CONNER CONLEY - 10 yo -(2009) Rising Sun/Cincinnati IN

Indiana State Police are investigating the death of a ten-year-old Indiana boy.
Police found boy's body was found in a city park in Rising Sun
around 8:15pm Sunday.
Rising Sun is in Ohio county just southwest of
Cincinnati in Indiana.
The child has been identified as Conner Conley of Rising Sun.
Police are not saying how the boy died, but say an autopsy is expected to be conducted Monday.
The Indiana State Police are being assisted in the investigation by
the Ohio County Sheriff's Office, Rising Sun Police, and Ohio County
Coroner's Office.

Many people in this Ohio River town of 2,500 woke Monday morning to
the news that the body of a 10-year-old boy had been found the night
before in a wooded area near a city park. Durhonda Drew heard a report on the radio and talked at breakfast to
her twins, students in third grade at Ohio County Elementary/Middle
School, where the dead youth, Conner Conley, was in the fifth grade.By
noontime, even more shocking, word had spread around town – from the
cigarette smoke-choked Snack Shack on Main Street to the halls of
Rising Sun High School – that Conner’s 17-year-old brother had been
arrested and was being held at the Dearborn County Juvenile Center in
Lawrenceburg.Jeremy Monk, the boys’ uncle who often watched
them, said the 17-year-old was in custody and that his sister, the
boys’ mother, had been with police all day.“It’s a damn shame,” said Monk, standing on his front porch. “They are both good kids. They are both honor roll students.”

The
Indiana State Police is leading the investigation, and its spokesman,
Sgt. Noel Houze, said that a 17-year-old juvenile was in custody and
had been charged with causing serious bodily injury, a felony.

“It is a preliminary charge,” Houze said. “It is still a death investigation.”

Houze
refused to confirm the identity of the suspect. He said more
information would be available Tuesday, once results of an autopsy were
available.

Houze said he did not know the cause of death or a motive, but said police were not looking for any other suspects.

Conner’s
body was found about 8:15 p.m. after Ohio County Sheriff’s Deputy Adam
Ziegler received word a boy’s body was in Rising Sun City Park. The
body was discovered about 30 yards from a maintenance building near a
dump, adjacent to an oil and antifreeze recycling station and an
informal burial ground where three pets had been buried.

Parents in Rising Sun know the area as a popular hangout for teens.

Investigators
believe Connor died elsewhere and that his body was moved near the
park, Houze said. A missing-person report had not been filed, he added.

The
Rising Sun-Ohio County Community School Corp. enacted its crisis plan
Monday, calling available counselors and four ministers to the
elementary/middle school to counsel its 625 students as well as staff,
Superintendent Stephen Patz said.

Conner was in the fifth grade
and had his name published in the weekly Rising Sun Recorder newspaper
for being on the A-B honor roll.

“He was a good student, he had lots of friends,” said Patz, superintendent for 16 years.

Though
other students have died of illness and accidental injury during his
tenure, Conner’s death was the first Patz could remember involving foul
play.

Houze, stationed at District 42 in Versailles, said it would be the first homicide in Rising Sun in 15-18 years.

The
suspect lived near Rising Sun but not in the city limits and was taken
into custody late Sunday night or early Monday morning, Houze said.

The
brothers and their parents once lived with Monk in a house on Main
Street, only a few blocks from the 260-student high school and no more
than half a mile from the park.

Neighbors living near the
house recalled Conner’s mother taking him to the nearby public swimming
pool, but said the Conley family kept to itself.

The body of a 10 year old Ohio County, Indiana boy will be examined by
a coroner in Indianapolis today as investigators continue their search
for information on how the young boy died. Conney Conley was
found near a park in Rising Sun Sunday night. Investigators say a 17
year old male is in custody in connection with the child's death.

Conley
attended the Ohio County Middle School in Rising Sun. His body was
found in a wooded area off Shiner Boulevard, an area that can be seen
from his school. Deputies say a tip led them to the boy's body around
8:15 Sunday night, in a place where residents go to drop off yard
waste.

It's not clear how the boy died.

Officers have
charged a 17 year old male, who attends Ohio County High School, with
"Battery Causing Serious Bodily Injury" but have not released his
name. Police did not say how the two may have known each other.

An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday for the 10-year-old boy found dead Sunday night in a park in Rising Sun, Indiana.

Conner Conley was a fifth grader at Ohio County Elementary School.
Police
aren't saying much about their investigation, or about the relationship
between Conley and the 17-year-old boy they have in custody. But
neighbors say the teenager charged with felony battery is the boy's
brother.

After the autopsy is completed, Indiana State police
say they'll be able to say more about how the boy was killed and
whether the teenage suspect will face additional charges.

Counselors were at the school Monday, helping students cope with the loss of a classmate.

"Everybody
knows everybody in our community", said Ohio County Schools
Superintendent Stephen Patz, "There's only 70 to 75 kids in his grade
in our school. So, it hits home not only with the students but also
with the staff; even the parents in our community."

Family members of a 17 year old Ohio County, Indiana teen charged in
his little brother's death spoke with reporters Tuesday night and gave
new details into the case. The teen is accused of causing the injuries
that killed Conner Conley.

Conner was found in a wood area in Rising Sun Sunday night, not far from Ohio County Middle School, where Conner attended.

Family
members say the 17 year old brother picked Conner up from his
aunt's house over the weekend. Hours later, the family member says the
teen walked into a police station alone to confess to killing Conner.
Shortly after that, the Indiana State Police went to the wooded area
and found Conner's body.

A pathologist from Indiana State
University autopsied Conner's body on Tuesday. Local prosecutors were
there and won't say if they know the manner of the boys death but will
say the results were helpful to investigation. The prosecutor also
says the 17 year old brother is the only suspect, but will not discuss
a motive.

Officers have the brother, who attends Ohio County
High School, with "Battery Causing Serious Bodily Injury" but have not
released his name.

The teen appeared in court Tuesday for a
brief hearing. He was led away from the courtroom, his face covered by
a coat, and taken by police to an undisclosed location. Prosecutors
say they continue to build evidence in the case, and they may upgrade
charges against the teen as warranted. He may also face trial as an
adult at some point in the process.

The teen will be back in court on Friday for a delinquency hearing.

RISING SUN, Ind. — Ignoring his younger brother's plea of "Andrew, stop," a 17-year-old who told authorities he identified with a television serial killer strangled the boy, dragged the body to his car and drove to see his girlfriend, an Indiana prosecutor said Thursday.

Andrew Conley of Rising Sun was calm and showed no remorse or emotion as he described strangling 10-year-old Conner Conley as the two wrestled Sunday, a probable cause affidavit said. Conley told investigators he dumped his brother's body near a park in the Ohio River community about 90 miles southeast of Indianapolis.

"Sometimes people are just evil," Dearborn-Ohio County Prosecutor Aaron Negangard said. "This is an evil child."

Prosecutors filed preliminary charges of murder against Conley along with a supporting affidavit Thursday. Conley is being charged as an adult and will appear Friday in court, Negangard said.

Conley's family did not immediately return messages for comment Thursday. Negangard said Conley had an attorney but none was listed in the affidavit.

The teen told investigators he had had fantasies about killing someone since he was in eighth grade, including cutting somebody's throat, and felt "just like" the serial killer Dexter on the Showtime television series of the same name. He said killing his brother satisfied a craving like a hamburger satisfied hunger.

"Like I had to ... like when people have something like they are hungry and there is a hamburger sitting there and they knew they had to have it and I was sitting there and it just happened," Conley told investigators in the affidavit.

The slaying comes six weeks after 15-year-old Alyssa Bustamante told Missouri authorities she strangled, stabbed and cut a 9-year-old neighbor's throat because she wanted to know what it was like to kill someone.

The affidavit in Conley's case described him killing his brother before visiting his girlfriend and other friends. It said:

The two brothers were wrestling while their parents were at work. Conley put Conner in a headlock, causing the younger boy to pass out and fall to the floor. Conley dragged Conner to kitchen, put on a pair of gloves and choked the younger boy for about 20 minutes until he noticed blood flowing from Conner's nose and mouth.

He told investigators the child's last words were "Andrew, stop."

Conley put a plastic bag over his brother's head, secured it with black electrical tape, and dragged the body by its feet down steps to the basement and then from the home to his car. Conley struck Conner's head on the ground several times before putting the body in the trunk of the car.

With the body still in the trunk, Conley drove to his girlfriend's house and gave her a sweetheart ring. She told investigators Conley "seemed happy, more happy than she had seen him in a while."

Negangard said he will consider seeking the maximum prison term of life without parole. Conley's age makes him ineligible for the death penalty.

"I believe Andrew Conley is a dangerous person, and that's why we'll be considering the maximum penalty that we can impose," Negangard said.

Conley also told investigators that on the morning of Conner's death, he stood over his sleeping father with a knife and thought about killing him. Conley went to police Sunday night, admitted killing Conner and told investigators where to find the body.

The teen had no juvenile record and his teachers considered him a good student, Negangard said.

"This kid, Conner, was a good kid, and Andrew was an A and B student," he said. "This comes as a shock to the community."

Conley has been held at the Juvenile Detention Center in Lawrenceburg but was to be moved Thursday night to the Switzerland County Jail in Vevay.

Showing no emotion and with his parents a few blocks from the
courthouse, an Indiana teenager pleaded not guilty to killing his
10-year-old brother. His mother and father were greeting mourners who
came to pay respects to their slain younger son.Andrew Conley,
17, was charged as an adult in Ohio Circuit Court with murdering his
brother, Conner Conley, a decision that the boys' parents supported,
said Dearborn-Ohio County Prosecutor Aaron Negangard. In front of a few
of his friends, the teen answered only basic questions during Friday's
hearing. His attorney, Gary Sorge, entered a not guilty plea on his
behalf, and left the courthouse without talking to reporters.Nearby,
the boys' parents, Shawn and Bridget Conley, greeted a steady stream of
friends and well-wishers who came to a viewing of Connor's body at the
Markland Funeral Home. The fifth-grader was dressed in a dark suit and
lay in an open casket.The boy's killing has left residents of this small Ohio River town 90 miles southeast of Indianapolis shaken and confused.According
to prosecutors, Andrew Conley, told investigators he strangled Conner
while they were wrestling at their home Sunday, then drove his body to
a park and dumped it. They say he said he did it to satisfy his craving
to kill.Townspeople described Andrew on Friday as "nice,"
"normal," and "polite." A relative of the family, Debbie Snyder, said
the Conleys were a "strong" and "balanced" family.And school
officials said the brothers were good students and had many friends.
Andrew got As and Bs, was a member of the Spanish club and had no
record of disciplinary problems.The Conleys withdrew Andrew from
school on Nov. 16, 12 days before Conner's body was found near a city
park, Rising Sun-Ohio County Community Schools Superintendent Stephen
Patz said Friday. He declined to say why, and the parents have not
talked to the media.Prosecutors, in an affidavit, said Andrew
Conley showed no remorse when he entered the police station Sunday and
announced that he had killed his brother. They said he described how he
choked his younger brother, saying he strangled the boy to satisfy a
craving like a hungry person eating a hamburger.They also said
Conley told investigators that killing his brother made him feel like
the fictional television serial killer "Dexter," and that he had cut
himself in the past.


Dr. Lisa Boesky, a San Diego child
psychologist and expert on teen and child behavior, said the boy's
alleged self-mutilation indicated he may have been suffering from
depression or anxiety, or experiencing overwhelming emotions such as
rage.Boesky said teens who kill nearly always have deep,
underlying problems and that it was unlikely the television show
influenced Conley's actions."It's rarely something that happens
overnight," she said. "This is not caused by a television show or a
fight with their parents. This is typically indicative of a serious
disturbance. And clearly in cases like this, it indicates that
something is seriously wrong."A white cross stood Friday at the
site in the park near where Connor's body was found with the messages
"In loving memory of" and "classmates of Conner 2009."Connor's great-uncle, Al Snyder, attended the visitation Friday and described the boy as outgoing, artistic and articulate."He could carry on a conversation better than most adults I know," Snyder, 48, of Camden, N.Y., told The Cincinnati Enquirer.Pastor
Jim Jenkins of the First Baptist Church of Rising Sun is among the
clergy helping counsel students and staff at the two schools. He said
the case has been especially hard on Conner's fifth-grade classmates."You've
got a class of 20 children and all of a sudden one of them is not there
and they've been murdered and their face is all over TV and the story
is all over the radio," he said.Patz, the school superintendent, said it was impossible to make sense of the crime."Everyone is just trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together and they aren't fitting," Patz said. "They may never fit."

Showing no emotion, Andrew Conley, the Indiana teen who, police say,
idolized television serial killer "Dexter" pleaded not guilty to
killing his 10-year-old brother.


At the same time, just a few blocks from the courthouse, his mother
and father were greeting mourners who came to pay respects to their
slain younger son.


The 17-year-old was charged as an adult in Ohio Circuit Court with
murdering his brother, Conner Conley, a decision that the boys' parents
supported, said Dearborn-Ohio County Prosecutor Aaron Negangard. In
front of a few of his friends, the teen answered only basic questions
during Friday's hearing. His attorney, Gary Sorge, entered a not guilty
plea on his behalf, and left the courthouse without talking to
reporters.


