GREENE COUNTY —
A Bloomington man is expected in court early next week to face a murder charge in the case of a woman whose body was discovered in a wooded area of eastern Greene County last week.
The Indiana State Police and Greene County Prosecutor Jarrod Holtsclaw issued a news release Friday stating Randy L. Knapp, 52, Bloomington, has been charged with murder, criminal confinement and obstruction of justice. He is accused of killing Stacey J. Lawson, 28, of Solsberry in rural Greene County about one week ago.
According to probable cause documents filed in Greene County, Lawson’s body was found near a wooded trail behind the Newark Baptist Church cemetery in the small village of Newark, about 15 miles west of Bloomington in Greene County. According to an autopsy, Lawson died from blunt force trauma to her head.
According to his cell phone records, Knapp was in the area of the Newark Baptist Church between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Aug. 19 and again at 1 p.m. on Aug. 20, according to court documents. Police believe Lawson was killed on Aug. 19. Her body was discovered about 3 p.m. Aug. 20 in the woods behind the cemetery.
Lawson used to frequently go to the cemetery at the Newark Baptist Church to visit the grave of her younger brother, according to the probable cause documents.
Knapp, who was in jail in Monroe County on a residential entry charge at the time of his arrest in the Lawson case, is expected to have an initial hearing in Greene County early in the upcoming week, according to the news release.
The murder charge is a class-A felony. The criminal confinement charge is a class-B felony and the obstruction of justice charge is a class-D felony. The residential entry charge he is facing in Monroe County is also a class-D felony.
Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.
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