Test
Test
90 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
Test
An IU wrestler remained in the critical-care unit at Bloomington Hospital on Wednesday night after surviving a leap from the third floor of the Walnut Center parking garage early Sunday morning, hospital officials said.\nFreshman Eric Cameron, 18, has shown signs of improvement after initial CT scans showed bleeding in his brain. Cameron was placed in intensive care on a ventilator. A critical-care registered nurse said his CT scan Wednesday showed the bleeding had stopped. Once the swelling in his brain recedes, Cameron will be on the road to recovery, the nurse said.\n"He's doing much better," said his mother, Sheila Ankney, who drove from Cincinnatito Bloomington on Sunday morning with Cameron's father and stepfather. Ankney said Cameron was off the ventilator and breathing on his own. He was still in a lot of pain, she said, but was able to speak a few words to the nursing staff and his family. \nAssistant Dean of Students Suzanne Phillips, who has been working closely with the family, said Cameron seems to be making tremendous strides in his recovery process.\n"Every day seems to be a huge improvement, so it's very encouraging," she said. "It's day by day at this point."\nAnkney told the IDS on Monday that it was a "miracle" her son had not broken any bones or been paralyzed by the fall. \n"It's been a long couple of days, but today there's been a lot of hope," Ankney said.\nAccording to the police report, Cameron, who lives in McNutt Quad, was escaping from Bloomington Police Department officers when he jumped from the third floor of the parking garage at the corner of Seventh and Walnut streets onto power boxes and flipped to the ground, landing on his back. He had been involved in an altercation with another man and several women when the police were called, BPD Sgt. David Drake said Monday.\nBefore the fall occurred, a friend of Cameron's got into a fight with a 25-year-old man and four women at about 3 a.m. Sunday morning near Kilroy's Sports Bar on North Walnut Street. Drake said the unidentified friend began "hitting on" the women and followed them into the parking garage. Cameron and a second unidentified friend tagged along. After one woman, a 22-year-old IU student, told them to go away, the first unidentified friend of Cameron's punched her in the eye. She sustained a contusion on her right cheek, one loose tooth and two chipped teeth, according to the police report.\nThe 25-year-old man then punched Cameron's friend, knocking him to the ground.\nAfter the 25-year-old man and the four women clambered into their SUV, Cameron began punching the rear driver's side window of the vehicle, Drake said, reading from the report.\nWhen BPD officers arrived, Cameron "took off running and jumped over the wall" of the parking garage, Drake said. According to the report, Cameron smelled of alcohol when officers found him, though a Breathalyzer test was not performed.\nDrake said the two men whom Cameron was with disappeared sometime during the incident, and police have not yet found or identified them.\nAnkney was amazed with the support she has received from the IU community, including from the Dean of Students Office, the wrestling team and more than two dozen friends around the country who had come to visit her son. In addition, the father of the IU woman injured in the Sunday morning incident met with Cameron.\n"Her dad came yesterday to see how Eric was and we sat down and had a long conversation," Ankney said, explaining how she believes Cameron was just trying to help a friend when the argument turned into a physical fight. "Things just got out of hand"
MARTINSVILLE -- John R. Myers II received 65 years in prison Friday, the maximum sentence, for the 2000 murder of IU sophomore Jill Behrman.\nHis ankles and wrists chained, Myers remained emotionless during the all-day sentencing, even when Jill Behrman's parents Marilyn and Eric Behrman took the stand to read personal statements to the court. \n"Every single day, many times each day, I am forced to think about the fact that my daughter Jill was brutally murdered, execution-style, in a remote, overgrown area in rural Morgan County," said Marilyn Behrman, her voice strong as she read aloud her written statement. "My strong, beautiful, responsible, intelligent daughter Jill was unable to defend herself against Mr. Myers that day."\nJill Behrman vanished during a morning bike ride May 31, 2000. Her bicycle was found two days later in a cornfield outside Ellettsville, less than a mile from the trailer where Myers was living at the time. Hunters found her skeletal remains in March 2003 near Paragon, Ind. Forensic evidence showed Jill Behrman was shot in the back of the head at close range with a shotgun.\nEric Behrman's voice was thick with emotion as he read his statement, bringing tears to the eyes of people throughout the courtroom, including Myers' 11- and 13-year-old daughters, who were present, and several jury members.\n"I had the right to watch my daughter grow up, to see her mature, graduate from college and begin her career," he said. "I do not think that John Myers is man enough to admit to the responsibility for Jill's murder here in court. Real men accept responsibility for their actions -- no matter how bad they might be."\nBy late afternoon, Judge Christopher Burnham had made his decision. He said in court that aggravating factors, such as the fact that forensic evidence suggests Jill Behrman was stripped naked and forced to lie facedown outside in the woods before being shot through the back of head, consequently disfiguring her face, led him to impose the maximum sentence of 65 years. In addition, Burnham found that Myers' criminal record, which included violence against his mother, father and brothers Luke and Sam, showed he had a history of criminal and delinquent activity. \n"The crime committed by the defendant in this case was particularly cruel and cold-blooded," Burnham said, adding that Jill Behrman was forced to "suffer the mental horror of wondering what was going to happen to her up until the moment that the defendant pulled the trigger of the shotgun, exploding her skull and taking her life."\nDefense attorney Hugh Baker tried to prove there were mitigating factors that were reasons for a reduced sentence, such as the "undue hardship" Myers and his daughters would endure from being separated. The court rejected these on the basis that Myers' older daughter had been adopted by her grandparents in 2000 and, at one point, Myers had planned on leaving his younger daughter in the care of another relative so he could move out of Indiana.\nMyers' mother, Jodie Myers, remained still as the sentence was read, her eyes shiny with unshed tears. She began rubbing her son Luke's arm, holding his hand and clutching a tissue in her other hand. Earlier that day, speaking with her son's attorneys in the hallway, she had told them: "God's in control." After the sentencing, as John R. Myers II was led out of the courtroom, she called out: "I love you, John. I love you."\nThe sentencing began at 9 a.m. but was delayed when the defense argued that not all of the copies of the lead investigator's notes had been handed over to the defense during discovery. \nDetective Rick Lang was sent back to his office in Martinsville to retrieve the hand-written notes.\nOutside of court, Patrick Baker said the defense plans to file for an appeal. The defense has 30 days to file. He said allegations of "jury misconduct" that came from a transcript of jurors' interviews, in which some jury members likened evening conduct to a "fraternity party," will be an issue in the appeal process.
The sentencing hearing in the case of the State of Indiana v. John Myers II is Friday. Myers, 31, of Ellettsville, was found guilty Oct. 30 for the 2000 murder of IU sophomore Jill Behrman. Myers faces 45 to 65 years in prison for the crime. The Indiana Daily Student sat down with Jill's parents, Eric and Marilyn Behrman, after the trial to discuss their reaction to the end of the long process.\nIn one childhood photograph, Jill Kristen Behrman, wearing a pale blue dress with white flowers, black patent leather Mary Janes and knee-high white socks, grins avidly from her seat beside the Christmas tree, her arms barely wrapped around the family cat, Tigger. With his ears flattened and back claws out, Tigger looks none too pleased about the situation.\nFor Jill's parents, Eric and Marilyn Behrman, this is the type of image of their daughter that will remain forever imprinted in their memories -- a young girl filled with excitement for life and the promise of a bright future.\n"She was starting to realize that happiness and fulfillment was more important (to her) than making lots of money," Marilyn said, her brown eyes soft and her voice strong as she explained what had motivated her daughter's life.\nThe Day Jill Went Missing\nThe Behrman family was on a long journey toward answers, one that started May 31, 2000, when Jill, the couple's only daughter, went for a Saturday morning bike ride in the Bloomington area, an activity she loved. Her body wasn't found until March 2003, though the community rallied together, forming search parties that scoured the county looking for her all summer and into the fall of that first year. \nToday, they are still grateful and impressed by the support they have received from the IU community, though it should come as no surprise since not only was Jill an IU student, but their son, Brian Behrman, was a junior at the time as well. In addition, Eric and Marilyn work for the Alumni Association and the IU Foundation, respectively.\nWhen Jill disappeared, the Behrman family set up a $25,000 reward for information leading to Jill's whereabouts. When they needed to raise the reward amount in an attempt to get more information, Marilyn said their family spokesman, then-IU Vice-President of Public Affairs Christopher Simpson, called five IU officials asking for personal donations to match the initial reward amount. This money was eventually used to pay for the draining of Salt Creek, among other search and recovery options. \n"That support, that was amazing," Eric said.\nThe Behrmans were devastated by the loss of Jill. Six-and-a-half years later, the wounds still run close to the surface. \nOn the witness stand Oct. 19, Brian, Jill's older brother, sobbed as he recalled how his father had come to his workplace at the Indiana Memorial Union that Saturday to tell him Jill was missing. Eric has cried often in front of the media, tears of both sorrow and joy during the turbulent and emotional events of the arrest and trial of John R. Myers II. \nThough the sentencing of Myers, who was convicted of her murder, won't be decided until Friday, the Behrmans said they felt a weight had been lifted off their shoulders as soon as the jury announced Myers was guilty.\n"We feel glad that now Myers will not be out where he can harm another person anytime, regardless," Eric said, his and Marilyn's relief palpable. \nMarilyn said she worried throughout the trial about the people testifying against Myers. \n"I kept thinking, 'If he gets off, what will happen to all these people?' I mean, there's a potential for a lot of violence and anger and who knows what," she said.\nEric said that the moment the jury came out, some with red eyes, time just seemed to stretch out before him.\n"As unlucky as we are, we are just so lucky," Marilyn said, expressing her gratefulness to the members of the Myers family who had come forward. "They are very brave. There's no way we can ever repay them that," she said. \nMyers' grandmother, Betty Swaffard, and his aunt, Debbie Bell, both testified that Myers had told them he had a secret and seemed panicked and nervous the day Jill disappeared and in the days following. \nJurors later told the press these testimonies had made a large impact on them.\n"I think Jill would be proud to know that everybody worked so hard on her behalf," Marilyn said, referring to the police, the prosecution and the jury members.\nTroubling Accusations\nIn the aftermath of a controversial murder trial that involved accusations of an older lover, a hidden pregnancy and insinuations from the defense of police and jury error, the Behrmans were eager to clear up what they saw as misconceptions about Jill.\nLike many college students returning home for the summer, many of Jill's belongings remained haphazardly packed in boxes at the family's house, still mixed together with her college roommate's, Marilyn explained. \nShe said in the beginning of the investigation, she and her family had given the FBI anything and everything, uncertain what would help them find Jill. This included condoms, emergency contraceptive pills, a pregnancy test and books about pregnancy that the defense ultimately used to argue that Jill was a sexually active woman who might have been pregnant with an older lover's child. In addition, Myers' attorney, Patrick Baker, highlighted a police report from 2004 in which Marilyn is quoted as saying Jill could have been pregnant. This was a theory that was never proven.\nBaker's suppositions in and out of the courtroom angered the Behrmans, and they held a press conference during the trial condemning the defense's "appalling" treatment of Jill's memory.\n"I never dreamed that defense attorney would walk right in front of the camera and say that," Eric said, latent anger rising in his voice. "I wasn't going to let that go. No father would."\nMarilyn said the concept of Jill being pregnant was taken out of context. \n"I don't remember saying 'I think she was pregnant.' I might have said, 'She may have been; it's a possibility.' But we know about possibilities, don't we," she said, giving an oft-recited example the prosecution used to debunk the theory. "Well, it's possible that Elvis and Jimmy Hoffa have an apartment together in Las Vegas, but it's not very likely."\nThe Behrmans said it was difficult to have their daughter's entire life out in the public eye. Jill was recovering from an eating disorder in high school, and Marilyn said it had been hard for her to tell strangers her daughter's secrets, when she was used to protecting her.\n"Here I am, within days of her disappearance, and I'm telling (the police) everything I know about my daughter that she would never want to be made public," she said.\nThe false leads were the hardest for Eric.\n"There were just so many ups and downs," he said, recounting a litany of false messages from strangers on the Internet and psychics from the early days of the investigation into her disappearance.\nUnanswered Questions\nThere are still unanswered questions, and these are the unknown factors that eat at the Behrmans. No one knows how Jill and Myers met that day, and they might never know exactly how long she was with him before she was killed.\n"She'd have been so scared of him," Marilyn said, explaining that Jill had a strong fear of strangers and would have been easily panicked by Myers' attention to her. \nBoth Eric and Marilyn often go methodically through the hypothetical timeline the police have placed together, though even now they can't agree on what exactly might have happened. \nEric is convinced that Myers was out driving, upset because he couldn't find his teenage girlfriend, Carly Goodman. He saw Jill, who was 19; he turned his rage on her, perhaps running her off North Maple Grove Road by hitting the bumper of his car against the back wheel of her bike. Then, while she was struggling to get her feet out of the pedals, which had straps, he stopped the car, opened up his trunk, and threw her in it, just like he had allegedly done to Goodman, she would later tell investigators. Marilyn, by contrast, believes what the police and FBI have suggested is a plausible explanation - that Jill was walking beside her bike at the time, and when Myers stopped her, a struggle ensued. \n"That's just a theory; nobody really knows," Marilyn said. "Well, Myers knows."\nEither way, Eric said that where Jill's bike was found abandoned in the cornfield was the last place the search dogs could sense Jill. \n"The dog scent stopped right there," Eric said, adding that he and his wife don't like to dwell on what might have happened.\n"I try not to even think about what happened after he got ... to her. I don't think I want to know what all she went through and how scared she was," Marilyn said. "We would give anything if we could turn the clock back, but we can't do that."\nA New Chapter\nAs the sentencing hearing for Myers is about to begin, the Behrmans are looking toward the future. \nThey are working on projects that preserve Jill's memory and help others in the community, such as Jill's House, a temporary housing center for cancer patients receiving treatment at the IU Cyclotron facility.\nIU's "Run for the End Zone," an annual 5K run/walk, was renamed in honor of Jill, who was an employee of the Student Recreational Sports Center. The money raised from it benefits Jill's House and an emerging leader scholarship also named for Jill.\nMarilyn and Eric said they want people to remember Jill as a normal, bright 19-year-old young lady "who was concerned about her world and wanted to make a difference."\n"She didn't get to realize any of her dreams," Marilyn said, describing Jill as one of the hardest workers she knew, who had found fulfillment in bicycling, exploring the outdoors and in living life to its fullest. "We can all learn a lot from Jill."\n"She liked to have fun," Eric said, his bright blue eyes watery with tears. "She challenged herself"
Wednesday the Morgan Superior Court released transcripts from the final day of the John R. Myers II trial. The transcripts outlined a detailed question and answer session with jurors and security officers about their after-hours activities. The records showed that defense attorney Patrick Baker called for a mistrial after hearing the jurors' answers, but Judge Christopher Burnham denied the request.\nMyers, 31, of Ellettsville, was found guilty for the 2000 murder of IU student Jill Behrman later that day, Oct. 30. His sentencing hearing, during which he could receive 45 to 65 years in prison, is Friday.\nAccording to the documents released, the 14 jurors and alternate jurors were interviewed individually by Burnham after a request by the defense's attorneys. One juror had been dismissed earlier in the trial for personal reasons.\nThe jurors were asked four questions pertaining to their access to media reports and communication devices, their consumption of alcohol beyond the two drink per night limit and inappropriate conduct after-hours. Burnham closely interviewed the members of the jury, who for the most part said they had not broken any rules. One juror mentioned being allowed to call home on a cell phone. Burnham then interviewed the bailiffs and security officers until the lunch break.\nJuror No. 94, a 49-year-old man, said he thought he had seen jurors intoxicated, drinking "32-ounce beers" during the second or third night of the trial, when they ordered pizza to the hotel. Another juror said it was unlikely that drinks that large were sold and added that on one occasion, they had been limited to one drink when it was a larger size. Juror No. 94 said he was asleep and got upset because a couple of the jurors and a bailiff, Jodie Law, were running up and down the halls.\n"Everyone was talking about it," the juror told the judge, adding that the sheriff then took the security tape of the evening out of the hotel's security machine. Juror No. 94 said two of the women with children seemed to drink a lot and another jury member "drank heavily." \n"They were really giggly," the juror told Baker when he questioned him further. "Personally, I don't hang around people like that."\nWhen Burnham told Baker he had seen no evidence of the jurors violating the two-drink limit, the defense called for a mistrial, citing the use of a bailiff's cell phone to call a family member. That was the defense's fourth known call for a mistrial during the two-week trial.\nProsecutor Steve Sonnega responded by saying that the evidence from security shows that everyone was in bed by midnight each night and said the defense was making a "mountain out of a molehill."\nBurnham denied the defense's motion for a mistrial, saying he saw no evidence of improper outside information being received by the jurors and adding that the behaviors brought to light were "normal" given the circumstances.
Lawyers for two of the men severely burned in an electrical fire in August at the new Wal-Mart Supercenter in Bloomington said they are uncertain how recent fines leveled against their clients' employer will affect their cases.\nThe Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Elecromation, a Muncie-based subcontractor hired by the LaSalle Group, $15,000 Nov. 14 after completing an inspection of the Aug. 26 accident and deciding the company violated six serious safety rules, worth $2,500 each. \n"We're looking at the totality of the situation," said Bill Emerick of the law firm Stuart & Branigin in Lafayette. Emerick is representing the estate of Scott Shelton, 35, who died Oct. 13 in Wishard Memorial Hospital as a result of the severe second- and third-degree burns that covered more than 90 percent of his body. His family filed a wrongful-death suit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc., The LaSalle Group and Duke Energy earlier in November.\nEmerick said he was uncertain of whether his firm would expand the lawsuit to include more defendants, such as Electromation. \n"We're looking at all the options that we have," he said.\nAccording to the IOSHA report, Electromation failed to ensure their employees were properly protected, both through instructing the men to recognize and avoid unsafe conditions and by providing proper safety equipment, such as hard hats and eye and face guards. As a result, when the panel the electricians were working on shorted and sent a six- to eight-foot arc of electricity through the air, the men had nothing but their regular clothing to protect their bodies from the resulting fire.\nIn addition, IOSHA said Electromation violated a safety order by having its employees work near live electric power circuits, which were not properly protected and were charged with up to 600 volts of electricity, and by not marking the area with conspicuous warning signs.\nElectromation had 15 working days as of Nov. 14 to respond to the charges leveled against them. The payment is due Dec. 11. A phone call Monday to Electromation owner Larry Coffey was not returned. \nUnder Indiana law, employees cannot sue their employers unless there was a "gross intentional act" by the employer, Emerick said. That did not stop Stephen Abbott, 27, of Otterbein, Ind., and his wife, Stephanie, from filing a civil lawsuit citing negligence against the other companies involved in the electrical accident. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., The LaSalle Group and Duke Energy are also all named in their suit. \nJohn Boren of the law firm Boren & Oliver in Martinsville is representing Abbott, who remained in stable condition at Wishard on Tuesday night after receiving burns to 90 percent of his body.\n"There's a whole lot more questions than there are answers right now," Boren said, explaining that his firm was still in the early stages of research for the case. \nBoth Boren and Emerick said not all of the defendants have responded yet to the lawsuits.\nWal-Mart spokesman Jason Wetzel has said that Wal-Mart was not liable in this accident because the site was not under control of the site at the time. They did not take possession of the building until it opened in October.\n"Our company, of course, does hire the contractors to do the work, and they typically subcontract out," he said by phone Monday.\nRobert Eury, 29, of Bloomington is the third man injured in the electrical accident. His family has not publicly decided whether to sue any of the companies involved in the accident, though they have hired a lawyer to oversee his finances. He was in stable condition at Wishard on Tuesday night.\nEury's friend Alex Kimmel said Eury had been considering quitting his job just two days before the accident because his boss had left, citing the improper conditions the men were being forced to work under.
Despite a low turnout, friends who attended a benefit concert Thursday night for Bloomington electrician Robert Eury, who was severely burned in a Wal-Mart electrical accident this summer, said they considered the event a positive one.\n"If everybody here has fun, then it's a success," said Neal Barrentine, one of about 30 people who came to show his support for his friend Eury, still recovering from severe second- and third-degree burns in an Indianapolis hospital.\nThe concert, which opened with a performance by local musician Big John, hoped to raise money to help Eury defray some of the large medical and living costs stemming from the accident this August. \nTrevar Charles, 28, Eury's roommate, said the money raised at the concert would be handed over to Eury's parents. \n"It's been really hard on them," Charles said, explaining how Eury's parents, who visited Monday evening before returning to North Carolina, are having trouble seeing their son on a regular basis.\nThe heavy metal band Metal in the Microwave and folk rockers T.V. Mike and the Scarecrows also covered a mixture of Eury's favorite songs from Ween and Metallica and played their own original music. Half of the money made from sales of Metal in the Microwave's products were donated to the benefit concert as well.\nAs the evening progressed, the modest crowd of concert-goers stuffed more than the $5 entrance fee into a glass vase at the front door, happy to give more, they said.\n"We just want to make it so that he has a little bit of money," said Bob Johnson, 46. Johnson said he was encouraged by reports of Eury's progress. "There will be scarring," he said, "but it's not as bad as I thought."\nBarrentine said Eury was doing well, sitting up in his bed Tuesday for about 20 minutes and even standing in place for two more minutes later that day. \n"He's got great care up there. He's in the best place in the world," Barrentine said.\nOther friends of Eury's recalled their feelings when they first found out about the accident.\nAlex Kimmel said Eury had spoken to him two days before the accident about quitting his job because he was concerned about the over-long hours and that the position he was in was giving him too much responsibility.\n"The first emotion I felt was guilt," Kimmel said, adding, "I know it's not Wal-Mart's fault directly, but I still can't shop at Wal-Mart."\nJohnson, who said he was glad the people who cared about Eury had shown up, hopes to hold another event next year to assist Eury as he goes through physical and mental rehabilitation. \n"This is just kind of pocket change for Robert right now," he said.\nThose who wish to help defray Eury's medical costs can send contributions to: Muffler King, ATTN: Donations for Robert Eury, 916 Rowan Ave., Salisbury, NC 28146.
