He buried his wife and became rich! Horrors in the holy family. True Crime Documentary.
Hi everyone, and today we’re going to take a look at another horrible case. Today we’re going to visit Indianapolis. It is a blend of modernity and original origins, ancient traditions and advanced technology. Indianapolis boasts art museums that showcase examples of cultural achievements from past centuries and modern times. Indianapolis hosts many festivals and events each year, with the Indy 500 automobile race being the most popular. But in our story, the tranquil Indianapolis that was to become, for the Blackburn family, a center of peace and God’s home on Earth, became the site of a violent tragedy.
On the morning of November 10th, 2015, a car parked outside a home on Sunnyfield Court. Davey Blackburn had returned from his daily workout at the gym. He was about to get out of the car, but a phone call kept him in the vehicle for a few minutes. After finishing the call, he leisurely got out of the car and went into the house.
When he opened the door, he froze, and the gym bag fell out of his hands.
His wife was lying on the living room floor in a pool of blood.
Davey was confused and badly shocked. He rushed to his beloved, gave her a cursory examination, felt for a pulse, and urgently dialed the emergency phone number.
The young woman was alive.
The living room where the tragedy occurred was a complete mess. Things were scattered. The purse of the unfortunate woman was emptied. On the second floor of the house, a small child was crying.
Emergency services arrived at the house after eight minutes. The area was cordoned off. The house was filled with police officers and investigators. The victim was rushed to the hospital.
She turned out to be 28-year-old Amanda Blackburn.
But let’s start in order not to miss any important details of this tragic story.
Amanda Grace Byers was born on July 31st, 1987, in Muskegon, Michigan. She attended school in Indianapolis, Indiana, but the family moved to Elkhart in 1995. There, Amanda graduated from Elkhart Christian Academy in 2006, and as early as 2008, she graduated from Pensacola Christian College in Pensacola, Florida, with an associate’s degree.
Amanda grew up in a deeply religious family where Christianity and the power of God’s word were paramount. Amanda’s father was the lead pastor of First Baptist Church in Elkhart, Indiana.
The religious traditions of the church, sermons, and psalters, the girl knew from childhood by heart and honored them unconditionally.
When other children were in a hurry to grow up, to know the taste of adult life, to go to parties and fall in love, Amanda loved Jesus and dreamed of serving Him.
But God already loved His Amanda. After all, He had created her in the likeness of an angel, a blonde-haired slender girl with an open, kind smile and sincere intentions.
But not only the girl’s appearance was perfect. Her thoughts and heart were also pure. In every act of Amanda was love for her neighbor.
As a teenager, Amanda took a vow of chastity and agreed not to even kiss a man until she was married, and she was always true to her word.
But the girl’s heart beat harder when she met her true and only love.
It turned out to be Davey Blackburn.
He was a native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The guy studied religion at Southern Wesleyan University and was also from a Christian and believing family.
Davey and Amanda met on a blind date at a Hawk Nelson Christian band concert organized by her sister and Davey’s best friend.
At that time, they were studying in different colleges, but every vacation the lovers spent together. It was pure platonic love devoid of earthly lusts.
They took walks together, shared their innermost thoughts and favorite excerpts from church books. They were never bored, for they knew how to rejoice in small things and sincerely joked with each other.
Once, before returning to school, Davey and Amanda had a mock milkshake drinking contest, which Amanda lost.
Davey then jokingly called Amanda a “milk girl.”
Looking at her, he realized he had met the girl he wanted to marry.
The couple dated long distance for a long time. They were constantly messaging each other on messengers, calling each other, and chatting for hours. Every vacation they spent together.
They were so reverent and tender about a serious relationship between a man and a woman that they visited a psychologist for a long time to learn how to communicate properly.
On August 1st, 2008, the marriage ceremony of Amanda and Davey Blackburn took place.
After the wedding, Davey told friends:
“From the moment I kissed Amanda, I knew that because of God’s plan, there would be a special bond between us.”
For the first four years after the wedding, the Blackburns lived in South Carolina. Davey was an associate pastor at NewSpring Church under Pastor Perry Noble.
But the young man wanted more, and he suggested to Amanda that she move to Indianapolis to organize a new church for youth.
Davey worked as a youth pastor, production director, and assistant campus pastor.
Amanda was reluctant to leave her family and part with her loved ones, and for a while struggled with the need to leave South Carolina. But she finally relented after her husband told her that God must have big things in store for them.