Nearby, the boys' parents, Shawn and Bridget Conley, greeted a
steady stream of friends and well-wishers who came to a viewing of
Connor's body at the Markland Funeral Home. The fifth-grader was
dressed in a dark suit and lay in an open casket.


The boy's killing has left residents of this small Ohio River town 90 miles southeast of Indianapolis shaken and confused.


According to prosecutors, Andrew Conley, told investigators he
strangled Conner while they were wrestling at their home Sunday, then
drove his body to a park and dumped it. They say he said he did it to
satisfy his craving to kill.


Townspeople described Andrew on Friday as "nice," "normal," and
"polite." A relative of the family, Debbie Snyder, said the Conleys
were a "strong" and "balanced" family.


And school officials said the brothers were good students and had
many friends. Andrew got As and Bs, was a member of the Spanish club
and had no record of disciplinary problems.


The Conleys withdrew Andrew from school on Nov. 16, 12 days before
Conner's body was found near a city park, Rising Sun-Ohio County
Community Schools Superintendent Stephen Patz said Friday. He declined
to say why, and the parents have not talked to the media.


Prosecutors, in an affidavit, said Andrew Conley showed no remorse
when he entered the police station Sunday and announced that he had
killed his brother.

They said he described how he choked his younger brother, saying he
strangled the boy to satisfy a craving like a hungry person eating a
hamburger.


They also said Conley told investigators that killing his brother
made him feel like the fictional television serial killer "Dexter," and
that he had cut himself in the past.


Dr. Lisa Boesky, a San Diego child psychologist and expert on teen
and child behavior, said the boy's alleged self-mutilation indicated he
may have been suffering from depression or anxiety, or experiencing
overwhelming emotions such as rage.


Boesky said teens who kill nearly always have deep, underlying
problems and that it was unlikely the television show influenced
Conley's actions.


"It's rarely something that happens overnight," she said. "This is
not caused by a television show or a fight with their parents. This is
typically indicative of a serious disturbance. And clearly in cases
like this, it indicates that something is seriously wrong."


A white cross stood Friday at the site in the park near where
Connor's body was found with the messages "In loving memory of" and
"classmates of Conner 2009."


Connor's great-uncle, Al Snyder, attended the visitation Friday and described the boy as outgoing, artistic and articulate.


"He could carry on a conversation better than most adults I know," Snyder, 48, of Camden, N.Y., told The Cincinnati Enquirer.


Pastor Jim Jenkins of the First Baptist Church of Rising Sun is
among the clergy helping counsel students and staff at the two schools.
He said the case has been especially hard on Conner's fifth-grade
classmates.


"You've got a class of 20 children and all of a sudden one of them
is not there and they've been murdered and their face is all over TV
and the story is all over the radio," he said.


Patz, the school superintendent, said it was impossible to make sense of the crime.


"Everyone is just trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together and they aren't fitting," Patz said. "They may never fit."

Stunned by Andrew Conley's admission of guilt Monday in the murder of his 10-year-old brother, prosecutors are counting on Conley's age to help them get a sentence of life without parole.
Defense attorneys are hoping their client's age, just 18, and being remorseful will convince Ohio County Circuit Court Judge James Humphrey to give Conley the 45-to-65 years called for in Indiana for a murder conviction.State law prevents prosecutors from seeking the death penalty because of Conley's age at the time of the murder.The sentencing phase of what had been scheduled as a jury trial will begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Conley admitted he strangled his brother, Conner, in his family's rural Ohio County home last November. In doing so, he also waived his right to a trial by jury."He'll talk to the judge Wednesday," attorney Gary Sorge said of Conley, now 18. "He is very sorrowful."

Conley, when arrested last year, told authorities he had fantasized about killing someone for years and his hero was "Dexter," a serial killer on Showtime. He also told investigators he imagined what it would feel like to kill his father.

Asked whose decision it was to plead guilty, Sorge said, "Andrew's, it's what he wanted. He said that from the beginning."

Prosecutor Aaron Negangard said the state is concerned that Conley shows sociopathic behavior and could become a serial killer.

"He's so young," said Negangard, who was surprised by Conley's change from a plea of guilty by insanity. "He could recommit."

Indiana law calls for sentence reductions for good behavior and educational achievement.

"He could be out before 40," Negangard said.

The sentencing hearing could provide drama beyond Conley's testimony.

