GUILTY IN - Joseph Nelson, 35, shot to death, Warrick County, 17 Feb 2014

The Warrick County Sheriff's Office says it is conducting a death investigation after a body was found.

According to Sheriff Brett Kruse, the body of a man was found at the Warrick Alcoa Operations around 8:15 Monday morning.

The sheriff says it was discovered by employees at the coal handling system.

Authorities tell us the body is not that of an Alcoa worker. Deputies are now checking coal mines, docks and barges to see if any workers are missing.

14 News asked Sheriff Kruse if it could be the man who jumped from the Twin Bridges last weekend. He says authorities have no reason to believe so.

The sheriff says the man is about 30-years-old, around 5'9" to 5'10" tall and 160 to 170 pounds. Authorities say the man has a tattoo of a dragon on his right upper arm and wearing blue jeans, white shirt and a blue Nike hooded sweatshirt. He has dark hair worn in a crew cut fashion.

Deputies are asking anyone with information about his identity to please contact the Warrick County Sheriff's Office at 897-6180.

An autopsy is scheduled for Monday afternoon.

http://www.14news.com/story/24745644/death-investigation-underway-after-body-found-in-warrick-co

The Warrick County Sheriff's Office has identified the body of a man found at the Alcoa Plant on Monday as 35-year-old Joseph Nelson. According to Sheriff Brett Kruse, Nelson's last known address was in Martinsville, Ind.

Kruse said investigators believe foul play could be involved because Nelson's injuries "are not consistent with an accident." However, Kruse declined to release specifics about Nelson's injuries.

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http://www.courierpress.com/news/2014/feb/17/body-found-alcoa-plant-warrick-county/

http://archive.indystar.com/article/20140218/NEWS02/302180005/Foul-play-suspected-death-Alcoa-plant

NEWBURGH, IN (WFIE) -
New information has been released in a Warrick County murder case. The three suspects, 30-year-old David Lackey Jr., 22-year-old Jade Stigall and 25-year-old Shawn Grigsby, appeared in court Tuesday. They face murder and conspiracy to commit murder charges in the death of 35-year-old Joseph Nelson of Martinsville, Indiana. Court documents say there could also be another arrest soon in the case. Authorities say Nelson died from a gunshot wound to the head. They say his body was found on a conveyor belt at Alcoa's power plant last week. The probable cause affidavit says Nelson was staying with Stigall in an Evansville hotel room. She says he made her feel uncomfortable so she called Lackey and asked him to pick her up. A close friend tells 14 News Stigall and Lackey are in a relationship. The affidavit says that incident led to the shooting. Authorities say the gun was thrown in the sewer, but it has been recovered.
http://www.14news.com/story/24817588/affidavit-incident-with-female-suspect-led-to-mans-murder

http://www.elkharttruth.com/news/in...-pleads-guilty-in-Warrick-County-slaying.html

Jade Stigall appeared in Warrick Court Superior Court on Monday and pleaded guilty to assisting a criminal. In exchange for the guilty plea, murder, conspiracy to commit murder and a firearm charge were dismissed...

Two men, David John Lackey, Jr. and Mathew McCallister, are awaiting trial on murder charges in Nelson’s death. Shawn Grigsby pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Stigall will be sentenced April 9.

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From June 2015:

http://www.courierpress.com/news/cr...k-county-slaying-ep-1161166879-325471161.html

A Boonville man who could have received as much as 65 years in prison in a Warrick County slaying case will instead serve nine months home detention.

On Friday, David Lackey Jr., 31, received a four-year sentence in return for his earlier guilty plea to a newly filed charge of assisting a criminal...

Stigall, McCallister, Grigsby and Lackey met Nelson at a hotel in Evansville and then drove to a location near a railroad track in Northern Warrick County. There, according to probable cause affidavits, Nelson was made to kneel with his hands behind his back and was shot in the back of the head.

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Earlier this month:

http://www.tristatehomepage.com/news/local-news/motion-to-dismiss-murder-charge-denied

McCallister goes to trial April 4.

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McCallister convicted of murder in Warrick County slaying case - July 2016

http://archive.courierpress.com/news/crime/warrick-county-murder-case-goes-to-jury-37ea42d7-d32d-2ff1-e053-0100007f64b9-387313521.html

Warrick County jurors Monday night deliberated almost four hours before recommending a life without parole sentence for Mathew McCallister after convicting him of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

The jury in Warrick Superior Court No. 1 took less than two hours to reach guilty verdicts Monday after hearing four days of testimony last week and being sent home for the weekend.

McCallister was convicted of killing Joseph Nelson, 35, of Martinsville, Indiana, in what Prosecutor Mike Perry described as an "execution-style" shooting in Feb. 17, 2014 by the railroad track of a mine supplying coal to Alcoa.

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McCallister sentenced to life without parole in Warrick County slaying - August 2016

http://www.courierpress.com/story/news/crime/2016/08/23/mccallister-sentenced-life-without-parole-warrick-county-slaying/89116940/

Convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, Mathew McCallister continued to maintain his innocence Tuesday as a judge sentenced him to life without parole for the 2014 slaying of Joseph Nelson.

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Glen Nelson described his son as creative, easy-going and gifted with computers and music.

"It was just senseless and wasteful," he said.

Prosecutors also played a video recording of Stephanie Fleener, the mother of Nelson's autistic, nine-year-old son Dylan. While her son played in the background she described Nelson's joy at being a father, even after the couple had broken up.

"When I met Joe the only thing he really wanted was a family. From the moment I gave birth Joe was there. He loved his son very, very much. Having the son he wanted brought out the kid in Joe. After we split up he continued to be involved in his son's life," she said.

"Right now Dylan doesn't understand what's going on or what happened to his father but it tears me up that I'm going to have to tell him someday."

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February 2018:

Supreme Court upholds LWOP for execution-style murder | 2018-02-15 | The Indiana Lawyer

A southern Indiana man convicted of murder in the shooting death of a man at a power plant will spend the rest of his life in prison after the Indiana Supreme Court upheld his sentence of life without parole.

The court handed down its decision Thursday in Mathew W. McCallister v. State of Indiana, 87S00-1600-LW-497.

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In his direct appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court, McCallister first argued his convictions were not supported by sufficient evidence. But the unanimous court disagreed, with Justice Geoffrey Slaughter writing that while there was conflicting evidence as to whether McCallister pulled the trigger, other evidence — including video surveillance and his sister’s testimony — supported the jury’s verdict.

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