WEBVTT 1 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:46.320 Lakeville in Indiana is the kind of time you might 2 00:00:46.359 --> 00:00:49.560 pass through without even realizing it. It has a population 3 00:00:49.640 --> 00:00:51.840 of less than one thousand people, and it's surrounded in 4 00:00:51.880 --> 00:00:55.920 sprawling farmland and flat open fields. It was founded in 5 00:00:55.960 --> 00:00:58.119 the mid eighteen hundreds and has always been a working 6 00:00:58.159 --> 00:01:02.079 class community defined by tradition, close knit values, and a 7 00:01:02.119 --> 00:01:06.200 strong undercurrent of faith. Just outside the town limits, on 8 00:01:06.319 --> 00:01:09.439 a two lane stretch of Osborne Road sits the Olive 9 00:01:09.480 --> 00:01:13.640 Branch Church of the United Brethren in Christ. It's a 10 00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:17.480 modest and unassuming building with a simple white steeple. It's 11 00:01:17.480 --> 00:01:19.560 one of those churches that looks more like a family 12 00:01:19.599 --> 00:01:23.359 home than a place of worship. The congregation here is small, 13 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:25.719 just a handful of families from around the country who 14 00:01:25.760 --> 00:01:29.959 gather each Sunday for prayers, hymns, and fellowship inside the 15 00:01:29.959 --> 00:01:32.840 pew's creek with age. The carpets are faded and the 16 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:37.040 walls are lined with framed scripture and children's drawings. It 17 00:01:37.079 --> 00:01:39.519 isn't a grand church, but for those who attended, it 18 00:01:39.599 --> 00:01:42.799 was sacred and it was familiar. One morning in nineteen 19 00:01:42.840 --> 00:01:46.159 eighty nine, the congregation gathered like they did every Sunday. 20 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:49.799 They parked their cars in the gravel lot, filtered into 21 00:01:49.799 --> 00:01:53.439 the church and settled into their seats. But it's the 22 00:01:53.480 --> 00:01:57.920 minutes ticked by. Something felt off. The service was supposed 23 00:01:57.920 --> 00:02:00.680 to begin at nine a m. There was no sign 24 00:02:00.680 --> 00:02:18.360 of the pastor. Robert Pelly had found his calling at 25 00:02:18.400 --> 00:02:21.199 the Olive Branch Church of the United Brethren in Christ. 26 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:23.919 He was the preacher, and from any in the small 27 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:28.400 rural congregation, he wasn't just their spiritual guide. Robert was 28 00:02:28.439 --> 00:02:31.479 more than that. He was their friend, their confidante, and 29 00:02:31.560 --> 00:02:35.000 their neighbor. Robert was a father, a husband, and a 30 00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:38.360 man who believed in faith, forgiveness, and the occasional well 31 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:42.199 timed prank. He had a unique way of delivering his sermons. 32 00:02:42.919 --> 00:02:46.120 One Sunday morning, he strole into church wearing his normal clothing. 33 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:49.400 He slouched into the front pew and casually flipped open 34 00:02:49.439 --> 00:02:53.280 a newspaper. His wife, Dawn, crossed the sanctuary, gave his 35 00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:56.280 shoulder a gentle tap, and said it's time to start 36 00:02:56.319 --> 00:03:01.000 the service. Laughter rippled through the peuce. It was Robert's 37 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:04.960 light hearted way of reminding the congregation, come ready, come prepared, 38 00:03:05.159 --> 00:03:08.680 come with purpose. Because to Robert, faith wasn't just to 39 00:03:08.719 --> 00:03:12.360 be practiced on Sundays. It was something you lived every day. 40 00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:15.439 Robert was said to be a man of quiet discipline, 41 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:19.120 somebody who was interested in judo and boxing. He was 42 00:03:19.159 --> 00:03:23.240 even taking courses at two church colleges. He was energetic, 43 00:03:23.400 --> 00:03:27.199 driven and passionate. But above all else, Robert Pelley was 44 00:03:27.240 --> 00:03:30.280 a father. He and his wife Down had been married 45 00:03:30.280 --> 00:03:34.240 for five years. Both had suffered losses before they found 46 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:37.759 each other. Robert had lost his first wife and don 47 00:03:37.759 --> 00:03:41.599 had lost her husband. Together they brought their families into 48 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:45.639 