GUILTY IN - Melinda Lindsey, 23, shot to death, Porter County, 16 Jan 2015 - #1

[Nikk]

When a jam occurs it, if the gun is so equipped, it may trigger the lock device as a safety measure. By locking it open the next bullet in the chamber will not advance when you clear the jammed spent casing, preventing you from shooting someone while attemting to clearing the chamber. This tends to freak a novice out as they are unsure about clearing the chamber & even if successful may not know the lock has been activated preventing them from firing a second bullet.

 

[molly1255]

When a jam occurs it, if the gun is so equipped, it may trigger the lock device as a safety measure. By locking it open the next bullet in the chamber will not advance when you clear the jammed spent casing, preventing you from shooting someone while attemting to clearing the chamber. This tends to freak a novice out as they are unsure about clearing the chamber & even if successful may not know the lock has been activated preventing them from firing a second bullet.

Thank you. As many times as I've read the newspaper articles, it didn't occur to me the gun may have been jammed.

 

[Snowhite]

I think that is likely what is going on and her family wants to ensure the child gets the money as her next of kin.

I doubt either side would have any control over who gets the money....Wouldn't it go into a trust for the child anyway?

 

[Tina Grant]

I doubt either side would have any control over who gets the money....Wouldn't it go into a trust for the child anyway?

I doubt if there will be any money. If I were the insurance company I would fight it tooth and nail.

 

[starshine4u]

I doubt if there will be any money. If I were the insurance company I would fight it tooth and nail.

Your exactly right. Since the policy is under 2 years old it has already been contested by the company and there won't be any payouts to anyone, although they have to wait until this criminal case has been adjudicated to make that official.

 

[Snowhite]

Your exactly right. Since the policy is under 2 years old it has already been contested by the company and there won't be any payouts to anyone, although they have to wait until this criminal case has been adjudicated to make that official.

What a shame for the little girl.I was thinking at least she would have something from this tragedy to insure her future.

 

[Toralei]

Your exactly right. Since the policy is under 2 years old it has already been contested by the company and there won't be any payouts to anyone, although they have to wait until this criminal case has been adjudicated to make that official.

And that's why I quit working for the insurance industry. The right thing to do would be to pay it to the baby, set up a trust account with an attorney in charge. No one gets the money but Baby Girl and that when she turns 35.
But then again, I want to live in a world where husband's don't murder their wives...

 

[starshine4u]

And that's why I quit working for the insurance industry. The right thing to do would be to pay it to the baby, set up a trust account with an attorney in charge. No one gets the money but Baby Girl and that when she turns 35.
But then again, I want to live in a world where husband's don't murder their wives...

And that would have happened if the policy had been more then 2 years old.

 

[HistoryNut]

Your exactly right. Since the policy is under 2 years old it has already been contested by the company and there won't be any payouts to anyone, although they have to wait until this criminal case has been adjudicated to make that official.

I'm not surprised the insurance company has contested paying on the policy, but I would think Melinda's family could make a very strong case that issuing a $1.1 million dollar policy put their daughter's life in jeopardy. JMO.

 

[HistoryNut]

As you said, we only have his word for it that she even slept with the gun. She knew her husband was home that night when she went to bed and to sleep, so why would she even need to have the gun out? I don't think she was afraid of a stalker, and I also don't think it ever crossed her mind that her husband might kill her. Just my opinion, but this is so tragic.

Just a thought....maybe she was afraid of her husband. According to sethersoulfree, in the weeks leading up to her murder, she told her friends she was looking for a way out. They were fighting about money and the baby and they were talking about divorce. I cannot imagine the environment in that house was good.

 

[Safeguard]

Melinda's parents would need to sue for estate rights, in order to collect social security payments for the child later on, should they succeed in the custody case.
This is probably one step in the process of obtaining custody. I doubt they have much more on there minds, (like Blood Money), than the baby girl right now.

