Skip to footer

Indiana pastor finds relief in arrest of suspect in pregnant wife's slaying

Two additional suspects, both young men in their early 20s, have been detained in conjunction with a related series of robberies, according to local sources.

|
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department/AP
This frame grab from surveillance video provided by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department shows a possible suspect walking in the neighborhood where an Indianapolis pastor's wife was shot. Police say Amanda Blackburn was shot in the head during an attack in her home on Nov. 10, 2015 and died the next day. She was 13 weeks pregnant.

Two weeks after the killing of his pregnant wife, Pastor Davey Blackburn said he’s relieved that police have arrested a suspect between Sunday and Monday.

"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," Mr. Blackburn said in statement. He expressed gratitude for the overnight arrest of 18-year-old Larry Taylor on a preliminary murder charge.

Amanda Blackburn was 13 weeks pregnant when an assailant invaded her home on Nov. 10. She was shot in the head, and the child did not survive. The couple’s older son, Weston, was home during the time of the attack but was not harmed. He is 15 months old.

Two additional suspects, both young men in their early 20s, have been taken into custody in conjunction with a related series of robberies in the area, sources close to the investigation told local news station Fox 59.

Blackburn had left early for the gym that morning, and discovered his wounded wife upon his return. He said investigators have told him they have a substantial case against Mr. Taylor.

I hope the justice system would have wisdom on how to prosecute this man, he said, “so that no one else endures the pain Amanda and our family have had to endure because of his actions."

Police said in a press release that the US Marshals had helped the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department's gang and violent crime units in Taylor’s arrest.

Investigators have speculated the suspect may have seen Mr. Blackburn leave home at 6:10 a.m. to go to a gym, shortly after the suspect allegedly broke into a nearby house. Surveillance footage from at least three security cameras at other homes captured images of the suspect, which was then circulated to the public.

It is unclear what charges will be filed against Taylor.

"All victims of criminal homicides deserve closure, and as a community we must send a collective message that violence is not an option," Police Chief Rick Hite said in a statement. "Our detectives have worked tirelessly going days without sleep to solve murders in our city."

This report contains material from the Associated Press.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Indiana pastor finds relief in arrest of suspect in pregnant wife's slaying
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2015/1123/Indiana-pastor-finds-relief-in-arrest-of-suspect-in-pregnant-wife-s-slaying
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe