EBONI RICHARDSON - 19 months (2009)/ Convicted: Father; Cordell Richardson - Gary IN

Distraught because his 19-month-old daughter might move with her
mother to Texas, Cordell Richardson took the girl and, according to
police, said "nobody was going to take his daughter away" before
shooting and killing her.

Richardson, 22, is charged with
murder in the death of the girl, Eboni Richardson. Police said he shot
her in downtown Gary on Thursday just as he was expected to turn her
over to her uncle. Then he shot himself in the head.

A Methodist Hospitals spokeswoman declined to release information
about Richardson's condition Friday afternoon at its Merrillville
campus where he's hospitalized. He faces a maximum of 65 years in
prison if convicted. The Lake County Prosecutor's Office said he is to
be held in the county jail without bond.

In a charging affidavit filed in Lake County Superior Court on
Friday, Gary police describe a frantic attempt by friends and family to
return the girl to her mother, Shaina Hill, hours before the shooting.

Hill, of Gary, told police she gave Richardson permission to take the child, according to the affidavit.

However, Cpl. Gabrielle King said Richardson called her at 4 p.m.
Thursday and said she would never see Eboni again if she didn't meet
him at his house by 4:30 p.m.

She arrived with police, according to reports, but Richardson wasn't
there. Richardson then called Hill and refused to return Eboni.

Hill went to the home of Jamell Campbell, Richardson's
brother-in-law, and told him Richardson was refusing to give Eboni
back. Campbell told police he called Richardson, who told him he didn't
want to lose his daughter.

Campbell called Jerry Wheeler, Richardson's friend, and Thomas
Murray, Richardson's brother. Wheeler said Richardson called him and
said he had kidnapped Eboni, according to court documents.

After several phone calls, Richardson agreed to meet Campbell,
Wheeler and Murray at Murray's grandfather's home in Gary. When they
got there, Richardson called again and told them to meet him at
Bennigan's restaurant, 500 E. 5th Ave. in Gary.

The men found Richardson's truck in the parking lot and parked next
to it, police said. Richardson was seen sitting on the driver's side in
the back seat, holding Eboni.

Campbell told police he was walking up to the truck, heard two
gunshots and saw a flash from inside. Murray opened the back door and
discovered that Richardson had shot himself in the head.

Wheeler opened the door on the other side, police said, and Eboni,
who had a gunshot wound in her chest, fell into his arms. Wheeler took
her, got back into the car he had arrived in, and tried to drive to the
hospital with Murray. Campbell got into Richardson's truck to drive
there, as well.

Police said the car carrying Eboni broke down at 4th Avenue and
Monroe Street, and Campbell had to pick the men and the baby up on the
way to the hospital.

Members of Eboni's family could not be reached Friday.

Reggie Johnson, Hill's neighbor, said Eboni was a happy baby who
liked to dress up for church and had joined his grandchildren to play
outside less than a month ago.

"They were all out here playing with the bubbles," Johnson said.

He described Hill as a "work-aholic" who took care of her
grandmother. He said he never noticed a problem between her and
Richardson.

"He loved that baby," Johnson said.

The Gary man who shot his 19-month-old daughter
to death and then turned the gun on himself outside a downtown Gary
restaurant and the city's minor league baseball park has been charged
with murder.

Twenty-year-old Cordell Richardson remains hospitalized, with a head
wound, at Methodist Hospital Northlake campus, in Gary, but a
spokesman, citing federal privacy laws, refused to discuss his
condition.


Richardson allegedly shot daughter Eboni Richardson in the front seat
of his truck, parked outside of the Bennigan's Restaurant on Fifth
Avenue in Gary, as family members and friends watched and after making
a series of bizarre telephone calls.

Richardson's ex-girlfriend told police that everything appeared normal
when Richardson picked up Eboni for a visit Thursday. But she told
police that a short time later, he called her and told her that if she
refused to come to his home, she would never see either of them again.
Instead, she called 911.