one roof. Robert had two children, seventeen year old Jeff 49 00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:49.439 and fourteen year old Jackie. Dawn brought three daughters from 50 00:03:49.439 --> 00:03:53.599 her first marriage, ten year old Jessica, eight year old Janelle, 51 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:57.120 and six year old Juline. They had once lived in Florida, 52 00:03:57.199 --> 00:03:59.840 and that's where Robert and Dawn met, but they had 53 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:03.080 created sunshine and palm trees for the Indiana cornfields and 54 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:06.919 church life. They lived in the modest home next door 55 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:10.240 to the small church. The blend Of family lived a 56 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:13.800 simple life with purpose and routine, and Saturday, the twenty 57 00:04:13.879 --> 00:04:16.759 ninth of April nineteen eighty nine started out like any 58 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:20.160 other day. Jeff Pelly was getting ready for one of 59 00:04:20.160 --> 00:04:23.639 the biggest nights of his life, the Laville High School Prom. 60 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:27.519 Jeff had been looking forward to it for months. His 61 00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:31.000 white tuxedo was pressed and the plans were set. He 62 00:04:31.079 --> 00:04:33.040 was going to pick up his day at Darla Emmons, 63 00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:35.240 and then they were going to meet friends for dinner 64 00:04:35.319 --> 00:04:38.920 in South Bend. Then it was the prom, and afterwards 65 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:41.959 they were going to drive to Great America, a theme 66 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:45.759 park just outside of Chicago. For a seventeen year old, 67 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:49.399 it was the dream plan, freedom, friends, and the first 68 00:04:49.439 --> 00:04:54.319 haste of independence, and Jeff, who sometimes came across as withdrawn, 69 00:04:54.879 --> 00:04:59.319 was genuinely excited. His sister, Jackie wasn't home that weekend. 70 00:04:59.519 --> 00:05:01.279 She was away. We had a church camp posted by 71 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:06.279 Huntington College. Jessica was staying with relatives visiting from Kentucky. 72 00:05:07.399 --> 00:05:11.199 That left just four people in the home, Robert, Dawn, Janelle, 73 00:05:11.399 --> 00:05:15.560 and little Jolne. That house must have felt unusually quiet 74 00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:20.199 first Saturday night, but nobody expected that by Sunday it 75 00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:30.680 would be silent. Sunday morning at the Olive Branch of 76 00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:35.199 the United Brethren began like any other. The congregation trickled 77 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:37.839 in through the white double doors, grating each other with 78 00:05:37.879 --> 00:05:42.399 warm smiles and familiar nods. Usually by this time Pastor 79 00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:46.079 Robert Pelley would have been there slaves rolled up, arranging 80 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:49.319 hymn books and checking the sound system. That was just 81 00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:54.399 who Robert was. He was reliable, dedicated, and present. But 82 00:05:54.519 --> 00:05:59.639 on this morning he wasn't. At first, nobody panicked, maybe 83 00:05:59.720 --> 00:06:02.800 Robert with staging one of his practical object lessons again, 84 00:06:03.399 --> 00:06:07.040 maybe something about being spiritually laid or caught up unprepared 85 00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:09.879 for the second Coming. It wouldn't have been the first 86 00:06:09.959 --> 00:06:13.240 time he made a point through surprise. But as nine 87 00:06:13.279 --> 00:06:16.519 a m. Became nine fifteen and then nine thirty, the 88 00:06:16.519 --> 00:06:20.279 mood in the sanctuary began to shift. The usual laughter 89 00:06:20.319 --> 00:06:24.600 and chatter gave way to confusion and concern. Don wasn't 90 00:06:24.600 --> 00:06:30.160 there either, nor were the girls. Still. The congregation pressed forward. 