Robert Eury loved playing the guitar. An avid fan of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd, he would pluck out favorite tunes on his guitar, until eventually he became skilled enough to compose his own music and lyrics. \nThat was before this summer, when Eury, 29, of Bloomington, was critically injured in an electrical blast during the construction of the recently opened Wal-Mart Supercenter. Up to 12,000 volts of electricity created an arc that lit him and two of his co-workers on fire Aug. 26. Eury was lucky. He was able to escape the electrified room by crawling outside the back of the building to fellow workers, who stomped the flames out on his body.\nWhile Eury remains in serious condition at the Wishard Memorial Hospital burn unit in Indianapolis, struggling to learn how to raise his arms again, the Bloomington community has rallied around him. Tonight, his friends are holding a benefit concert at Rhino's All-Ages Music Club to help Eury's family cover his enormous medical costs.\n"Robert is one of the hardest-working people I've ever known," said his roommate Trevor Charles, 28, who has been spearheading the event through word-of-mouth and MySpace.com. "It's gotta be pretty tough (for his family)."\nLocal artists Metal in the Microwave, T.V. Mike and the Scarecrows, and the Bloomington street performer Big John are slated to play at the event, which will feature some of Eury's favorite classic rock and \nfolk-country music, with covers of songs by Johnny Cash, Black Sabbath, and, of course, Lynyrd Skynyrd. \nMike Klinge, of the band T.V. Mike and the Scarecrows, said his group will be playing some new songs that haven't even been recorded yet, and expects the evening to be a nice long jam session.\nKlinge, who describes his music as "foot-stomping" folk, said he wanted to help out Eury in some way after hearing about the accident this summer.\n"I thought I could volunteer my services as a musician and play," he said, adding that he thought "it was just kind of shocking that (Wal-Mart) didn't jump in and do something."\nJoy Thomas, 36, of Bloomington, who has been visiting Eury three times a week since the accident, said Eury is making good progress, impressing even the doctors with his recovery. \n"He still has a long way to go, but he's doing really well," she said. "Thank God."\nEury, who received second and third degree burns to 85 percent of his body, received his last major skin graft Nov. 8. After a waiting period to ensure the skin grafting is successful, Eury will be moved to a physical therapy unit in the hospital to slowly work on rebuilding the muscles and flexibility in his body. \n"He's trying really hard," Bob Johnson said, 46 of Bloomington. He said that last week when he visited, Eury "was actually talking to me and answering questions."\nOne of Eury's injured co-workers, Scott Shelton, 35, of Anderson, did not survive the accident. He died last month at the burn center after his heart and kidneys failed. Electrician Stephen Abbott, 27, of Otterbein, Ind., remains in serious condition at Wishard with Eury.\nThomas and Johnson said that while Eury was doing well, the strain put on his family, North Carolina residents, was enormous. \n"It costs a lot of money for them to come here and stay in a motel," Thomas said, explaining how the family, which owns a business in Salisbury, N.C., has been able to afford to pay the bills and visit their son once a month through local donations and the "small percentage" Eury gets through worker's compensation. \n"They are doing the best they can," she said, "but since it's been a while now since the accident, donations have totally stopped"
Representatives for the worker who died as a result of his injuries in an electrical fire at the new Wal-Mart Supercenter filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company Wednesday in the Monroe County Circuit Court. \nWal-Mart Stores, Inc., the LaSalle Group, Inc. and Duke Energy of Indiana are all named in the tort, which asked for monetary damages and demanded a jury trial on behalf of Scott Shelton of Anderson, who died in Wishard Memorial Hospital Oct. 13 when his heart stopped. This is the second lawsuit filed over the construction accident, which happened Aug. 26.\nShelton, 35, who received burns covering 95 percent of his body in the electrical accident, had been in an induced coma at the Wishard burn center since August. He was moved briefly to the Riley Hospital for Children in an effort to stabilize him in September. His family, including fiancé Tamera Sniegowski, had been preparing to file a lawsuit at the time of his death.\nThe Shelton family attorney, William Emerick, is representing the First Merchants Trust \nCompany of Lafayette, which is overseeing Shelton's estate. The lawsuit alleges that Wal-Mart is subject to liability for any carelessness that may have contributed to the electrical accident, specifically because the company had assigned an on-site construction supervisor to monitor the construction project's day-to-day operations.\nShelton, an employee of Electromation, Inc. of Muncie, was injured Aug. 26 while running electrical lines through the main breaker box, with two other men, the lawsuit says. During this task, a piece of metal fell and charged the electrical panels inside the room with up to 12,000 volts of electricity. The resulting electrical arc -- which extended six to eight feet and contained 480 volts of electricity -- sparked a fire in the service room, lighting all three workers on fire. The Wal-Mart Supercenter opened in October.\nThe general contractor, LaSalle, as well as Duke Energy, was also named in the suit for breaching its duty of "reasonable care" by failing to provide for the safety of Shelton. The suit asserts that Shelton's injuries were caused by this breach.\nThe suit asked for a jury trial to determine an unnamed amount of damages for lost earnings, medical and funeral expenses, as well as to compensate Shelton's nine-month-old daughter, Mallory. His funeral was held in Alabama last month.\nRobert Eury, 29, of Bloomington and Steve Abbott, 27, of Otterbein, who were also severely burned in the accident, were listed in serious condition at the Wishard burn center Thursday night.\nAbbott and his wife Stephanie filed a similar lawsuit in October asking for monetary damages and a jury trial for the pain and suffering caused by the accident.
