There are a couple crimes that have been spotlighted over the weekend which have me remembering events from WAY back — and contemplating what justice looks like.
It was summer back in August 1973 and I was spending the night at my friend’s house. Connie’s home was located in a rural setting and I thought it was the absolute coolest place! Her bedroom had a door to the outside and her Dad was old… funny, I don’t even remember ever seeing her Mom.
As an aside, I know there were times our boyfriends would come out there (there were 4 of us who dated another group of 4 friends). We’d walk right outside her bedroom door in the middle of the night to stand in the yard and talk to them. She was our only friend who could get by with something like that. 🙂
August 21, 1973, Connie and I awoke to a commotion. The police were there. Then I have a memory blur but at some point during that time I found out Connie’s sister, Teresa Osborne, was missing. The next thing I remember is Teresa’s long-time boyfriend, Dan, sitting on her bed sobbing. That’s it — that’s all my memory held on to from 50 years ago.
The article referenced above from a FB post states:
On Aug. 31, 1973, two employees of Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge found a vehicle matching the description of Osborne’s white, four-door 1965 Ford in a heavily wooded area in the southern part of the refuge. Police were called to the refuge, located east of Seymour, and found badly burned remains inside the trunk after prying it open. The remains were later identified as those of Osborne, but a cause of death could not be determined. The Indiana State Police investigated Osborne’s murder, and the FBI also was involved because her body had been found on federal property.
The killer… or killers… have never been found.
If things were different and a person (or persons) had been charged and found guilty — where would we be today?
I wonder because the dude who was convicted of raping and killing a 14 year-old girl, Lena Righthouse, in 1996 in Scott County ended up in Crothersville news yesterday. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison but that was reduced to 30. He received a college degree behind bars and “earned” a 4 year credit for that. The same guy that raped and murdered a child in 1996 was arrested by Crothersville police and charged with confinement yesterday — he took a 14 year-old Crothersville girl.
The above was shared on FB with a plea to warn your kids what’s out there. One of the comments read: My Niece was killed in Jackson County 2012. The one got off by testifying against his buddy. The other repeat offender was sentenced to 7 years, credit for time served, and was released from Indiana prison after being incarcerated for 8 months.Â
Today I Learned: Murder in Indiana is punishable by 45 to 65 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. (Ind. Code Ann. § 35-50-2-3).Â