91 00:06:30.519 --> 00:06:33.720 They sang hymns, read scripture. A member of the church 92 00:06:33.759 --> 00:06:37.920 stepped into lead what they could of the service, but 93 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:41.600 something unspoken was growing heavy in the room. Dan Richard, 94 00:06:41.639 --> 00:06:44.560 a longtime member of the church, would later say, we 95 00:06:44.639 --> 00:06:49.279 knew something wasn't quite right. Church trustee David Hathaway volunteered 96 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:52.240 to go next door just to check on the Pelly family. 97 00:06:53.040 --> 00:06:56.879 It wasn't far the parsonage. The family's home sat just 98 00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:00.879 beside the church, nestled behind a row of hedges. David 99 00:07:00.920 --> 00:07:03.759 walked up the short front path and knocked. There was 100 00:07:03.800 --> 00:07:07.920 no answer. He knocked again, louder this time, but there 101 00:07:07.959 --> 00:07:11.360 was nothing. The curtains were drawn tight, something that was 102 00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:14.839 unusual for a Sunday morning. Robert usually had the front 103 00:07:14.839 --> 00:07:19.680 windows open, letting in the spring sunlight. David tried peering 104 00:07:19.720 --> 00:07:23.560 through the glass, but the interior was dark as when 105 00:07:23.560 --> 00:07:27.879 a quiet sense of dread settled in his gut. He 106 00:07:27.959 --> 00:07:30.920 walked back to the church and contacted Lydia May easter Day, 107 00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:34.519 an elderly woman who kept a sparecat of the parsonage. 108 00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:37.720 Moments later, with the key in hand, David returned and 109 00:07:37.759 --> 00:07:41.199 slid it into the lock. He turned the handle and 110 00:07:41.279 --> 00:07:45.160 craaked the door open. Robert, he called out softly, just 111 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:49.240 in case the family had simply overslept. There was no answer. 112 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:54.560 He stepped inside. Immediately he saw blood. There was a 113 00:07:54.560 --> 00:07:57.560 thick pull of it stretching down the narrow hallway towards 114 00:07:57.560 --> 00:08:00.600 the master bedroom, and there in the middle of it 115 00:08:00.639 --> 00:08:04.839 all lay Robert Pelly. His chest was obliterated by a 116 00:08:04.879 --> 00:08:07.920 shotgun blast. His face had been blown open by a 117 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:11.519 second David, who was a World War Two veteran, would 118 00:08:11.560 --> 00:08:14.319 later say that what he saw in that hallway was 119 00:08:14.360 --> 00:08:18.360 worse than anything he had ever experienced in combat, but 120 00:08:18.439 --> 00:08:22.199 he didn't stop. There were children in that house. He 121 00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:24.959 followed the trail of blood into the kitchen, where he 122 00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:27.879 noticed a flight of stairs leading down to the basement. 123 00:08:29.160 --> 00:08:32.639 This was the family's recreation room, where the girls play 124 00:08:32.720 --> 00:08:36.480 and where Dawn kept their toys. There was another splash 125 00:08:36.559 --> 00:08:41.120 of red on the wall. David descended carefully, and then 126 00:08:41.159 --> 00:08:44.000 at the bottom of the stairs he saw them. Don 127 00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:48.000 Pelly lay on the floor, lifeless, her arms wrapped protectively 128 00:08:48.440 --> 00:08:52.960 around six year old Jolene. Joline, who was crouched slightly 129 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:57.159 behind her mother, had clearly tried to hide her small 130 00:08:57.240 --> 00:09:01.519 hands lifted in a futile attempt to shield herself. Portions 131 00:09:01.519 --> 00:09:04.759 of her fingers were missing. It had been blasted away 132 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:08.159 by the force of the shotgun. Nearby was eight year 133 00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:11.519 old Janelle. She was slumped on the carpet beside them, 134 00:09:11.840 --> 00:09:16.639 curled inward, and shot at close range. All three were gone. 135 00:09:16.759 --> 00:09:20.240 They had huddled together in their final moments. Forensics would 136 00:09:20.320 --> 00:09:22.960 later describe that Robert was killed first with one blast 137 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:26.399 to the chest and another to the face. Don must 138 00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:29.120 have heard it, grabbed her daughters and ran, but the 139 00:09:29.200 --> 00:09:32.000 killer followed. A shot was fired from the top of 140 00:09:32.039 --> 00:09:34.759 the basement stairs, aiming down into the room as the 141 00:09:34.799 --> 00:09:39.720 family fled, Then more shots, one after the other, first 142 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:44.320 on then Janelle, then Juline. None of them stood a chance. 