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Last updated on Thursday, December 31, 2015
(UNDATED) - In April a man was charged with the murder of an IU Student, while another plead guilty to battery and a murder charge was dropped.
Also in April, a student was crowned queen of the 47th Annual Orleans Dogwood Festival; a Bedford man was arrested on federal charges of mail fraud, money laundering and filing a false federal tax return and two counties battled an HIV outbreak and began needle exchange programs.
IU Student Murdered, Man In Custody
Police arrested 49-year-old Daniel Messell of Bloomington on a murder charge after finding his cell phone near the body of 22-year-old Hannah Wilson. Wilson died from blunt force trauma after being struck in the back of the head three or four times.
She also suffered superficial injuries to her hands and arms from attempting to ward off those blows. There was no sign of sexual assault.
Wilson's body was discovered around 8:30 a.m. on April 24 after a woman driving on Plum Creek Road saw Wilson's body face-down in a vacant lot at State Road 45 and Plum Creek.
Wilson had been dead for 10 hours or less when she was found, according to Brown County Coroner Earl Piper.
Piper said no weapons were found at the crime scene.
Wilson, who is originally from Fishers, was a senior at Indiana University and a member of Gamma Phi Beta sorority.
Police arrested 49-year-old Daniel E. Messell of Bloomington on a murder charge after finding his cell phone near Wilson's body.
Kayla Carson Crowned Dogwood Festival Queen
Kayla Carson was crowned queen of the 47th Annual Orleans Dogwood Festival.
Olivia Jenkins was first runner-up and Victoria Whalin second runner-up. Other contestants were Gracie Hughes and Adrianna Goldsberry.
This year's theme was Orleans 200: "Honoring the Past-Anticipating the Future."
Jasonville Man Pleads Guilty To Battery, Murder Charge Dropped
A Jasonville man, who was originally charged with murder, pleaded guilty to battery with a deadly weapon after accepting a plea agreement. Doug Lambermont was accused of the murder of Derek Fulford on Labor Day in September of 2014.
According to a probable cause affidavit, police say Lambermont shot Fulford four times with a Smith & Wesson .380 semi-automatic pistol after a family argument. Lambermont was married to Fulford's sister. Lambermont told police he shot Fulford in self-defense after Fulford went after him.
The shooting occurred in the front yard of a residence of a home on North Ridge Road near the southwest edge of Jasonville where Derek Fulford lived with his father and step-mother, Wayne and Suzanne Fulford.
Fulford was transported to Greene County General Hospital where he was pronounced dead not long after his arrival in the emergency room.
According to an autopsy report by Forensic Pathologist Dr. Roland Kohr, Fulford suffered four gunshots wounds, one to the head, two to the chest and one to the right arm. Both the chest and head wounds were listed as lethal.
In May, Lambermont was sentenced four years in the Indiana Department of Correction (DOC) with two years suspended - he'll served one year in jail and is currently serving a year on house arrest, then will be on probation for the two years.
In addition, Lambermont agrees to give up the handgun used in the shooting incident and he will be prohibited from owning or possessing any kind of firearms or ammunition from now on.
HIV Outbreak in Scott and Jackson Counties
In April, Jackson County officials with the Indiana State Department of Health revealed that there were five 129 confirmed HIV cases in Scott County and five in Jackson County.
The HIV outbreak is linked to needle-sharing among intravenous drug users.
On April 20, Governor Pence signed Executive Order 15-06, extending by 30 days the public health emergency declaration in Scott County and permitting the continued operation of the needle exchange program in that county.
Bedford Man Charged With Mail Fraud, Money Laundering And Filing False Federal Tax Return
United State Attorney Josh J. Minkler filed charges on April 15 against 32-year-old Blakely A. Clements of Bedford. He was charged with mail fraud, money laundering and filing a false federal tax return.
Clements was charged after an investigation by the United States Secret Service, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division and the Indiana State Police.
The charging information alleges that between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010 Clements participated in a scheme to defraud the Daviess County Long Term Recovery Committee (DCLTRC) and to obtain money by means of false and fraudulent pretenses using the United States Mail.
While acting as the financial director of the DCLTRC, Clements submitted invoices to Non-profit Processing and Accounting Services to comply with conditions of a grant the Committee received from United Way of Indiana. The purpose of the grant was to provide financial assistance to Daviess County victims in repairing flood damage.
Clements allegedly submitted the invoices to benefit flood victims when in fact the expenditures were made to acquire home improvement materials and other items for the personal benefit of Clements in the amount of $89,500.
The information further charges Clements with money laundering. In June 2010, Clements allegedly paid his personal Home Depot Citibank credit card using funds obtained from the DCLTRC and deposited a refund check from the credit card into his personal account for $11,352.21.
Finally, Clement is charged with filing a false federal tax return for the year 2010, because he did not report as income any of the funds derived from the DCLTRC.
In September 2015, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison. He will spend three years on supervised probation following his release and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $114,670.80.
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