In 2012, the Blackburns moved from South Carolina to Indianapolis to plant an independent high-profile church on the north side.
The religious organization started by the young family was geared toward young people, as is made clear in the weekly videos the couple posted on their website about relationship advice, conflict resolution, and what the Bible says about intimate relationships.
In 2014, the family had their firstborn child, Weston Blackburn.
The family was perfectly happy. They had a comfortable home on a quiet street, a favorite job in the church which was regularly attended by a large number of young people. Their sermons were listened to and believed in.
They lived in perfect harmony and understanding.
But the day of November 10th, 2015, changed the family’s life once and for all.
Ambulance crews arrived at the Blackburn residence in the 2800 block of Sunnyfield Court around 8:30 a.m.
The pregnant young woman was rushed to the hospital, where she was hooked up to a ventilator and underwent a series of resuscitative measures.
But sadly, Amanda died the next day along with her unborn baby.
As it turned out, the family was expecting a baby girl who was named Evie Grace.
At her burial, her death sparked a lot of sympathy and prayers on social media for an extended period of time, as friends, family members, and strangers mourned Amanda with public posts.
On November 11th, the day Amanda was officially declared dead, Davey released an official statement saying:
“Amanda made it her life’s calling to love and serve everyone she knew. She made it her life’s mission to know Jesus as her personal savior to multitudes. Through her death and legacy, more people will come to a saving faith in Christ. I know without a shadow of a doubt that she wants me to continue what we started here in Indy. I firmly believe that God is still good, that He is taking our tragedy and turning it into triumph, and that the best is indeed yet to come.”
The murder of the pregnant woman was a blow not only to the entire Orthodox family but also a shock to the entire state. People demanded that the perpetrator of Amanda and her unborn child be found and punished.
In his first interview, Davey Blackburn said he found his wife Amanda injured and unconscious on the living room floor. She was partially naked with her underwear lying nearby, herself lying on the floor in a pool of blood, face down.
The pastor told investigators that he left the house around 6:00 a.m. to go to the fitness center to work out. When he left, he left the door unlocked.
“You always do that too, don’t you? You leave and don’t lock the door.”
He told investigators.
It’s hard to say whether the criminals would have stopped if Davey had still used the key, but it’s pretty obvious that they wouldn’t have entered the house so easily, and Amanda had precious time to contact emergency services.
But that didn’t happen.
The attack left Amanda with three gunshot wounds, one of which was to the head.
No arrests were made in the case just days after the crime. Police quickly determined that her husband Davey Blackburn was not involved in the horrific incident.
However, in the trial transcripts, Davey Blackburn’s testimony is supplemented by the testimony of the first emergency medical paramedic from the Indianapolis Fire Department, Scott Floyd, who arrived at the home after Davey’s 911 call.
He said Davey Blackburn was outside at the end of the driveway with bloody hands when they arrived at the house.
Scott stated that Davey was very calm at the time.
According to Scott, Davey did not understand what had happened to his wife Amanda. He maintained that she was lying on the floor and he could not wake her up.
Davey claimed that he came home from the gym at about 7:30 a.m. and continued his phone call with his friend Kenneth Wagner in the driveway, occasionally getting out, strolling down the driveway, and peeking through the front door window to see if baby Weston was awake.
He said he finished his call, entered his home at 8:10 a.m., and found Amanda lying face down on the floor.
He thought she was sick or unconscious.
He called emergency services at 8:22 a.m.
It took him 12 minutes to make the call.
In an emergency situation, 12 minutes is a long time.
He repeatedly said he just thought something had gone wrong with the pregnancy, that maybe his wife had gotten dizzy and fell.
Did he not notice after 12 minutes that there was brain matter about five feet away from her body?
Emergency room doctor Scott Floyd testified that the blood on her head was coagulated, leading him to believe that the gunshot to her head had occurred about a couple of hours earlier.
But those transcripts were not made public.
Davey was asked if he had called anyone else.
He said that after he called 911, he called his father.
Defense attorneys did not cross-examine Davey Blackburn.
Authorities corroborated his story with surveillance footage from the gym, and he was not among the suspects.
An autopsy conducted November 12th showed the woman suffered a gunshot wound to the back of her head. She also had a gunshot wound to the lower left arm that went to her biceps, and a through-and-through gunshot wound that went in and out of her upper back.