143 00:09:55.440 --> 00:09:58.159 The news of the murders spread throughout Lakefield like wildfire. 144 00:09:58.919 --> 00:10:01.720 By Sunday afternoon, fear had gripped the small farming town 145 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:05.320 like a vice. Four members of a beloved family had 146 00:10:05.320 --> 00:10:07.559 been gunned down in their own home, and the killer 147 00:10:07.639 --> 00:10:10.799 was still out there somewhere. Dan Richard, a member of 148 00:10:10.799 --> 00:10:14.840 the church, said the whole county shook. People don't know 149 00:10:14.840 --> 00:10:18.159 whether to stay at home alone or in groups like 150 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:20.639 There wasn't the kind of place where things like this happened. 151 00:10:21.399 --> 00:10:23.039 It was the kind of place where people left their 152 00:10:23.080 --> 00:10:26.639 keys in their car, where neighbors brought over extra tomatrows 153 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:29.720 from the garden, where families prayed together, and doors were 154 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:33.279 left unlocked at night. But all of that changed on 155 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:37.559 April thirtieth, nineteen eighty nine. Inside the house next to 156 00:10:37.600 --> 00:10:41.200 the church. The unthinkable had happened, and for a brief moment, 157 00:10:41.240 --> 00:10:46.120 there was something that almost resembled relief. Three of the children, Jeff, Jackie, 158 00:10:46.159 --> 00:10:49.879 and Jessica had survived, by pure luck. None of them 159 00:10:49.919 --> 00:10:53.360 have been home that night. Jackie had been at church camp, 160 00:10:53.840 --> 00:10:57.000 Jessco was staying with relatives, and Jeff had been oursway 161 00:10:57.519 --> 00:11:02.159 celebrating his prom weekend at Great America Amusement Park. But 162 00:11:02.200 --> 00:11:05.240 that relief was quickly swallowed by the cruel reality they'd 163 00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:10.919 be returning to no parents, no younger sisters. Detectives not 164 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:13.960 had the awful task of tracking the surviving children down 165 00:11:14.320 --> 00:11:17.080 and telling them what had happened. The day after the 166 00:11:17.159 --> 00:11:22.519 murder's reporters gathered outside the modest brick parsonage. Telephoto lenses 167 00:11:22.559 --> 00:11:25.799 peeked over, police tap note books in hand. They waited 168 00:11:25.799 --> 00:11:30.320 for any glimpse, any detail. Then they saw Jeff. He'd 169 00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:32.519 been allowed to briefly enter the home to retrieve some 170 00:11:32.600 --> 00:11:37.399 of his belongings. He declined to speak to the press. Instead, 171 00:11:37.399 --> 00:11:39.879 he crossed the lawn and embraced grieving members of his 172 00:11:39.960 --> 00:11:45.240 father's congregation. People who had sung beside him, prayed beside him, 173 00:11:45.639 --> 00:11:49.159 now they stood there, stunned and heartbroken, just steps away 174 00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:53.519 from where the crime had unfolded. Sergeant Charles Ferrell addressed 175 00:11:53.559 --> 00:11:56.679 the reporters and said the family doesn't want anybody to 176 00:11:56.720 --> 00:12:00.360 talk with them. Among the mourners was Richard Thorpe, the 177 00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:04.679 former pastor of the church. He stated, you have a 178 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:07.000 bond here that a lot of times you don't find 179 00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:10.679 in a bigger church, and that bond, that sense of trust, 180 00:12:10.840 --> 00:12:16.399 was now cracked open. People changed their habits overnight. Brian Callaghan, 181 00:12:16.440 --> 00:12:19.360 a local father, summed up the mood and said, my 182 00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:21.440 wife and I make sure the doors are locked now, 183 00:12:22.039 --> 00:12:25.000 and a shock settled in to fear. The investigation began. 184 00:12:25.879 --> 00:12:30.120 Detectives from Saint Joseph County canvassed the home, documenting the scene. 185 00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:33.559 There were no signs of forced entry, no shattered glass, 186 00:12:33.639 --> 00:12:37.960 no kicked in door, no valuables missing. This wasn't a robbery, 187 00:12:38.320 --> 00:12:41.799 and it wasn't a murdered suicide. It appeared to be personal. 