Indiana Teenager Charged in Strangulation Death of Brother
Thursday, December 03, 2009
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."
* * *
Do you believe that some people are born evil?
Should a killer of this age EVER be given a second chance?
Do you think murderers of all ages should be eligible for the death penalty? Or are you against the death penalty?
Do you believe that some people are born evil?Yes I do!
Should a killer of this age EVER be given a second chance? No he shouldn't!
Do you think murderers of all ages should be eligible for the death penalty? Or are you against the death penalty?I am for the death penalty as long as they are 100% guilty.
Quoting Cafe GroupAdmin:Do you believe that some people are born evil?
Yes i do, this boy seems to be full of it.Should a killer of this age EVER be given a second chance?
NO! Just because they are teens doesn't mean that they didn't know what they were doing. It's obvious that this boy did know what he was doing.Do you think murderers of all ages should be eligible for the death penalty? YES!! Or are you against the death penalty?NO!
I don't believe that any person is evil, at least not in the religious sense of the word. I think people that commit these kinds of horrible acts have brains that are wired wrong somehow, which makes them sociopaths or psychopaths. A normal human brain is hardwired not to commit senseless acts of murder.
With that said, given that this teen actually described a physical yearning to murder, I don't see how a person like him could ever be rehabilitated, short of some kind of radical brain surgery or something. I think we'd all be better off with him imprisoned for the rest of his life.
Holy crap! That is HORRENDOUS!!! His own brother? People like that can NEVER be fixed. So to answer your questions;
NO
NO
YES. I AM FOR THE DEATH PENALTY.
Quoting shebearncub:
Do you believe that some people are born evil?Yes I do!
Should a killer of this age EVER be given a second chance? No he shouldn't!
Do you think murderers of all ages should be eligible for the death penalty? Or are you against the death penalty?I am for the death penalty as long as they are 100% guilty.
agreed!
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
Quoting Cafe GroupAdmin:Do you believe that some people are born evil?
Should a killer of this age EVER be given a second chance?
Do you think murderers of all ages should be eligible for the death penalty? Or are you against the death penalty?
I don't believe anyone is 100% evil. I think they're made as much as they're born
I can think of at least one child serial killer that got out of prison and became a model citizen by all accounts. I think 2nd chances depend on how they deal with their punishments
I am not against the death penalty provided there is absolutely no question about the guilt of the person.
Do you believe that some people are born evil?
No, they are a product of their environment, bad parenting or mental illness.
Should a killer of this age EVER be given a second chance?
No!
Do you think murderers of all ages should be eligible for the death penalty? Or are you against the death penalty?
I'm for the death Penalty, and I think anyone who is 13 or older knows right from wrong and should be held accountable for their actions. Not necessarily the death penalty for teenagers, but they should never see the light of day again.
My gosh - reading this just made my stomach turn.
Do you believe that some people are born evil? No.
Should a killer of this age EVER be given a second chance? No.
Do you think murderers of all ages should be eligible for the death penalty? Or are you against the death penalty?
I will venture to say that I think murderers of all ages should be eligible for the same kind of punishment, but I'm on the fence about the death penalty itself. I surely don't want this kid free in the world again, and I won't want him free in the world when he's a grown man.
We are raising sociopaths it is just a matter of which direction they take it. The elite in this country are almost all sociopaths.
I think that anyone under the age of 25 (the age most people consider a person to really be an adult) should be taken to a mental ward and see if they can be deprogrammed. If so a second chance could be given on a limited means such that they will forever be paying that debt to society yet they will also not be thrown into a cell to rot. I detest the way we cage people and do not try to improve society at the worst level. Until we raise this level we cannot raise society in general.
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