Nell
July 2nd, 2010, 03:06 AM
This happened a long time ago but i just saw it. How could anyone be so evil?
FRANKLIN, Ind., June 28— A man who prosecutors say fathered a child just so he could kill him to exact revenge on his wife was charged today with murder.
The man, Ronald L. Shanabarger, told police officers that he had planned the crime to punish his wife, Amy, who before they married had refused to cut short a vacation to comfort him after his father had died, prosecutors said.
''Shanabarger said he planned to make Amy feel the way he did when his father died,'' prosecutors said in an affidavit filed to support the murder charge.
Last Tuesday, just hours after the funeral of their son, Tyler, Mr. Shanabarger confessed to his wife that he smothered their son in his crib the night before Father's Day, investigators said. A coroner had ruled that the infant, who was 7 months old, died from sudden infant death syndrome.
The next day, Mr. Shanabarger, 30, told police officers that he had suffocated Tyler with plastic wrap and that he dreamed up the crime after his father's death in 1996, prosecutors said.
The prosecutors' affidavit said Mr. Shanabarger's plan included marrying Amy and getting her pregnant. He then ''allowed time for her to bond with the child, and then took his life,'' the affidavit said.
The authorities said Mr. Shanabarger begged officers in this town about 20 miles southeast of Indianapolis to shoot him after he confessed Wednesday.
Mr. Shanabarger, who was ordered held without bond, wore a brown flak jacket over a striped jail jumpsuit as he gave brief answers at the hearing today. The judge ordered that a public defender be appointed and set a trial date for Nov. 30.
Prosecutors said Mr. Shanabarger told them that on the evening of June 19, he wrapped plastic wrap around his son's face, then left the boy's nursery to get something to eat and brush his teeth.
Twenty minutes later, he returned, removed the plastic and placed Tyler face down in the crib before he went to bed, prosecutors said.
Ms. Shanabarger, 29, worked that night as a grocery store cashier. When she came home, she went straight to bed, assuming that Tyler was asleep. She found the boy's body the next morning, Father's Day.
Mr. Shanabarger, who worked at a tire retreading center, told the police that he confessed because he was haunted by the image of his son's face, investigators said.
Mr. Shanabarger has confessed at least three times, Police Chief Harry Furrer said. Each time, the police said, the story has been the same -- that he hatched his plan because he was enraged by his girlfriend's refusal to cut short a cruise and return home after his father's death in October 1996.
http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/crime/homicides/1999/shanabarger/shanabarger.html
FRANKLIN, Ind., June 28— A man who prosecutors say fathered a child just so he could kill him to exact revenge on his wife was charged today with murder.
The man, Ronald L. Shanabarger, told police officers that he had planned the crime to punish his wife, Amy, who before they married had refused to cut short a vacation to comfort him after his father had died, prosecutors said.
''Shanabarger said he planned to make Amy feel the way he did when his father died,'' prosecutors said in an affidavit filed to support the murder charge.
Last Tuesday, just hours after the funeral of their son, Tyler, Mr. Shanabarger confessed to his wife that he smothered their son in his crib the night before Father's Day, investigators said. A coroner had ruled that the infant, who was 7 months old, died from sudden infant death syndrome.
The next day, Mr. Shanabarger, 30, told police officers that he had suffocated Tyler with plastic wrap and that he dreamed up the crime after his father's death in 1996, prosecutors said.
The prosecutors' affidavit said Mr. Shanabarger's plan included marrying Amy and getting her pregnant. He then ''allowed time for her to bond with the child, and then took his life,'' the affidavit said.
The authorities said Mr. Shanabarger begged officers in this town about 20 miles southeast of Indianapolis to shoot him after he confessed Wednesday.
Mr. Shanabarger, who was ordered held without bond, wore a brown flak jacket over a striped jail jumpsuit as he gave brief answers at the hearing today. The judge ordered that a public defender be appointed and set a trial date for Nov. 30.
Prosecutors said Mr. Shanabarger told them that on the evening of June 19, he wrapped plastic wrap around his son's face, then left the boy's nursery to get something to eat and brush his teeth.
Twenty minutes later, he returned, removed the plastic and placed Tyler face down in the crib before he went to bed, prosecutors said.
Ms. Shanabarger, 29, worked that night as a grocery store cashier. When she came home, she went straight to bed, assuming that Tyler was asleep. She found the boy's body the next morning, Father's Day.
Mr. Shanabarger, who worked at a tire retreading center, told the police that he confessed because he was haunted by the image of his son's face, investigators said.
Mr. Shanabarger has confessed at least three times, Police Chief Harry Furrer said. Each time, the police said, the story has been the same -- that he hatched his plan because he was enraged by his girlfriend's refusal to cut short a cruise and return home after his father's death in October 1996.
http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/crime/homicides/1999/shanabarger/shanabarger.html