Zachariah Melcher, age 27, was the husband of Christian Melcher and the father of Jaiden Melcher, and lived at the home at 628 East Maple Street in Jeffersonville. He was previously convicted of Burglary (Class B Felony) on May 22, 1997 in the Floyd County Circuit Court, and was released on supervised probation on September 19, 2002. After being advised of his constitutional rights, Zachariah Melcher admitted that he had murdered his wife and child and stuffed them into a plastic storage container seven days earlier.

State of Indiana v. James Kenneth Utley
(73C01-8806-CF-004)

Date of Crime: 02-18-88

Date of Trial: 01-31-89 to 03-02-89

Defense Attorneys: Michael McDaniel

Prosecutors: Jerome F. Jacobi

Charges: Murder (2 counts), Burglary (Class A Felony)

Aggravating Circumstances: Multiple murders, Intentional Murder during commission of Burglary

Victims: Karen Smith (age 26), Jacqueline Smith (age 3)

Appeal: Utley v. State, 589 N.E.2d 232 (Ind. 1992)

The victims were discovered in their home on Cole Road near New Washington in the afternoon, both shot with a .22 between the eyes. The rear door was unlocked and their car was gone. The car was later discovered locked with the keys gone several miles away. A man fitting the defendant's description was identified by neighbors near both scenes near the time of the murders. A search warrant of the defendant's home uncovered a hidden .22 caliber handgun that he said had been stolen. A ballistics expert testified that the gun appeared to be the same gun used to commit the murders. A prisoner testified that the defendant had admitted committing the murders while he was "high." The defendant denied the murders and did not testify at trial.

The defendant was convicted of all charges after only 2 hours of deliberations. The jury was unable to unanimously agree on a death sentence. Shelby Circuit Court Judge Charles D. O'Connor sentenced the defendant to the maximum term on all counts, 170 years imprisonment, on April 18, 1989. The defendant's anticipated release date is February 2073. He will be 107 years old.

State of Indiana v. Latine Marie Gordon Davidson
(85-CR1-35)

Court: Clark Superior Court #1 Judge Clementine B. Barthold

Date of Crime: 07-21-83 & 01-04-85

Date of Trial: 09-23-86 to 11-06-86

Defense Attorneys: Michael Forsee & Anne Coffman

Prosecutors: Steven D. Stewart

Charges: Murder (2 counts)

Aggravating Circumstances: Multiple murders,
Victim Less than 12 years old

Victims: Shaccara Dayann Gordon & Rodriguez Sanchez Escabar Felicciones

Appeal: Davidson v. State, 558 N.E.2d 1077 (Ind. 1990)

The defendant was a 21 year old mother of four, convicted of murdering her first two by drowning them in the bathtub at her home on Rhonda Drive and Riddle Street in Jeffersonville. The drownings were committed at different times, 1 1/2 years apart, when each victim was approximately 14 months old. No charges were brought until the death of the second child, and both cases were joined for trial.

In both cases, the child was heavily insured at the time of the drownings, with the defendant as beneficiary. 48 hours before the second drowning, the defendant solicited a $40,000 life insurance policy on the child. The defendant gave wildly conflicting statements to the police, to the Welfare Dept., and to the Grand Jury, but basically alleged that both deaths were accidental. Neither child had any trauma to the body and medical experts agreed that it would be next to impossible for the child to drown accidentally without such trauma.

The defendant was convicted of both murders. The jury was unable to unanimously agree on a death sentence. Clark Superior Court Judge Clementine B. Barthold sentenced the defendant to the maximum term, 120 years imprisonment, on December 2, 1986. The defendant's anticipated release date is June 2065. She will be 80 years old.

State of Indiana v. Russell Ernest Boyd
(82-CR-27)

Court: Clark Circuit Court Judge Clifford H. Maschmeyer

Date of Crime: 08-27-82

Date of Trial: 08-23-83 to 09-12-83

Defense Attorneys: Michael Forsee & Charles G. Read

Prosecutors: Jerome F. Jacobi & Steven D. Stewart

Charges: Murder, Felony Murder, Burglary (Class B Felony)

Aggravating Circumstances: Intentional Murder during commission of Burglary

Victim: Judy Falkenstein

Appeal: Boyd v. State, 494 N.E.2d 284 (Ind. 1986)

The victim was a 30 year old housewife who was found nude, beaten, and strangled in the bedroom of her home on West Loma Vista Drive in Jeffersonville. Her body was discovered on a weekday afternoon by her 10 year old daughter. Various valuables and cash from the home were found in the possession of the defendant, and several acquaintances placed him in the neighborhood at the time of the murder. The defendant first denied ever being in the area, but later admitted to breaking into the home 3 days before the murder, and admitted going back to the home on the day of the murder. He claimed to have seen the victim's body in the bedroom, and ran out of the house after he got scared.

The defendant was convicted of all charges. The jury recommended a death sentence. Clark Circuit Court Judge Clifford H. Maschmeyer sentenced the defendant to death on October 4, 1983.

In 1993, Special Judge Robert L. Bennett set aside the death sentence on the grounds that the defense attorneys were ineffective in failing to present mitigating circumstances on the defendant's behalf. The defendant entered into an agreement and with the recommendation of the victim's family, was sentenced to an 80 year term of imprisonment, the maximum allowed under the statutes. His anticipated release date is August 2022. He will be 64 years old.

HISTORICAL:

State of Indiana v. Edward Coffin and Toots Long

On June 4, 1934 Scott County Deputy Sheriff Harold Amick was shot to death while looking for chicken thieves near Underwood. Deputy Amick had mistakenly confronted a group of men who were on the run from an earlier shooting in Seymour. Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Clyde F. Crooks, sought the death penalty by Indictment for the triggerman, Edward Coffin. A jury trial began on June 8, 1934, with Prosecutor Crooks presenting 26 witnesses. Both Coffin and his accomplice, Toots Long, were represented by pauper attorney, Edward Dunlevy, and found guilty of First Degree Murder the next day. On June 9, 1934 Clark County Circuit Judge, George C. Kopp, sentenced Coffin to death and Long to life in prison. On October 9, 1934, 127 days after the murder of Harold Amick, 22 year old Edward Coffin was executed in the electric chair at the Indiana State Prison at Michigan City, Indiana. He is the only person to have been sentenced to death in Clark County and executed this century. [Information obtained through court documents and newspaper accounts in The Evening News]