INDIANAPOLIS (WTTV) — The two men charged in the murder of Amanda Blackburn
She was 13 weeks pregnant at the time, but Curry says he hasn’t determined yet whether to pursue charges related to the death of the fetus.
In this photo provided by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police…
Later that day, Taylor and Watson drove to the west side, where their alleged burglary spree ended with the murder of Amanda Blackburn.
Two other suspects, Jalen Watson and Diano Gordan, are also in custody, but have not yet been charged, Fox 59 reports.
Marion County Superior Court Judge Grant Hawkins entered not guilty pleas for 18-year-old Larry Taylor Jr. and 21-year-old Jalen Watson and appointed attorneys for the Indianapolis men during their initial hearing on murder, burglary, theft and several other charges.
Marion County’s online court records show that Larry Jo Taylor Jr. faces charges that include murder, burglary, criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon and robbery resulting in serious bodily injury.
Taylor, Watson and a third man are accused of breaking into a home and stealing vehicle keys, a laptop and an iPhone from the sleeping occupant’s bedroom. He later told others that he killed Blackburn after “she charged at him and he shot her somewhere in the upper body so he would not be scratched”. Blackburn was shot in the head during the November 10 attack at the couple’s home and died the next day. “He leaned further, looked at her face, and watched her bleed”, a detective wrote in the affidavit.
The couple’s 1-year-old son, Weston, was home when the shooting occurred. Amanda Blackburn’s father is lead pastor of First Baptist Church in Elkhart, Indiana, and Davey Blackburn’s father, Dave Blackburn, is lead pastor at Next Church in Brevard, North Carolina.
Her husband, pastor Davey Blackburn, had gone to the gym.
“That’s very scary – that my life, you know, was just a conversation”, Searsbrook said.
Davey Blackburn released a statement after the charges were filed Monday saying: “Though it does not undo the pain we are feeling, I was extremely relieved to get the news of the arrest made last night of Amanda’s killer”. The family goes on to say “Though everything inside of me wants to hate, be angry, and slip into despair I choose the route of forgiveness, grace and hope”.