News From Terre Haute, Indiana

News

June 22, 2009

BREAKING UPDATE: Katron Walker pleads guilty to murder, attempted murder

TERRE HAUTE — Katron Walker will avoid the death penalty by pleading guilty to murder and attempted murder in an agreement entered today in Vigo Superior Court Division 3.

Judge David R. Bolk accepted the guilty pleas and set the case for sentencing in August. A definite date has yet to be determined.

Walker faces between 45 and 100 years in prison for killing his 4-year-old son and the attempted murder of his then-2-year-old son in June 2006 near Blackhawk. The incident happened as police responded to an Amber Alert issued several hours after the children were reportedly taken by Walker by force from their grandfather.

"There is a sentencing cap of 100 years, and the state will argue for what we deem reasonable," Vigo County Prosecutor Terry Modesitt said in a press conference late this morning.

Modesitt said he considered the feelings of the victim's family during negotiations of the plea agreement. The mother of the victims, Teresa Dwyer, along with supporting family and friends, appeared in court for the guilty pleas. She declined to make a public comment on the case, but Modesitt said she had signed an acknowledgment stating she was in agreement with the plea offer.

As part of the agreement, Walker waives his right to appeal the sentence he receives from Judge Bolk. Typically, sentencing must occur within 30 days of conviction, but the defendant waived that right in court and asked for additional time to prepare for the final sentencing.

Modesitt said the sentencing was preliminarily set for Aug. 18 or 19, but the actual date depends upon the availability of expert witnesses.

Jury selection in the trial was to begin Aug. 31, and the murder trial was to start Sept. 14. Had the case gone to trial, the county had budgeted $400,000 for prosecution and defense team expenses. Since 2006, the county already has spent in excess of $189,000 through March 2009 on the case.

Lisa Trigg can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
News
  • MET 020912 SYRUP 01 VOGES.jpg Slow drips: It’s maple syrup season in Indiana

    More seasonal, colder temperatures will hit the Wabash Valley this weekend, which is ideal weather for maple syrup production, said Keith Ruble, superintendent of the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department.
    However, Ruble voices concern that this year’s maple syrup season may be short.
     

    February 10, 2012 2 Photos

  • MET020912louise's felker.jpg Downtown restaurant celebrates expansion

    The streets of Terre Haute were chilly Thursday night, but for the glow of hot pasta inside Louise’s Pizzeria and Cafe.
     

    February 10, 2012 5 Photos

  • Contract signed for new Y

    Papers are signed and the ink is in place for a new YMCA to operate in Terre Haute.
     

    February 10, 2012

  • City to impose $30 release fee on towed vehicles

    The Terre Haute City Council voted without opposition Thursday to impose a new $30 release fee on vehicles towed and impounded by the police as part of a criminal investigation.
     

    February 10, 2012

  • Valley educators cautious on Indiana’s ‘No Child’ waiver

    Indiana is one of 10 states to receive a  waiver from federal No Child Left Behind requirements.
     

    February 10, 2012

  • Driver dies after Illinois school bus crash

    “Brace yourself. Brace yourself,” Fay Pickering shouted to her students just before the school bus she was driving crossed U.S. 40 and landed in a ditch Thursday morning.
     

    February 10, 2012

  • Trial date set for former WTH police chief

    A July 23 trial date has been set for a former police chief of West Terre Haute accused of theft.
     

    February 10, 2012

  • Motorcycle gang member pleads guilty in federal court

    A member of an Indianapolis motorcycle gang who delivered methamphetamine to a Terre Haute dealer has pleaded guilty to drug charges in federal court.
     

    February 10, 2012

  • July trial date set for mother charged with child neglect

    A July 30 trial date has been set for a Terre Haute mother charged with neglecting and battering her toddler.
     

    February 10, 2012

  • Business hosting SPPRAK fundraiser

    Java Haute is hosting the latest fundraiser sponsored by SPPRAK —  Special People Performing Random Acts of Kindness.
     

    February 10, 2012

  • Valley high school cooking competition under way today

    Clabber Girl Corp. and Gordon Food Services will host the fourth-annual High School Chef Competition, beginning today through Saturday, and again Feb. 18, in the Culinary Classroom at Clabber Girl.
     

    February 10, 2012

  • Leslie leaving Terre Haute Chamber

    The Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce today notified members that Rachel Leslie, Chamber executive vice president, has accepted a position as director of advancement operations for St. Mary-of-the-Woods College.

    February 9, 2012

  • MET 020812 FORMER 40 EXIT.jpg Terre Haute road name game

    What used to be called U.S. 40 from the Wabash River west through West Terre Haute to Interstate 70 needs to be renamed and, probably, get new street addresses, a Vigo County planner recommends.

    February 9, 2012 3 Photos

  • MET090911 Mark Bennett.jpg MARK BENNETT: William Henry Harrison taught us how to campaign

    William Henry Harrison is running for president, again.
    It seems impossible, because today would be his 239th birthday, and America has never elected a deceased person to the Oval Office.

    February 9, 2012 2 Photos

  • MET 020812 181ST BONTE.jpg Air National Guard cuts won’t hit 181st Intelligence Wing

    The Air National Guard is taking the lion’s share of planned cuts announced last week by the U.S. Air Force. But no cuts are currently expected at Terre Haute’s 181st Intelligence Wing. In fact, the nation’s evolving defense strategy may spell growth at the local base.

    February 9, 2012 1 Photo

  • Friends group takes over Ernie Pyle home in Dana

    The western Indiana home in which renowned Hoosier journalist Ernie Pyle was born and an adjacent museum dedicated to preserving his legacy as a World War II correspondent have a new owner.

    February 9, 2012

  • ISU rec center pool out of service while being repaired

    Indiana State University is spending about $10,000 to repair a swimming pool at the Student Recreation Center, which opened in 2009.

    February 9, 2012

  • Clinton man throws away, then recovers, $50,000 ticket

    A Vermillion County man found himself in a scenario that strikes fear in the heart of Lottery players everywhere. He threw away a $50,000 winning ticket.

    February 9, 2012

  • Show to feature talents of artists with disabilities

    Artists whose disabilities have overshadowed their work get a chance to shine in the light of a prodigy this coming month.

    February 9, 2012

  • Fort Wayne forester tells of damage

    The emerald ash borer likely will cause as much as $8 million in damage to Fort Wayne’s ash trees by 2015, the city’s manager of forestry operations told a Terre Haute audience Tuesday.

    February 9, 2012

  • Unclaimed assets now part of Goodwill auction site

    Many of Indiana’s unclaimed assets are now on Goodwill’s online auction site, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced Tuesday.

    February 9, 2012

  • Clinton man throws away $50,000 Hoosier Lottery ticket

    A Vermillion County man found himself in a scenario that strikes fear in the heart of Lottery players everywhere. He threw away a $50,000 winning lottery ticket.

    February 8, 2012

  • Romney’s bad day is Santorum’s best in GOP race

    Republican Rick Santorum is looking to capitalize on a string of stunning victories that snapped his four-state losing streak and raised new questions about front-runner Mitt Romney’s clout with conservatives.

    February 8, 2012

  • MET 020712 GOODWILL HALL.jpg Spreading Goodwill

    Goodwill Industries Inc. on Tuesday opened its third Terre Haute store.

    February 8, 2012 4 Photos

  • Feds sending money to Feather Creek

    Clinton residents have reason to celebrate.
    Federal officials have granted more than $800,000 toward a $1.2 million project of widening and deepening Feather Creek, which has been a flooding problem in the city since the Great Depression. Work could begin in spring 2013.

    February 8, 2012

  • City to clean up Toney site

    A contaminated petroleum site at the northwestern edge of Indiana State University’s campus will be transferred to the city of Terre Haute to remove the property from a pending sale.

    February 8, 2012

  • MET 101111 DUKE BENNETT.jpg Bennett: Terre Haute ‘moving in the right direction’

    After four years of shrinking budgets and a slow economy, Terre Haute is “moving in the right direction,” Mayor Duke Bennett said Tuesday morning in his first “State of the City” address since being re-elected by Terre Haute voters in November.
    Difficult financial and political battles are largely in the past, he said, and now the city can start moving forward in ways not possible in the past four years.

    February 8, 2012 1 Photo

  • Terre Haute group locates missing caver

    An Iraq war veteran and caving enthusiast took his own life about half a mile from where he left his car on a rural road but more than four months passed before four young spelunkers exploring where they weren’t allowed found him deep inside a treacherous cave, Indiana conservation officers said Tuesday.

    February 8, 2012

  • Schools celebrate rising graduation rates as ‘team effort’

    For the fourth year in a row, Vigo County School Corp. graduation rates have topped the state average, school district officials said during a news conference Tuesday.

    February 8, 2012

  • Arrested officer already on administrative leave

    A summons to appear in Vigo Superior Court 1 has been issued to the former police chief of West Terre Haute after a theft case filed Monday was transferred from a different court.

    February 8, 2012

Latest News
Multimedia

Like us on Facebook!
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
TribStar.com Poll
Join the Conversation
Helium
Front page
AP Video
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows Expert: Removing LA School's Staff 'Appropriate' Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal $25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
NDN Video
Woolly Mammoth Caught on Camera? Sandusky makes a statement Did JLo 'Assault' Marc Anthony on Camera? Christie Brinkley's Runway Slip Toddler forced to run half-naked in snow Halle Wants to Leave the Country Northern Lights shine above earth Plane makes perfect belly landing Kris Jenner New Face of Arousal Oils Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames Trending: Zip it! What's in Steve Jobs' FBI file? SJP Talks About Replacing Demi Moore in 'Lovelace' Over 200 dead dolphins wash ashore Lady Gaga's Battle With Bulimia Evacuation at Sea Osama Bin Laden Zombie Movie: "Osombie" Teaser Released LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal VS Model Quits Over Religion Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Parade
Magazine

Click HERE to read all your Parade favorites including Hollywood Wire, Celebrity interviews and photo galleries, Food recipes and cooking tips, Games and lots more.
  • -

    March 12, 2010

activity
Real Estate News