 

[molly1255]

Your exactly right. Since the policy is under 2 years old it has already been contested by the company and there won't be any payouts to anyone, although they have to wait until this criminal case has been adjudicated to make that official.

It is interesting that the insurance company is waiting to see if there is a conviction before making an official determination of the adjudication of the claim. To me that says that they have been unable to prove fraud or misrepresentation, which are the two reasons in which they would be able to flat-out deny the claim. A misrepresentation would be lying about your health or health history or financial circumstances on the application. If they were able to prove that right now, I think they would just deny the claim.

IMO, they are waiting for a conviction before denying benefits to SL, per the Indiana slayer statute. But I think it is way too soon to say there isn't going to be a payout or who will receive the payout if it happens. I really think the only way they are going to be able to flat out deny this claim is if Melinda herself lied on the application and the insurance company can prove she lied and it was a "material" lie, meaning they would not have issued the policy if she had told the truth.

As far as contesting the claim, I can't help but wonder if that could have something to do with a possible named contingent beneficiary, who may not have had an insurable interest in Melinda's life. I don't know.

 

[molly1255]

I'm not surprised the insurance company has contested paying on the policy, but I would think Melinda's family could make a very strong case that issuing a $1.1 million dollar policy put their daughter's life in jeopardy. JMO.

I have seen that happen with the family winning a huge settlement. The application was also fraudulent (but the deceased did not commit the fraud), the murderer committed the fraud, and the policy was also less than two years old when the murder happened.

 

[MyBelle]

I'm not surprised the insurance company has contested paying on the policy, but I would think Melinda's family could make a very strong case that issuing a $1.1 million dollar policy put their daughter's life in jeopardy. JMO.

I agree completely.

 

[molly1255]

Just a thought....maybe she was afraid of her husband. According to sethersoulfree, in the weeks leading up to her murder, she told her friends she was looking for a way out. They were fighting about money and the baby and they were talking about divorce. I cannot imagine the environment in that house was good.

Could be - but again, I tend not to believe anything he has reported as being truthful. I do agree that the environment was probably not good in that house.

 

[Safeguard]

Could be - but again, I tend not to believe anything he has reported as being truthful. I do agree that the environment was probably not good in that house.

I can imagine that Steve was secretive, uncommunicative/deliberately vauge, with an implied/veiled threat and/ or insult in anything he did say/ do... :/

 

[Toralei]

I can imagine that Steve was uncommunicative/deliberately vauge, with an implied/veiled threat and/ or insult in anything he did say/ do... :/

Yes, and passively aggressive insulting and critical of everything Melinda said and did.

 

[skinnycat]

I would think that the insurance agent that wrote this policy is under some sort of scrutiny from the company, it seems very unethical to insure a 23 year old housewife for that much.

I think that it is safe to say that SL will never see a penny of this money.

I hope that the insurance company has to pay the policy, to baby girl and Melinda's family, they allowed the policy to be issued so therefor they should pay. I don't think Melinda realized that an insurance policy was in reality a death warrant.

 

[HistoryNut]

I have seen that happen with the family winning a huge settlement. The application was also fraudulent (but the deceased did not commit the fraud), the murderer committed the fraud, and the policy was also less than two years old when the murder happened.

A question for you...do you know if there are any industry standards or what the limits would be on the amount of life insurance on a 23 year-old stay-at-home mom? I am still flabbergasted at the $1.1 million amount. It doesn't make any sense that an insurance company would underwrite that high of an amount.

 

[Safeguard]

A question for you...do you know if there are any industry standards or what the limits would be on the amount of life insurance on a 23 year-old stay-at-home mom? I am still flabbergasted at the $1.1 million amount. It doesn't make any sense that an insurance company would underwrite that high of an amount.

I wonder about this too. The only thing I can think of, is could they have possibly factored in the amount of money Melinda could have been worth, in her chosen profession as an exotic dancer? She was so lovely, and there is potential to earn HUGE bank in that industry.