MARTINSVILLE -- The tension in the Morgan County courtroom was thick Monday evening, the small, uncomfortable seats packed with a silent audience of friends, family and the media, all there to hear the ruling in the murder trial of John R. Myers II. \nAs they waited, Marilyn Behrman, sitting in the front row, reached over and patted her son Brian on the back, her other hand holding several squares of folded tissue in her lap. \nAfter 6 1/2 years, the man the Behrmans believed killed their daughter, IU sophomore Jill Behrman, was about to receive a verdict.\nBehrman disappeared May 31, 2000, after she went on an early morning bicycle ride. Her remains were found in 2003 by hunters near Paragon, Ind.\nOnly three jury members glanced toward the defendant's table as they filed in. With a calm demeanor, Myers, 31, stood and listened as Judge Christopher Burnham read the guilty verdict. As Burnham polled each juror to confirm his or her vote, members of the Behrman family broke down into tears. One of Myers' relatives could only shake her head as she listened to the litany of "yeses" from the jury members.\n"I love you, John," his brother Sam Myers said as John Myers, smiling, was led away in handcuffs. \nArms linked, the Myers family quickly exited the building with solemn faces. \nThe Behrman family's relief was palpable. Nancy Behrman, 78, Jill Behrman's grandmother, walked out of the courtroom and gave a thumbs-up with her right hand. \n"It's been an emotional roller-coaster ride," she said. \nJill Behrman's brother, Brian Behrman, 27, red-eyed, said that despite media coverage casting doubt on the prosecution's case, he "always had faith" in them and the jury. \n"I'm not surprised (by the verdict)," he said.\nJill Behrman's father, Eric Behrman, cried as he hugged the members of the prosecution team, all wearing yellow heart-shaped lapel pins with Jill's name on them. Even Indiana State Police 1st Sgt. David Bursten couldn't keep from tearing up. \n"There's probably about four prosecutors in the state of Indiana that would have done what (Sonnega) did," Bursten told the Behrman family as he wiped away tears with the backs of his hands. \n"I'm kind of relieved," Marilyn Behrman said, expressing concern for the many people who had testified against Myers. "I was just worried. What if he got 'not guilty'? How would we protect all of those people who came forward?"\nMarilyn Behrman said she was astonished by the many friends and members of the community who had reached out to help her family throughout the long search for her daughter and the killer.\n"Jill would have been so amazed that so many people cared this much," she said. "Everyone from day one did the best they could with what they had."\nA close group of Jill Behrman's friends hugged both inside and outside the courthouse.\n"I think we're at a loss of words," IU alumna Jillian Richards said, her eyes still watery. "We never thought we'd get justice for Jill."\nMarilyn Schwartzkopf, of Bloomington, who had been helping the family since the day Jill Behrman went missing, said she held her breath while the judge read the verdict.\n"I don't think anything has sunk in yet," she said.\nJill Behrman's grandfather, Lester Behrman, 78, gave some perspective to the joy his family was feeling.\n"Think about what (Myers') grandmother and (his) aunt did," he said, his voice cracking as he referenced the testimonies jurors said had the most impact in swaying their opinion. "We're glad they prayed about it"
The murder trial of John R. Myers II hit its halfway point Wednesday as the prosecution rested its case. Two weeks into the trial that could solve the six-year-old mystery of IU student Jill Behrman's disappearance and death, some aren't convinced the state can win the case.\n"There's no evidence," said law professor Craig Bradley, who specializes in criminal law and procedure and has been paying attention to media reports on the trial. "All (the prosecution has) is a couple of vague statements about this guy saying he felt guilty about something."\nThe state, led by Morgan County prosecutor Steve Sonnega, has presented a case outlining its belief that Myers, an Ellettsville resident, was distraught over a breakup with his girlfriend.\nThough the details are unclear, the prosecution's case argues that somehow Myers lured Behrman into his vehicle May 31, 2000, took her to an isolated wooded area near Paragon, Ind., and then shot her at close range in the back of the head, leaving her body and disposing of the gun. A forensic autopsy also suggested she was raped.\nAuthorities did not locate Behrman's remains until March 2003. Two days after her disappearance, her bike was found in a cornfield outside Ellettsville, which was less than a mile from the trailer Myers lived in at the time. \nThe linchpin in the prosecution's case is the testimony of Myers' own relatives, who asserted that Myers made suspicious comments about Behrman's death.\nMyers' grandmother, Betty Swaffard, broke down in tears while on the stand last week, recounting a conversation she had with Myers in November 2004.\n"I said, 'What's on your mind to upset you so much?'" Swaffard said in her testimony. "He said, 'Grandma, if you just knew the things on my mind ... If the authorities knew, I'd spend the rest of my life in prison.' He said, 'My dad knew, and he took it to the grave with him.'"\nSwaffard testified that her grandson had mentioned he was a suspect in Behrman's disappearance as early as June 27, 2000, when he called to ask her for $200. She told him she only had $10 to give him, and he would have to come to her home to pick it up.\n"He said he couldn't come get it," she said. "He said they have road blocks on Maple Grove (near his home), and he said, 'Don't you know, Grandma? I'm a suspect in the (pause) Jill Behrman murder.'"\nA testimony by Indiana State Police detective Rick Lang Wednesday showed that Myers was not one of his original suspects in the case.\nBesides Myers' grandmother, an aunt, Debbie Bell, said Myers also told her that in 2000, he was afraid of being blamed in the abduction and told her "they haven't found the body yet."\nThe youngest Myers brother, Sam, testified that he kept a 12-gauge shotgun — the same type of weapon used to kill Behrman — at his parents' house, which had gone missing after the summer of 2000. He said to this day he does not know where it is.\nProfessor Emeritus of Law, F. Thomas Schornhorst, who has been been following media reports about the trial, said the case against Myers, which is based solely upon circumstantial evidence, is not uncommon in the legal system. \n"(These cases) often are even more persuasive than cases premised upon notoriously unreliable eyewitness testimony or even questionable confessions of an accused," he said. "A circumstantial case is built brick by brick, and the combination of circumstances may construct a strong case."\nThe prosecution has not had as much success with proving Myers was the only one who could have committed the crime, Bradley said. Bradley, who thinks the prosecution's case is weak, said while the legal team did the best with what they had, he thinks "they just didn't have enough."\nThe defense, led by Indianapolis attorney Patrick Baker, has had much information ruled inadmissible in the court and argues there is no evidence or witness to tie Myers to the crime scene. \nParticularly, Baker has suggested that Behrman was pregnant with an older, married man's child and that she was running away from home on the morning of May 31, 2000. He has suggested through witness questioning that many people knew and were talking about Behrman's disappearance in the community, many of whom were joking that they had killed her. Baker also said a co-worker of Behrman's at the Student Recreational Sports Center, a man known to skeet shoot with a 12-gauge shotgun, could be responsible for her death.\nJill Behrman's parents, Eric and Marilyn Behrman, upset by the statement Baker made to the press about their daughter's supposed pregnancy, released a statement to the press last week calling for Baker to treat her "with fairness, dignity and respect throughout the criminal justice process." \nBaker motioned for a mistrial because of their comments, but was denied by Judge Christopher Burnham.\nAdditionally, an evidence report submitted by Baker Wednesday included an interview from July 19, 2004, with Behrman's mother, in which she told Lang she thought her daughter might have been pregnant.\nAs the trial moves into its second stage, the defense is in the spotlight presenting evidence that can clear Myers' name. \nBradley said he's not convinced of Myers' innocence, but the prosecution hasn't swayed him enough either.\n"Maybe he's guilty, but as for proving him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt?" Bradley asked. "I don't see the basis for that"
MARTINSVILLE -- Wendy K. Owings, 32, of Bloomington, testified Tuesday about her involvement in the Jill Behrman murder case, which stemmed from a false confession of murder. \nIn her testimony, she denied knowing John R. Myers II, the man on trial for killing Behrman in 2000, and said she had never spoken with him.\nIn 2002, Owings told police that she, along with Uriah Clouse and Alisha Sowders, were in Clouse's truck on May, 31, 2000, when they accidentally hit Behrman on her bike. Owings said they panicked, and Clouse threw Behrman, still alive, into the bed of the truck along with her bike. Clouse drove to Salt Creek, and after wrapping Behrman up in an off-white tarp and tying bungee cords around her, he stabbed her, Owings said. Clouse then forced Sowders and Owings to stab her also and then dumped her body into the water, Owings said.\nOwings' confession prompted a massive search by police and FBI that involved building two dams to drain a 7,000-foot section of Salt Creek. But after Behrman's remains were discovered in 2003 in a wooded area near Paragon, Ind. Owings recanted her statement.\nOwings told the court Tuesday she had lied to the FBI about killing Behrman because she was receiving pressure from investigators to tell them any information she might know about the case and because she was afraid of the potential jail time hanging over her head at the time. \n"(I) had 86 years worth of felonies brought against me, and I thought if I didn't tell them ... I'd have all these felonies against me," Owings told the jury.\nOwings said she hoped to received less jail time for providing information.\n"I figured they would just believe what I said and let me go home," she said.\nOwings was originally questioned by the FBI in 2002 after she made a comment at a party stating she had killed Behrman. Baker suggested to the court that Owings wasn't telling the full truth this time either and asked her if she would really lie about killing someone to get out jail.\n"To get out of 86 years, yes, I would, and yes, I did," Owings replied.