188 00:12:42.440 --> 00:12:45.120 The killer had used a shotgun, most likely a twelve 189 00:12:45.240 --> 00:12:48.759 or sixteen gage, but the question as to why lingered. 190 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:54.399 Detectives began interviewing friends, neighbors, church members, anybody who had 191 00:12:54.399 --> 00:12:58.159 known the Pelly family. They learned that Robert had kept 192 00:12:58.200 --> 00:13:01.879 a shotgun at home, but it was now missing. Whether 193 00:13:01.919 --> 00:13:04.360 it had been the murder weapon or taken afterwards, they 194 00:13:04.360 --> 00:13:09.919 weren't entirely sure. Search efforts intensified. Horses and search dogs 195 00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:12.879 were deployed across the fields and woods that boarded the property. 196 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:16.080 A dive team was sent to a nearby pond north 197 00:13:16.120 --> 00:13:19.759 of the home. It was deep, almost fifty feet and murky, 198 00:13:20.559 --> 00:13:25.879 a nightmare for the detectives. Sergeant Ferrell explained, it's going 199 00:13:25.919 --> 00:13:27.879 to be a difficult task because not only is the 200 00:13:27.919 --> 00:13:32.799 pond inaccessible, it's also fifty feet deep. Despite the effort, 201 00:13:32.840 --> 00:13:38.279 no weapon was found. Meanwhile, autopsies confirmed what detectives already suspected. 202 00:13:39.039 --> 00:13:41.879 All four victims had died from close range shotgun wounds 203 00:13:41.879 --> 00:13:45.840 to the head. The pathologists couldn't arrow down a time 204 00:13:45.919 --> 00:13:48.919 frame other than that they had died sometime between ten 205 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:51.799 a m. On Saturday and ten a m. On Sunday. 206 00:13:53.240 --> 00:13:55.960 On May the fourth, the community gathered one final time 207 00:13:56.360 --> 00:14:00.600 to honor Robert, Don, Janelle, and Jolene was standing room 208 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:04.600 only inside Olive Branch Church. Bishop Ray Miller stood at 209 00:14:04.600 --> 00:14:08.360 the pulpit and addressed the grief stricken crowd. We're not 210 00:14:08.440 --> 00:14:11.360 here to discuss the events of their deaths, nor are 211 00:14:11.399 --> 00:14:14.399 we here to give reports or interviews. What we're here 212 00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:17.320 for is what the family would have wanted. We're here 213 00:14:17.360 --> 00:14:20.919 to worship God. He spoke of Robert's tireless efforts to 214 00:14:20.919 --> 00:14:24.000 grow the congregation and of the quiet love that filled 215 00:14:24.039 --> 00:14:27.600 the Pelly home. As the service drew to a close, 216 00:14:27.639 --> 00:14:31.600 the congregation stood and sang Amazing Grace, which was Dawn's 217 00:14:31.639 --> 00:14:35.519 favorite hymn. Then one by one, the coffins were carried 218 00:14:35.559 --> 00:14:39.679 to South Lawn Cemetery. The bishop's final words lingered in 219 00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:42.519 the air. We commit their bodies to the grave and 220 00:14:42.559 --> 00:14:46.000 their spirits to God who gave them. A photographer from 221 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:50.360 the South Bend Tribune captured a striking image Jeff Pelly 222 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:54.320 had bowed, being embraced by his teenage friends as tears 223 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:58.879 streamed down his cheeks. Grief had come to Lakeville, and 224 00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:02.039 it had settled in for the the long haul. In 225 00:15:02.080 --> 00:15:05.200 the days that followed, the surviving children went their separate ways. 226 00:15:06.159 --> 00:15:08.919 Jackie went to Cape Quarrel to live with church friends. 