Indianapolis – Officials announced on Monday murder charges against two young men in the shooting of Amanda Blackburn, Pastor Davey Blackburn’s pregnant wife.
Larry Jo Taylor, 18, and Jalen Watson, 21, broke into their home in Indianapolis on November 11, after the minister of the Resonate Church went to the gym early that morning and did not locked the front door.
Taylor and Watson also face charges for felony burglary and theft, as well as robbery and auto theft. Diano Gordon, 24, was involved in the crime and faces burglary charges. Taylor shot Blackburn three times, according to a probable cause affidavit. It also states that Taylor and Watson had robbed two other houses before entering the Blackburn’s home through the unlocked front door.
Amanda Blackburn, 28, was 13-week pregnant and was found dead in her living room. Although it remains unclear whether she was sexually abused, her shirt was pulled up and her underwear was found nearby her bleeding body, declared Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry. He added that investigations would continue, including further forensic analysis.
As told to the police, Pastor Davey Blackburn had left the house about 6 a.m. to go to the gym. He found his dead wife and his 15-month-old son unharmed in a crib as he returned home at 8:20 a. m. After hearing the news of Taylor’s arrest, the minister expressed in a statement how relieved he felt and that he hoped Jesus would help him and his family to forgive him.
In the statement, which was posted Monday morning on the Resonate Church’s Facebook page, the pastor wrote that, even though he felt angry and devastated, he chose the path of grace and hope. He explained that Amanda had taught him across the years they were together that emotions should not determine decisions.
“Through all of this and although there will be great consequences for his actions, he would become truly sorry for what he has done and would even begin to experience the life-transforming power of the Grace and Mercy of Jesus Christ,” Davey Blackburn wrote, referring to the suspects.
According to records from the Indiana Department of Correction, Jalen Watson had faced burglary charges twice in the past three years. On August 6 he was released from prison after completing the second. As for Taylor, court records revealed that he also faces misdemeanor public nudity and public indecency charges stemming from an incident occurred in June, when he exposed himself to a woman in a parking lot.
Source: The Washington Post