MARTINSVILLE -- Four days into the murder trial of John R. Myers II, Jill Behrman's parents accused the defense of breaking Indiana legislative code and denigrating their daughter's character.\nIn a press conference held at the end of the day's testimony, Marilyn and Eric Behrman read a statement to reporters stating they were "appalled" at the statements defense attorney Patrick Baker was making to the press in regards to Jill Behrman's character. \n"Must we be forced to live with Mr. Baker's accusations?" Eric Behrman asked. "Jill is certainly unable to defend herself, just as she was that day in May 2000."\nBaker theorized that Jill Behrman fled her home May 31, pregnant with an older man's baby that she was hiding from her parents.\nThe Behrmans highlighted a part of Indiana law that asserts a "victim has the right to be treated with fairness, dignity and respect throughout the criminal justice process" and asked if Baker was being held to the same standards as the witnesses who are swearing oaths before they testify.\nOn Thursday, Baker continued to cast doubt over Jill Behrman's intentions the Saturday she disappeared, suggesting the 19-year-old was having an affair with a former co-worker and arguing that he should be considered a suspect just as much as Myers.\nBrian Hollars, a former labor coordinator at the Student Recreational Sports Center, denied being romantically involved with Behrman when he testified Thursday. He told the jury he had never dated her, had a romantic interest in her or argued with her. He also denied ever working out with her, sending her e-mail or even knowing her phone number.\n"I absolutely had nothing to do with Jill Behrman's death," the Bloomington firefighter said when asked by the prosecution if he had killed her.\nHollars, who hired Behrman in the early spring of 2000 to work at the SRSC, said he had little personal contact with her as an employee, since she was directly supervised by another co-worker, Wes Burton, who testified Wednesday.\nThe crux of the defense's questioning lay in the 20- and 12-gauge shotguns Hollars owns and uses for hunting birds with his father-in-law. The guns, which are both over-under double-barrel shotguns, have never been examined by the police. Hollars said he offered to show them to police officers when they questioned him at his house, but they declined.\nHe also uses size eight shot, a common size for bird hunting. Lead pellets of a similar size were found near Jill Behrman's remains. Hollars said he does not carry the guns in his vehicle routinely.\n"I believe I was considered a suspect for a lot of coincidental reasons," Hollars said, citing the location where he and his wife used to live, on the corner of Maple Grove Road, as being close to the location where Jill Behrman's bike was found and the fact that he owns a weapon similar to what killed her.\nDuring the intense questioning from both sides, Hollars said on May 31, 2000, he arrived early to work at about 6:30 or 7 a.m. to assist in loading ice chests into a truck for his boss's wife. The only time he might have left the building during the day was to check four athletic fields on campus to ensure their upkeep, he said.\n"I wanted to come in here and at least defend my name and help out at least in this trial," he said. Myers swiveled slightly back and forth in his chair as Hollars testified.\nProsecutor Steve Sonnega told reporters during the lunch break that Baker's legal tactics were only going to alienate him from the jurors. \n"There's not a single piece of evidence tying (Hollars) to her." he said. "There are just a lot of unfounded accusations."\nThe prosecution called Greg Bartlett to the witness stand Thursday afternoon. He told the jury he saw a bicycle, later identified as Jill Behrman's, laying on the side of Maple Grove Road shortly after 4 p.m. May 31, 2000.\nBartlett said he looked around to see if anyone was nearby, and when he saw that there wasn't, he looked in the tool pouch affixed to the bike seat to see if there was identification inside. There wasn't, he said.\nA few days later, while at work, he said he saw in the newspaper that Jill Behrman was missing. The description of her bike and the one he found and put in his barn "matched to a T." He said he thought he had her bike, and then two detectives came to see it. When the jurors asked questions via a slip of paper handed to Judge Christopher Burnham, they wanted to know if Bartlett could have damaged the bicycle while handling it. He said no.\nFour other witnesses testified they saw the bike in that location the afternoon of Jill Behrman's disappearance.\nBrian Behrman, 27, also spoke Thursday morning, recounting his sister's love of biking. \n"She always wanted to keep up with me," he said, explaining how her cycling skills had outpaced his by the time she graduated from high school.\nBrian Behrman said he was "fairly close" to his sister and said she didn't date anyone in particular during her freshman year. He also told the jury she had no favorite route that she normally took while bicycling, disagreeing with the defense when they tried to suggest she might have been riding on the south end of town, near South Harrell Road.\n"There were multiple reports -- she was placed all over Bloomington (by witnesses after she disappeared)," he said.\nWhile he remained calm and focused during most of the questioning, Brian Behrman broke down in tears when remembering the day his sister disappeared, explaining how his father came to him and told him she was missing.\n"I wanted to be able to say more at the end, but I was choked up," he said in the hallway after his testimony. "It's something I've been nervous about for a long time."\n-- IDS Managing Editor Kacie Foster contributed to this article.
