IN IN - Laurel Mitchell, 17, North Webster, 6 Aug 1975

[Mrs. Hertel]

I would be very interested to share with you.

Thank you for your willingness to share. I am extremely sensitive to the families involved and would prefer to keep information confidential until it is validated. Can you message me privately on Facebook or email: staciahertel3@yahoo.com

 

[rainwaterstill]

Does anyone have any information about Cokesbury Inn, where she worked?

The descriptions I have seen all refer to it as a "small restaurant."

I have often wondered if that singing group was not from Delphi, Indiana, but if they were actually from the small town of Delphos, Ohio instead. Delphos would be about a hour and 40 minute drive, roughly 94 miles, from North Webster. Hopefully LE has reached out to Delphos residents and the surrounding Ohio counties for more info on the group.

 

[Laker]

Lori Brickley, 13, from Markle, IN was my mom’s first cousin. It has been said that the family knew who murdered her, but he was a wealthy and well known member of the local community. Before googling Lori’s name, my mom had told me she was always told that there was a connection to a murder in North Webster, due to the wealthy man having a lake cottage in that community.

 

[Falling Down]

Arrests made in the murder of Laurel Mitchell.

Per WPTA's Tylor Brummett:
BREAKING: State Police say 2 men have been arrested in the cold case of 17-year-old Laurel Mitchell. Those men have been Identified as Fred Bandy Jr., 67 of Goshen and John Wayne Lehman, 67, of Auburn.
All reactions:
77

1 comment

ISP: Two men arrested in half-century cold case murder in Albion

Indiana State Police (ISP) and the Noble County Prosecutor held a press conference Tuesday morning to give an update in a decades-old unsolved murder out of Albion.

www.21alivenews.com

 

[twall]

Arrests made in the murder of Laurel Mitchell.

Per WPTA's Tylor Brummett:
BREAKING: State Police say 2 men have been arrested in the cold case of 17-year-old Laurel Mitchell. Those men have been Identified as Fred Bandy Jr., 67 of Goshen and John Wayne Lehman, 67, of Auburn.
All reactions:
77

1 comment

ISP: Two men arrested in half-century cold case murder in Albion

Indiana State Police (ISP) and the Noble County Prosecutor held a press conference Tuesday morning to give an update in a decades-old unsolved murder out of Albion.

www.21alivenews.com

OMG! Just saw this on my FB feed. I live in Albion and wondered what was going on when I was in town this morning and saw the media. I have never heard of this case but I was only 6 years old in 1975. Goes to show never give up on justice!

 

[twall]

Two Local Men Arrested In The 1975 Cold Case Death Investigation Of Laurel Jean Mitchell

On Monday, Feb. 6, the Indiana State Police arrested two men alleged to be responsible for the death of Laurel Jean Mitchell in 1975, an investigation which has spanned the course of nearly a half century.

www.inkfreenews.com

Could New Technology Provide Insights In North Webster Cold Case?

Will advancements in crime-solving technology eventually lead to answers in the 1975 unsolved murder of a North Webster teen?

www.inkfreenews.com

 

[FrostedGlass]

John Wayne Lehman
Case Number 57C01-2302-MR-000001
Court Noble Circuit Court
Type MR - Murder

Fred Bandy
Case Number 57C01-2302-MR-000002
Court Noble Circuit Court
Type MR - Murder

02/08/2023

Initial Hearing Session: 02/08/2023 12:50 PM, Judicial Officers: Kramer, Michael J; Laur, G. David - SR Comment:*DEF IN PERSON

 

[twall]

Bandy is a repeat child molester.

Judge gives 6-year sentence to repeat child molester

ALBION — The mother of a 10-year-old girl who was molested told a Noble County judge her daughter has tried to commit suicide twice, wakes up screaming in the middle

www.kpcnews.com

 

[FrostedGlass]

Bandy is a repeat child molester.

Judge gives 6-year sentence to repeat child molester

ALBION — The mother of a 10-year-old girl who was molested told a Noble County judge her daughter has tried to commit suicide twice, wakes up screaming in the middle

www.kpcnews.com

I'm puzzled why the sentences were to be served concurrently:
[snips]
Laur said he would have given Bandy even more prison time, if not for the constraints of a plea agreement.

“I’m not going to add to the victims’ situation and make them go through trials” by rejecting the plea, Laur said.

The sentences will be served concurrently,

Noble County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Kelly Morris said the plea didn’t stipulate concurrent sentencing, and that it left the matter for Laur to decide.

 

[twall]

I'm puzzled why the sentences were to be served concurrently:
[snips]
Laur said he would have given Bandy even more prison time, if not for the constraints of a plea agreement.

“I’m not going to add to the victims’ situation and make them go through trials” by rejecting the plea, Laur said.

The sentences will be served concurrently,

Noble County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Kelly Morris said the plea didn’t stipulate concurrent sentencing, and that it left the matter for Laur to decide.

The article states the concurrent sentencing was agreed to in the plea and the judge did not reject it.

snip-
Laur recalled Thursday that during the change of plea hearing earlier this year it was decided the sentences should run concurrently. That hearing’s audio record was retrieved, and it verified Laur did ask about concurrent or consecutive sentences, to which Bandy, public defender James Abbs and Morris agreed to concurrent. Morris and Bandy both initialed the plea agreement at that time.