227 00:15:10.039 --> 00:15:13.480 Jessica was taken in by her maternal grandfather, in eating rapids, 228 00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:17.639 and Jeff moved in with friends from South Bend. He 229 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:19.919 picked up a job at a local garage, trying to 230 00:15:19.960 --> 00:15:23.840 rebuild some version of a normal life, and still the 231 00:15:23.919 --> 00:15:28.559 town waited. Each Sunday, the congregation of Olive Branch gathered 232 00:15:28.600 --> 00:15:31.759 in that same sanctuary, the one where Robert had once 233 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:35.960 delivered sermons with energy and heart. Now his absence filled 234 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:40.440 every pew. Reverend Richard Wagan addressed the flock one Sunday 235 00:15:40.480 --> 00:15:43.639 morning and said, the one thing that weighs heavy on 236 00:15:43.720 --> 00:15:46.080 my heart is we don't know who did this. We 237 00:15:46.120 --> 00:15:48.559 don't know why they did this. But one of the 238 00:15:48.559 --> 00:15:52.279 most important things that Jesus taught was don't hate. Pray 239 00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:55.600 that we might love and care for whoever that person is. 240 00:15:56.559 --> 00:15:59.000 And that prayer would soon be tested in the most 241 00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:03.200 painful way a man, because behind the scenes, detectives were 242 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:06.840 narrowing their focus and they were beginning to suspect that 243 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:11.000 the person responsible wasn't some stranger from the woods. It 244 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:14.720 wasn't a drifter or a madman, or a robber gone wrong. 245 00:16:15.919 --> 00:16:19.919 It was somebody much closer, someone the Pellies had loved. 246 00:16:20.799 --> 00:16:23.799 And it would take thirteen years for that suspicion to 247 00:16:23.840 --> 00:16:36.200 turn into an arrest. As the crime scene was being progressed, 248 00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:40.600 detectives began to take note of certain unsettling details. The 249 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:43.840 curtains were all drawn, the doors were locked, nothing had 250 00:16:43.840 --> 00:16:46.559 been stolen, and there was no sign of a forced entry. 251 00:16:47.559 --> 00:16:50.360 Detective Mark Senter, one of the first on the scene leaders, 252 00:16:50.399 --> 00:16:54.080 said it didn't look like a burglary. It didn't look 253 00:16:54.120 --> 00:16:56.879 like a home invasion. As a detective, I saw the 254 00:16:56.919 --> 00:16:59.159 worst of the worst that morning, but we had a 255 00:16:59.240 --> 00:17:04.240 job to do, so immediately started talking about suspects. One 256 00:17:04.319 --> 00:17:07.599 cloth stood out. The shotgun that was usually stored in 257 00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:11.119 Robert Pelly's gun rack was gone. Then there was blood 258 00:17:11.160 --> 00:17:14.559 in the bathroom, suggesting the killer cleaned themselves before leaving 259 00:17:14.599 --> 00:17:18.640 this scene. Detectives also said that Robert's body was found 260 00:17:18.680 --> 00:17:22.960 facing away from the hallway, near the bedroom door. It 261 00:17:23.000 --> 00:17:25.519 looked like the killer had come out of that room. 262 00:17:26.079 --> 00:17:29.599 That's when a name floated to the surface, a name 263 00:17:29.640 --> 00:17:35.240 that was already familiar to Detective Centur Jeff Pelly. By 264 00:17:35.240 --> 00:17:40.480 all accounts, Jeff was smart, exceptionally smart. He'd graduated early 265 00:17:40.720 --> 00:17:44.119 and was known for his skill with computers, but lately 266 00:17:44.160 --> 00:17:47.559 he had been heading down the wrong path. Just weeks 267 00:17:47.559 --> 00:17:50.279 before the murders, he'd been caught stealing CDs in money 268 00:17:50.279 --> 00:17:54.079 from a neighbor's home. Detectives had spoken with Robert about it, 269 00:17:54.400 --> 00:17:57.680 and he had been furious. As a punishment, Robert had 270 00:17:57.720 --> 00:18:01.200 grounded his son and placed strict limitations on his prom weekend. 271 00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:04.519 Jeff could go to the prom itself, but he wasn't 272 00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:07.799 allowed to attend the dinner with friends, he wasn't allowed 273 00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:11.200 to drive himself, and he definitely wasn't allowed to head 274 00:18:11.240 --> 00:18:15.200 to the after party at Great America Detective Center recalled. 275 00:18:15.799 --> 00:18:17.559 He could not go to the prom without his dad 276 00:18:17.640 --> 00:18:20.440 taking him. He couldn't go to the dinner before the prom, 277 00:18:20.599 --> 00:18:24.839 he couldn't go to the after prom. But somehow Jeff 278 00:18:24.839 --> 00:18:28.039 did go to all of it, and the timing of 279 00:18:28.079 --> 00:18:31.279 the murders and the prom stuck detectives as more than 280 00:18:31.359 --> 00:18:35.200 just a coincidence. The night of the prom, Jeff's friends 281 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:37.599 were surprised when he suddenly said he'd be joining them. 282 00:18:37.640 --> 00:18:41.359 After all, they all knew he was grinded. His dad 283 00:18:41.359 --> 00:18:45.680 had made that crystal clear. But Jeff showed up, albeit late, 284 00:18:46.039 --> 00:18:48.880 to the pre prompt dinner at the East Bank emporium. 