The prosecution is prepared to enter into evidence depositions of the boys' parents, Shawn and Bridget Conley, who have moved out of Indiana. They were at work in food service at Grand Victoria Casino on the night of Nov. 28 when Andrew and Conner started to wrestle.

Conley told investigators he spent 20 minutes choking his brother before using electrician's tape to secure a plastic bag around the boy's head. He dumped the body in a park behind the boy's elementary school in Rising Sun.

Negangard and Conley's lawyers agreed to spare the parents the trauma of appearing at trial.

The boys' grandmother and uncle appeared at the hearing Monday morning in the second-floor courtroom but declined comment afterward.

"Please don't bother us; we've got nothing to say," a male relative said while getting into a pickup outside the courthouse.

Conley's trial was scheduled to start Monday at 9 a.m. and several dozen prospective jurors had been called to the courthouse.

Conley, dressed in dark slacks, a blue dress shirt and off-white tie was led in by county sheriff's deputies at 10:10 a.m. His bushy red hair from his police mug shot had been cut and was combed neatly above his ears. He spoke quietly to a deputy and each of his attorneys, Sorge and John Watson of Dillsboro.

"Mr. Conley pleads guilty as charged," Sorge told the judge.

The judge swore in Conley, who answered a series of questions from Watson that he had been fully counseled by his lawyers as to the meaning and potential consequences of his guilty plea. Humphrey then asked Conley a series of similar questions.

"Are you comfortable with your decision?" Humphrey asked.

"Yes, Your Honor," Conley said.

Conley, as an 18 year old, is allowed to enter his own plea.

"He understands the nature of the charges against him to which he has plead guilty ... and his plea was freely and voluntarily made," Humphrey wrote in the judgment of conviction. "The defendant, Andrew Conley, who is a male person, 18 years of age, is guilty of Murder."

Conley had previously pleaded guilty by reason of insanity.

In court Monday, Humphrey and Negangard said that the results of three psychological evaluations - two ordered by the court and one by the defense - had come back that Conley was not insane and had full comprehension of the crime he had been accused of committing.

Negangard said afterward that Conley did show "varying degrees of mental illness," including major depressive disorder and bi-polar disorder.

Court was adjourned at 10:56 a.m. - 16 minutes after the hearing began.

By 11:30, Conley had changed back into his orange prison jump suit and was led, hands shackled, into a state police cruiser for the drive to Vevay, where he has been held in the Switzerland County Jail.

A woman has testified that her older son ate popcorn and joked with her the morning after he strangled his 10-year-old brother.
Andrew Conley's mother, Bridget Conley, did not attend his sentencing hearing Friday in court in Rising Sun, Ind.She told attorneys during a videotaped deposition played in court that Andrew seemed "fine" when she returned from her night shift at a casino in November. She says she sought counseling for Andrew in the days before he strangled his brother, Connor Conley, because claimed he had attempted suicide.Andrew Conley pleaded guilty to murdering his brother and faces 45 years to life in prison.The sentencing hearing could last through Monday.

Teen convicted of killing younger brother appeals life sentence
Andrew Conley, 19, was sentenced to life in prison without parole following his guilty plea in 2010.

12:15 p.m. EST, November 14, 2011

South Bend, Ind.

The Rising Sun, Ind. teenager accused of strangling his younger brother to death in 2009 will fight against his life sentence Monday.

Andrew Conley, 19, was sentenced to life in prison without parole, following his guilty plea in 2010.


Conley will appeal the sentence at the Indiana Supreme Court. His attorneys said the life sentence handed to their client should be reduced to 55 years in prison, claiming the judge did not properly investigate whether or not Conley was mentally ill.

Conley’s attorneys also said the time Conley has already served should be credited to his sentence, thus allowing Conley to be released when he is in his 40’s.

Conley admitted to strangling his 10-year-old brother, Conner, in November 2009. Police said Conley and his younger brother were wrestling before Conley began choking the 10-year-old. Police said Conley then dragged his brother into the kitchen and continued to strangle him until he died.

Police said Conley put a plastic bag over his brother’s head, secured it with electrical tape and put his brother’s body in the trunk of his car, before driving to his girlfriend’s house to give her a promise ring.

Investigators said Conley said he wanted to strangle someone since he was in the 8th grade. When asked why he murdered his brother, police said Conley replied “it's like when people have something like they are hungry and there is a hamburger sitting there and they knew they had to have it, and I was sitting there and it just happened."

http://www.fox59.com/news/wxin-teen-convicted-brother-appeals-teen-convicted-of-killing-younger-brother-appeals-life-sentence-20111114,0,3304657.column