That handcuffed Laur’s ability to give a lengthier sentence, since the plea agreement set a term of up to six years of executed time. He explained to the victim’s mother that if he were to reject the agreement, the case would go to trial and her daughter would have to testify in court about the incidents.

 

[twall]

Police received numerous tips over the years but nothing that could lead to an arrest.

Then in 2013, Noble County Sheriff's Department Detective Lt. Shawn Dunafin was contacted by a women from Port Charlotte, Florida, who claimed to have information relating to the Mitchell murder. Dunafin interviewed the woman in Florida on June 7, 2013.

The woman told Dunafin that she had lived in Noble County as a teenager, and that she was 16 years old in 1975. She alleged she had gone on a date with Lehman and while on the date, Lehman allegedly admitted his involvement in a crime that he committed with his friend, Fred Bandy.

On July 3, 2014, Kevin Smith, now a captain with the Indiana State Police, interviewed a man at the Ligonier Police Department who had been a student at West Noble High School in 1975. That man told Smith that he socialized with Fred Bandy Jr. and that Bandy told him that Bandy had committed the murder that had taken place at Mallard's Roost.

On Sept. 25, 2019, Noble County Sheriff's Department Detective Sgt. Joe Hustell interviewed a man who allegedly said that had attended a a high school party in 1975 with Bandy and Lehman. According to court documents, "while at the party, a conversation about the murder of Laurel J. Mitchell camp up, and Fred Bandy Jr. stated he and John Wayne Lehman committed that crime together."

DNA evidence from Mitchell's clothing was resubmitted to the Indiana State Police Laboratory in 2019.

Bandy provided a voluntary DNA sample to police on Dec. 5, 2022.

Murder charged in 1975 death

ALBION — Two men have been charged in the murder of a 17-year-old North Webster girl found drowned on the Elkhart River in Noble County in August 1975.

www.kpcnews.com

 

[FrostedGlass]

The article states the concurrent sentencing was agreed to in the plea and the judge did not reject it.

snip-
Laur recalled Thursday that during the change of plea hearing earlier this year it was decided the sentences should run concurrently. That hearing’s audio record was retrieved, and it verified Laur did ask about concurrent or consecutive sentences, to which Bandy, public defender James Abbs and Morris agreed to concurrent. Morris and Bandy both initialed the plea agreement at that time.

That handcuffed Laur’s ability to give a lengthier sentence, since the plea agreement set a term of up to six years of executed time. He explained to the victim’s mother that if he were to reject the agreement, the case would go to trial and her daughter would have to testify in court about the incidents.

Thank you. I thought the article ended with "more from this section" and that row of pictures.
Note to self: Keep on Scrolling.

 

[twall]

Thank you. I thought the article ended with "more from this section" and that row of pictures.
Note to self: Keep on Scrolling.

I almost did the same thing, so many distractions!

 

[twall]

ISP: Two men arrested in half-century cold case murder in Albion

Indiana State Police (ISP) and the Noble County Prosecutor held a press conference Tuesday morning to give an update in a decades-old unsolved murder out of Albion.

www.21alivenews.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

In a press conference held earlier Tuesday, Indiana State Police Captain Kevin Smith said, “This case is a culmination of a decades long investigation… and science finally gave us the answers we needed. Playing a significant role in charges being filed was the Indiana State Police Laboratory Division. We simply could not have solved this case without them.”

Two Indiana men charged in 1975 cold case murder

Indiana State Police announced charges Tuesday against two men accused in the murder of Laurel Jean Mitchell in 1975, nearly half a century later. On August 6, 1975, around 10 p.m., 17-year-old Mitchell left worked at Epworth Forrest Church camp near North Webster Lake. Her parents called police...

news.yahoo.com

 

[Turkeytrot]

Whoa - I had never heard of this case until this past week listening to the murder sheet podcast. Glad to see arrests made!!

 

[Falling Down]

Whoa - I had never heard of this case until this past week listening to the murder sheet podcast. Glad to see arrests made!!

I thought it would never be solved.

 

[Sonny Crockett]

Glad that these two were finally caught, but it's unfortunate (but not surprising) that this took so long. I.e., if one (or both) admitted the crime not long after it occurred (in the 1970's) to others, it sounds like the people this was admitted to didn't go to authorities for whatever reason - possibly they were in fear for their safety, and/or they didn't believe the perp(s)?!

Would also be interested to know if the physical evidence points to just the one perp., or two. If the physical evidence points to both, good.

It's great that there's justice for LM - even though it's been almost 50 years since this horrific crime.

 

[tarabull]

Cold case: 2 men charged in 1975 death of Indiana teen who went missing after leaving work

 

[twall]

Perp walk at this link. Bandy uses a cane so no leg shackles.

Suspects in 1975 killing of teen plead not guilty, face life in prison if convicted

Fred Bandy Jr., and John Wayne Lehman, both 67, were arrested Monday and taken into custody for the killing of Laurel Jean Mitchell, a 17-year-old North Webster girl.

www.wane.com