285 00:18:49.720 --> 00:18:53.319 He seemed calm, normal, even called his day a Darla 286 00:18:53.720 --> 00:18:55.799 a round five twenty pm to let her know that 287 00:18:55.839 --> 00:19:00.240 he was running late. That timing was important. I just 288 00:19:00.319 --> 00:19:03.440 believe that Jeff had killed his family sometime that afternoon, 289 00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:07.240 cleaned himself up, and then picked up Darla like nothing 290 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:11.319 had happened. When police interviewed his friends in Darla, nobody 291 00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:14.839 mentioned anything odd in his behavior that night. There were 292 00:19:14.839 --> 00:19:18.799 no signs of agitation, no panic, no blood. But one 293 00:19:18.839 --> 00:19:23.720 friend did recall something strange. While at Great America, Jeff 294 00:19:23.759 --> 00:19:26.000 had said, seemingly out of nowhere, that he had a 295 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:29.799 bad feeling that something terrible might have happened back home, 296 00:19:33.839 --> 00:19:37.960 you know, running Morbidology. I'm constantly amazed by our international audience. 297 00:19:38.319 --> 00:19:40.960 We get messages from listeners all across the world, from 298 00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:44.720 Sweden to Brazil to Japan. You're fascinated by true crime cases. 299 00:19:44.960 --> 00:19:47.039 But here's the thing that's been on my mind. 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You can get 319 00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:51.240 started with two thousand words on your website translated for free. 320 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:59.119 Just to visit tovik dot app slash morbidology Just relationship 321 00:20:59.160 --> 00:21:03.480 with his father been easy. It was strained sometimes explosive. 322 00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:08.160 Some friends said that Jeff hated his father. Others said 323 00:21:08.200 --> 00:21:12.400 he was deeply jealous of his stepmother and stepsisters, Dawn 324 00:21:12.440 --> 00:21:15.920 and the girls, they said got all the attention. Jeff 325 00:21:15.960 --> 00:21:18.920 felt like an outsider in his own home. He was 326 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:21.599 still grieving the loss of his mother, Joy, who had 327 00:21:21.599 --> 00:21:26.240 died of cancer just a year before Robert remarried. One friend, 328 00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:29.759 Mark Berger, said Jeff missed his mum. She was his 329 00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:34.400 best friend. Even Robert had confided in friends about the tension. 330 00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:37.559 He once told someone that he was half scared of 331 00:21:37.599 --> 00:21:39.799 what Jeff might do if he wasn't allowed to go 332 00:21:39.839 --> 00:21:44.400 to the prom. Dnteu had expressed fear, telling a friend 333 00:21:44.440 --> 00:21:47.799 she was really afraid of her step son. And then 334 00:21:47.799 --> 00:21:51.319 there was the funeral. Carol Jensen, a close family friend, 335 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:56.079 remembered seeing Jeff sitting among the mourners. She said, there 336 00:21:56.160 --> 00:21:59.119 was Jeff sitting there with his big blue eyes, just glaring, 337 00:21:59.640 --> 00:22:03.160 pierced eyes. I thought it had to be shocked. The 338 00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:05.039 rest of the family was so torn up, and he 339 00:22:05.119 --> 00:22:10.119 just sat there staring. I'll never forget those eyes. After 340 00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:13.079 returning from Great America, Jeff was brought in for questioning. 341 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:16.279 I guess what we want to talk to you about 342 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:20.480 is when was the last time. 343 00:22:20.319 --> 00:22:20.880 You were home? 344 00:22:22.359 --> 00:22:23.519 At about. 345 00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:31.119 Quarter till five Saturday afternoon, Saturday evening? 346 00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:37.000 Of everybody who's still home when you left? Right? Was 347 00:22:37.039 --> 00:22:37.680 everybody there? 