the family.”