MARTINSVILLE — Prosecutors presented photos of the remains of murdered IU student Jill Behrman in court Tuesday, as part of the second day of the murder trial of John R. Myers II.\nThe evidence included graphic photos of her bones scattered across a wooded area in rural Morgan County and the reconstruction of her skull, which sustained a single gunshot wound from behind.\nForensic specialist Stephen Nawrocki presented evidence that Behrman was shot in the location her body was found and that her bones showed no signs of being hit by a vehicle, which was previously one of the police theories about her May 2000 disappearance. \n"There was no blunt force trauma, no knife wounds (on the bones)," testified Nawrocki, a professor of anthropology and biology at the University of Indianapolis and a professional forensic anthropologist.\nNawrocki, who led the excavation of the site where Behrman's remains were recovered in 2003, said the pattern of fractures on her bones, including how the bone fragments were recovered at the scene, indicated that she was shot in the back of the head at an extremely close range and that her body was not moved or buried after the shooting.\n"In my report I suggested the remains had been there for more than two years," Nawrocki said, adding that the evidence, like the discoloration of the bones from decomposition, indicated "that this person came to rest at this place." \nAmong the items found in the vicinity of Behrman's remains were a pair of earrings, a porcelain-gold dental bridge, some reddish elastic material, 380 lead pellets, a plastic shot shell wad and a 20" long wooden piece not clearly identified. The defense objected to the exhibit of the wooden piece, which Nawrocki had tentatively identified in his initial report as a gun part. Morgan Superior Court Judge Christopher Burnham told the jury to ignore that description, and no photos of it were shown in court.\nUnder questioning from the defense, Nawrocki agreed that though evidence showed Behrman was shot, it did not prove that was the cause of death. She could have died from stabbing, strangulation, a drug overdose, drowning or even natural causes that the skeletal evidence would not show, he said. The only additional trauma beyond the gunshot wound was caused by carnivores scattering the remains, Nawrocki said.\nWitnesses testified that Behrman's love of cycling — which police say sent her on a ride the morning she disappeared — also helped positively identify her. When Behrman was 11, she was involved in a bicycle accident that knocked one of her upper teeth loose and threatened to affect two others next to it, her orthodontist Dr. John Coghlan testified. Eventually she would need crowns, and these, along with a dental bridge, were put in by her Bloomington dentist, Dr. Marc Smith, when she turned 16.\n"There's no question — this is the bridge that I installed in Jill Behrman's mouth," Smith said upon examining the three-unit bridge that was found in the excavation. Her upper jaw was never found.\nNawrocki testified that missing bones may indicate she suffered trauma in those places because animals are often attracted to wounded areas. \nEdwin Parks, a dentist specializing in forensics with experience in similar identification cases, showed how Behrman's dental records lined up with the teeth found in Morgan County, down to the exact positions of four wisdom teeth and a baby tooth in the lower jaw. \nBehrman's parents, Eric and Marilyn Behrman, are slated to testify Wednesday. Marilyn, along with several relatives, was at the courthouse Tuesday, though she remained out of the courtroom. She said she was assisting the prosecution during breaks. \nOther relatives, including an aunt from Arizona, sat through the grisly images projected during the trial, their faces motionless as they viewed the detailed photographs. During a break, paternal grandparents Lester and Nancy Behrman, both 78, of Westport, Ind., wondered aloud about their granddaughter's fate.\n"We laid awake for six years wondering what had happened, wondering if we could find out," said Lester Behrman. "Now we're listening to what they think happened. Did she try to get away? How long did he keep her alive?"\nNancy Behrman said she was comforted that Jill was in heaven. "I know she's up there; I know she's busy. I know it's better for her up there," she said\n"It just breaks your heart to know what happened," she added. "You feel like you're not doing enough"
A worker severely burned in an electrical accident this August at the construction site for the new Wal-Mart Supercenter in Bloomington died Friday.\nScott Shelton, of Anderson, passed away at about 10:45 p.m. Friday in the burn center at Wishard Memorial Hospital after his heart stopped, according to hospital officials and family members. He was unable to be resuscitated.\nShelton, 35, who received burns covering 95 percent of his body, had been in an induced coma at the Wishard burn center. He was moved briefly to the Riley Hospital for Children in an effort to stabilize him in September.\nShelton, an employee of Electromation Inc., in Muncie, was injured Aug. 26 after an electrical panel he and two other men were working on was charged with 12,000 volts of electricity and shorted. The resulting electrical arc -- which extended six to eight feet -- sparked a fire in the service room, lighting all three workers on fire. \nLarry Shelton, Scott's father, declined to speak in detail about his son's death but said the family will be making funeral arrangement in Alabama, where he is from originally.\n"He was a wonderful man and an even better daddy to his daughter, Mallory," family friend Janell Kerr said, adding that the accident and subsequent medical care Shelton needed had been very stressful on the family and his fiancee, Tammy Sniegowski.\nThe Shelton family is in the process of preparing a lawsuit against several of the companies involved in the incident, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., with their attorney William Emerick, who said they would be filing it soon. \nAnother injured worker, Stephen Abbott, and his family have already filed a lawsuit in Monroe County, citing safety negligence on the part of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the LaSalle Group Inc., which was the general contractor at the site, and Duke Energy. In addition, Abbott's lawsuit said that prior to the day of the accident, the electricians had worked on the electrical units only when the power was off.\nThe Occupational Safety & Health Administration is currently investigating the incident as well.\nRobert Eury, 29, of Bloomington, and Abbott, 27, of Otterbein, Ind., who were both burned in the accident along with Shelton, remained in serious but stable condition at Wishard Hospital on Sunday night.\nShelton is survived by his parents, Larry and Janet Shelton, of Alabama; his fiancee, Tammy Sniegowski, and a seven-month-old daughter, Mallory Shelton, both of Anderson; and several siblings, cousins and other extended family members in both Tennessee and Alabama.
A worker severely burned in an electrical accident this August at the construction site for the new Wal-Mart Supercenter died Friday.\nScott Shelton, Anderson, died at about 10:45 p.m. Friday in the burn center at Wishard Memorial Hospital after his heart stopped, according to hospital officials and family members. He was unable to be resuscitated.\nShelton, 35, an employee of Electromation Inc., in Muncie, received burns covering 95 percent of his body after an electrical panel he and two other men were working on was charged with 12,000 volts of electricity and shorted. The resulting electrical arc -- which extended six to eight feet -- sparked a fire in the service room, lighting all three men on fire.\nLarry Shelton, Scott's father, declined to speak in detail about his son's death but said the family will be making funeral arrangement in Alabama, where he is from originally.\nRobert Eury, 29, Bloomington, and Stephen Abbott, 27, Otterbein, Ind., who were also burned in the accident, remained in serious but stable condition at Wishard Hospital on Sunday night.\nShelton is survived by his parents, Larry and Janet Shelton, of Alabama; his fiancée, Tammy Sniegowski, and a seven-month-old daughter, Mallory Shelton, both of Anderson; and several siblings, cousins and other extended family members in both Tennessee and Alabama.