348 00:22:38.079 --> 00:22:40.799 Dad and Don and Janelle and Jolane were there, Jessica 349 00:22:40.920 --> 00:22:42.880 was at a friend's house, and Jackie was in Huntington. 350 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:47.359 When you were a great American that detective or police 351 00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:50.279 officer at their head, you and the room and towards 352 00:22:50.319 --> 00:22:53.200 your parents had been murdered. What was your reaction to that? 353 00:22:54.279 --> 00:23:03.839 I was shocked, started crying. I mean, it's it's stunned me. 354 00:23:03.880 --> 00:23:05.680 I didn't know how it could happen. I don't know 355 00:23:06.119 --> 00:23:07.000 why it would happen. 356 00:23:09.039 --> 00:23:11.359 Was there anybody in that family you really didn't get 357 00:23:11.359 --> 00:23:12.680 along with? How about your stepmother? 358 00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:15.960 We didn't get along real well. I mean we talked 359 00:23:16.039 --> 00:23:20.319 high by type thing, but we never really talk to 360 00:23:20.359 --> 00:23:24.200 each other or anything. I mean I didn't I didn't 361 00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:28.920 hate her anything, but we just we we tolerated each other. 362 00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:32.640 And how about your stepsisters? 363 00:23:33.240 --> 00:23:35.960 Which ones? Uh, all three of 'em? What about 'em? 364 00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:37.240 Did you get along with them? 365 00:23:37.319 --> 00:23:39.039 Oh? I get along with the girl's grade. I just 366 00:23:39.079 --> 00:23:41.839 loved the girls, You and. 367 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:43.880 Your dad getting any arguments? Uh? Saturday? 368 00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:46.720 No, we had a real good day Saturday. We got 369 00:23:46.759 --> 00:23:47.799 along real well. 370 00:23:47.880 --> 00:23:48.559 What do you mean you? 371 00:23:48.559 --> 00:23:51.000 You and your dad had a real good day Saturday. 372 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:53.680 We didn't argue at all. It w he was really 373 00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:56.960 he He said that I'd been doing a pretty good 374 00:23:57.039 --> 00:23:59.759 job of shaping up and everything. 375 00:24:01.400 --> 00:24:04.559 Detective John Budrick asked him point blank. 376 00:24:04.720 --> 00:24:08.240 So you who killed your mother or father or your father? 377 00:24:08.359 --> 00:24:12.519 And no, I really don't. I don't know who would 378 00:24:12.559 --> 00:24:12.839 want to. 379 00:24:13.720 --> 00:24:16.559 Then came the harder question, did you have anything to. 380 00:24:16.519 --> 00:24:17.000 Do with it? 381 00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:20.119 No? I didn't. Me and my father didn't get alot. 382 00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:26.079 Sometimes sometimes I'd be really upset with him, but we 383 00:24:26.200 --> 00:24:27.319 always worked things out. 384 00:24:27.680 --> 00:24:31.279 But detectives weren't convinced. They called Jeff and a lie 385 00:24:31.359 --> 00:24:34.759 about a gas station he said he visited, he'd actually 386 00:24:34.799 --> 00:24:38.039 gone to a different one. When pressed, Jeff grew anxious, 387 00:24:38.759 --> 00:24:42.559 He fidgeted, and then out of nowhere, he asked, if 388 00:24:42.599 --> 00:24:44.720 I went to jail, would I get the electric chair. 389 00:24:45.880 --> 00:24:50.240 It was a chilling question, but chilling wasn't enough. Detectives 390 00:24:50.279 --> 00:24:54.759 needed hard evidence. They had blood, but not Jeff's. They 391 00:24:54.759 --> 00:24:58.079 had a timeline, but no weapon. They sent everything to 392 00:24:58.119 --> 00:25:01.079 the FBI, but when the results came back, nothing could 393 00:25:01.079 --> 00:25:04.559 tie Jeff to the murders. He remained a free man, 394 00:25:05.119 --> 00:25:09.279 but he was never free of suspicion. Over the next decade, 395 00:25:09.319 --> 00:25:13.559 detectives tried everything. They ran a Crime of the Week segments, 396 00:25:14.079 --> 00:25:17.240 They canvassed the public for tips. They begged for somebody 397 00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:20.720 to come forward. In nineteen ninety two, the Pelly family 398 00:25:20.759 --> 00:25:24.680 placed a reward notice in the South Bend Tribune. It read, 399 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:28.000 if you have no information, please pray for the family 400 00:25:28.039 --> 00:25:32.319 members remaining. We still hurt. The case had gone cold, 401 00:25:32.359 --> 00:25:35.880