At the same time, Richardson was phoning other family members and friends to tell them he had kidnapped the girl.
Charging documents indicated that the family members and friends tried
to get him to agree to meet at the home of a friend, but he called and
told them to meet them outside the Bennigan's instead.

When the family members and friends met Richardson and Eboni, they
offered to drive them home separately. Instead, they heard two gunshots
and found both slumped over in the front seat of Richardson's truck, a
.38 caliber pistol dangling from his hand. Eboni was shot in the chest,
her father in the head.

Family members attempting to drive them separately to Methodist
Northlake lost precious minutes when the car carrying Eboni broke down.

The 5:25 p.m. shooting caused concern for fans arriving for a
Gary-SouthShore Railcats minor league baseball game at the U.S.
Steelyard Ballpark, across the street from the restaurant. Police said
that the game proceeded without delay or incident.

No court date was set, pending Richardson's recovery.

trying to find if this went to trial -

http://www.dreamindemon.com/2009/08/31/cordell-richardson-is-a-selfish-ass/

Crim Div MR - Rm IV (new) (45G04-0908-MR-00007)
State of Indiana v. CORDELL RICHARDSON
Court Information
Judge Thomas P. Stefaniak
Appearance Date 09-11-2012
Location Super. Ct. Crim. Div - Crown Pt. - Room 4 - G04
Next Event Type Status Hearing

http://www.lakecountyin.org/portal/media-type/html/user/anon/page/case.psml/js_pane/P-11ffb7e96a1-15ae6

Man gets 56 years for shooting death of baby daughter

By Ruth Ann Krause, Post-Tribune correspondent
November 6, 2012 3:44PM
Updated: December 8, 2012 6:35AM

Lake Superior Court Judge Thomas Stefaniak Jr. sentenced a Gary man to 56 years in prison for the murder of his 18-month-old daughter.

Cordell Richardson, 25, who pleaded guilty to the charge without a plea agreement on Sept. 11, had backpedaled on his admission when he was interviewed by a probation officer who prepared his presentence investigation report, saying he didn’t remember he even had a daughter.

In a dialogue with the judge, however, Richardson admitted he fatally shot Eboni Nicole Richardson, just four days before she turned 19 months old.

After the shooting on Aug. 27, 2009, outside the former Bennigan’s on 5th Avenue and Virginia Street in Gary, Richardson then shot himself in the head.

He was hospitalized for about two years at Logansport State Hospital, where he regained competency and was transferred back to Lake County Jail.

Gary police Detective Jeff Hornyak said evidence in the case showed Eboni died of a close-contact gunshot wound to the chest. Richardson had refused to return the girl to her mother, who had told police Richardson was acting strangely before the homicide.

Patricia Patterson, Richardson’s mother, said her son loved Eboni and was not a violent person. Patterson said her son was upset that the child’s mother, Shaina Hill, had planned to relocate to Texas with their daughter.

Deputy prosecutor Michelle Jatkiewicz argued for the maximum 65-year sentence. “He chose to murder her instead of turning her over,” she said of Eboni. “We have a very tragic situation that, but for the selfishness of the defendant, Eboni Richardson would be here today.”

The toddler was asleep when Richardson killed her. “She never had a chance,” Jatkiewicz said.

Defense attorney Alex Woloshansky argued for leniency in light of Richardson’s lack of criminal history except for a minor traffic violation. He noted his client pleaded guilty, accepted responsibility and had shown remorse.

“I just want to say that I’m sorry,” Richardson said. “I apologize to everybody involved. I lost touch with reality.”

Murder is punishable by 45 to 65 years, with 55 years as the advisory sentence.

The judge cited aggravating factors including the age of the victim and the way in which she died.

In mitigation, Stefaniak found Richardson’s lack of criminal record, his guilty plea and acceptance of responsibility and his now-altered mental status as the result of the self-inflicted gunshot wound.

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/lake/16197513-418/man-gets-56-years-for-shooting-death-of-baby-daughter.html