After six years, the mystery surrounding then-19-year-old IU student Jill Behrman's disappearance and death might finally be solved.\nThe trial of John R. Myers II -- the Ellettsville man who was indicted for Behrman's death in April by a Morgan County grand jury -- begins today. Behrman's parents are expected to testify Wednesday.\nMyers, 30, has pleaded not guilty to the count of murder against him. \nThe trial, which is scheduled to run Monday through Saturday, is expected to last between two and four weeks. Fifteen jurors have been selected to listen to testimony. The final 12 will be chosen at the end of the presentation of evidence by both the plaintiff and the defense.\nThe first day of the trial will start with a hearing on a series of motions, including the belated notice of alibi that Myers' lawyer, Patrick Baker, Indianapolis, filed for his client Sept. 25, well past the Aug. 1 deadline for trial evidence.\nIn the motion, Baker argued that after reviewing the grand jury's extensive transcript, which is 6,185 pages long, he found evidence of his client's alibi for the day Behrman went missing. Many of the details of the grand jury investigation, which include interviews with more than 90 witnesses, remain sealed to the public. \nThough the details of the alibi were not released, Baker said in the motion that the alibi involves telephone records of a conversation or conversations between Myers and a female witness who was deposed by the defense Aug. 11.\nThrough "third-party requests" at the end of August, the defense was able to retrieve these telephone records from the Smithville Telephone Company of Ellettsville and CenturyTel of Tennessee.\nIf Morgan Superior Court Judge Christopher Burnham agrees to include the alibi as evidence in the trial, it will become Exhibit A.\nOpening arguments will be held at the end of the motion hearing, which David Remondini, the media relations representative for the Indiana Supreme Court, said might not start until Monday afternoon or even Tuesday morning. \nBehrman's mother Marilyn said she and her husband are scheduled to testify for the court Wednesday.\nAfter both the state and the defense give their opening statements, the state, represented by Morgan County prosecutor Steven Sonnega, will begin to present its evidence to the court and the jury. \nBehrman went missing May 31, 2000, during a morning bike ride through the countryside surrounding the Bloomington area. Her bike was found two days later in a cornfield outside of Ellettsville. \nAlmost three years after her disappearance, hunters in rural Morgan County stumbled upon Behrman's skeletal remains and a grand jury began to investigate her death.\nAccording to the Indiana State Police, Myers became a person of interest in December 2004.
A worker severely burned in an electrical accident this August at the construction site for the new Wal-Mart Supercenter died Friday.\nScott Shelton, Anderson, died at about 10:45 p.m. Friday in the burn center at Wishard Memorial Hospital after his heart stopped, according to hospital officials and family members. He was unable to be resuscitated.\nShelton, 35, an employee of Electromation Inc., in Muncie, received burns covering 95 percent of his body after an electrical panel he and two other men were working on was charged with 12,000 volts of electricity and shorted. The resulting electrical arc -- which extended six to eight feet -- sparked a fire in the service room, lighting all three men on fire.\nLarry Shelton, Scott's father, declined to speak in detail about his son's death but said the family will be making funeral arrangement in Alabama, where he is from originally.\nRobert Eury, 29, Bloomington, and Stephen Abbott, 27, Otterbein, Ind., who were also burned in the accident, remained in serious but stable condition at Wishard Hospital on Sunday night.\nShelton is survived by his parents, Larry and Janet Shelton, of Alabama; his fiancée, Tammy Sniegowski, and a seven-month-old daughter, Mallory Shelton, both of Anderson; and several siblings, cousins and other extended family members in both Tennessee and Alabama.
Three days after the family of a man severely burned in an August electrical fire at the new Bloomington Wal-Mart Supercenter filed suit against Wal-Mart and two other companies, a lawyer for another worker's family members said they are planning on suing.\nThe family of Scott Shelton, 35, an Anderson resident injured in the same fire, is preparing a lawsuit, said attorney William Emerick, who works for the law firm of Stuart & Branigin in Lafayette.\n"It's my expectation that we will have a lawsuit filed shortly," Emerick said in a phone interview Monday. \nEmerick did not say which companies his clients would be suing, but it is possible they could name the same ones as Stephen Abbott, 27, of Otterbein, Ind., and his wife did last week in their suit, which listed complaints against Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the LaSalle Group, Inc., and Duke Energy.\nAbbott's suit was filed Friday in the Monroe Circuit Court, alleging that the companies failed to provide proper safety supervision, among other things. The suit asked for a jury trial to determine an unnamed amount of damages for lost wages, as well as pain and suffering.\nThe men, who were employees of Electromation, Inc., of Muncie, were critically injured Aug. 26 after the electrical panels they were working on in a small back room of the under-construction Wal-Mart store became charged with up to 12,000 volts of electricity and shorted. The electrical charge sent an energy arc sparking out six to eight feet, lighting the men on fire. The lawsuit said that prior to Aug. 26, the contractors had worked on electrical units only when the power was off.\nFamily members of Bloomington resident Robert Eury, 29, also injured in the fire, said they are still considering their legal options.\nBoth the Eury and Shelton families said they are having difficulty coping with their sons' medical needs, as they live outside the state. The Sheltons live in northern Alabama and the Eurys live in North Carolina. \nShade Eury, Robert Eury's brother, who runs the family business with another brother in Salisbury, N.C., said family members have been driving back and forth to keep an eye on Robert, who is known to the family by his middle name, Byron.\n"Byron is doing better than both of (the other men)," Shade said, adding that he still has more skin grafts and operation ahead of him.\nShelton is currently in critical condition in Wishard Memorial Hospital's burn center in Indianapolis, along with Abbott and Eury. \nAll three men are a month and a half into at least a three-month long process of growing and grafting new skin onto their bodies, a burn center nurse told the Indiana Daily Student in an article last month. Eury received second- and third-degree burns to 85 percent of his body, while both Abbott and Shelton had more than 90 percent of their bodies burned.
One of the workers critically injured in an electrical accident at the new Wal-Mart Supercenter is suing the multi-national corporation, along with the general contractor, LaSalle Group, Inc., and Duke Energy.\nThe lawsuit was filed for Stephen Abbott, 27, of Otterbein, Ind., and his wife Stephanie Friday at the Monroe Circuit Court. Attorney John Boren of Martinsville is representing the plaintiffs.\nAbbott and two of his co-workers, Robert Eury, 29, of Bloomington, and Scott Shelton, 35, of Anderson, were severely burned Aug. 26 after the electrical panels they were working on became charged with up to 12,000 volts of electricity and shorted, sending an energy arc sparking out and lighting the men on fire. The lawsuit said that prior to Aug. 26, the contractors had worked on electrical units only when the power was off. The men all worked for Electromation, Inc. of Muncie, which was not named in the suit. \nIn the lawsuit, the Abbots accuse Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. of not providing a safe work site and state that the company is liable because it hired the on-site construction supervisor who monitored the day-to-day operation of the project with the general contractor, LaSalle Group, Inc. \nLaSalle Group, Inc., is accused of failing to provide a safe work place by not hiring safety supervisors, not making timely inspections or holding effective safety meetings and providing inadequate safety supervision.\nIn addition, the lawsuit says Duke Energy did not conform to industry or governmental standards.\nThe Abbotts are asking to be awarded damages "in an amount sufficient to compensate them for their losses" and are requesting a jury trial to determine these amounts. \nThe lawsuit said that, among other things, the Abbotts, who have two children, have suffered physical and emotional pain, the loss of income, the loss of quality of life and incurred medical expenses.\nFriends and co-workers say the men were not wearing protective gear while they worked with the live service wires to the building.\n"He wore the same thing to work every day -- a T-shirt and jeans," Eury's friend Bob Johnson, 46, of Bloomington told the Indiana Daily Student Sept. 6.\nAbbott suffered second- and third-degree burns to more than 90 percent of his body, the lawsuit said. Sunday night, a month and a half after the accident, all three men remained in critical condition in Wishard Hospital's burn center in Indianapolis.\nThe men have at least a month and a half more of in-patient recovery time ahead of them, as the burn center grafts newly grown skin onto their bodies.