There were also multiple scratches on the left cheek, a split lip, and a knocked-out lower tooth.
The above injuries indicated a possible struggle between Amanda and her attacker.
A thorough investigation was launched. CCTV footage from nearby streets was examined, and neighbors and family acquaintances were interviewed.
For example, a neighbor reported hearing gunshots about 35 minutes after Davey left the house.
Another neighbor, Reginald Townsel, said:
“Our street was not the type of neighborhood where a shooting could occur.”
The neighbors were shocked, as everyone thought the Blackburn family were wonderful and truly loving people.
Based on Amanda’s injuries and the missing bank cards and MacBook bag, the initial theory was robbery.
During the investigation, police determined that on the morning of November 10th, 2015, several emergency calls were made reporting home invasions at separate homes near Blackburn’s home.
Around 5:20 a.m., one woman reported waking up to find her cell phone, laptop, purse, and keys missing from her apartment. Her car was also gone from the parking lot. The sliding glass door to her apartment was open.
She said three hours later another woman reported a burglary at a home on Sunnyfield Court. Someone broke through the patio screen and got inside.
According to police, four televisions, a MacBook Pro, a Tiffany pearl necklace, a pink women’s sweater, a remote control, a bag of oranges, and bedding were missing from the home.
Five minutes after that, someone else from Sunnyfield Court called emergency services.
It was Davey Blackburn.
Lieutenant Richard Riddle of the Indianapolis Police Department said police were looking for a connection between the homicide and other burglaries that occurred in the same neighborhood that morning.
Police did not release details about the investigation, honoring the secrecy of the investigation. But after getting hold of images of possible suspects from one of the burglarized homes, they released them asking the public to identify and help the investigation.
Davey Blackburn was confident that the police department was doing everything they could to catch his wife’s perpetrator.
Investigators assured that they had never seen such carte blanche given to them to continue the investigation, so they were confident that very soon some of these promising leads would help find the person or persons responsible.
The key clues used to track down the three suspects were a stolen pink sweater, cell phone records, and an ATM receipt.
The receipt and sweater were found in a stolen Chrysler Sebring which was used during the robberies. Authorities recovered the vehicle November 11th near the Blackburn’s home.
The debit card listed on the receipt matched the stolen card of Amanda Blackburn.
Investigators obtained a warrant to examine the ATM camera and found video showing the driver covering his face with a stolen pink sweater.
Police relied on DNA testing, surveillance footage, and witnesses to identify the suspects.
DNA testing from the sweater confirmed that Jalen Watson was one of the suspects. Watson’s identification was the first major breakthrough in the case.
The affidavit said cell phone records were obtained because Watson’s number was in the database because of his parole for another burglary.
Diano Gordon’s cell phone records were also obtained. These records showed that Watson’s and Gordon’s cell phones were in the area when the crime was committed.
The phone records also indicated that Gordon and Watson were near the Chase Bank where Amanda’s debit card was used on the day of the murder.
Larry Taylor was the final piece of the puzzle.
By examining surveillance footage in the area, police were able to identify Taylor’s phone number and trace his address.
In the days that followed, reports also surfaced that a gun had been found near the Blackburn home.
Police said a man delivered the gun to the Broad Ripple Fire Department, claiming to have found it outside the couple’s home.
The gun was analyzed by crime lab technicians.
After two weeks of investigation and detective work, police charged 18-year-old Larry Taylor and 21-year-old Jalen Watson with the murder of Amanda Blackburn.
A third burglary suspect, 24-year-old Diano Gordon, was arrested for a parole violation but was not charged with a felony because he did not enter the Blackburn home.
After receiving crime lab results, a gun found near the victim’s home was proven to be the weapon used in the crime.
All three assailants were apprehended.
When questioned, Larry Taylor said that he shot the woman twice because she jumped on him and he didn’t want her to scratch him. Then, when she fell, he leaned over her body and shot her in the back of the head and bent over her watching her bleed to death.
A criminal trio came to rob the Blackburn house. They just wanted some money, so they headed to the Blackburn home where the husband had left the front door unlocked when he left for the gym.
Inside, they confronted Amanda.
To keep her out of the way, Taylor hit her with a gun.
Watson and Gordon saw the woman and wanted to leave. They already had the bank cards they had stolen earlier, so they went looking for an ATM.
They tried unsuccessfully to get $500 from one ATM but got $1,400 from another. This is where they got caught on CCTV.
They then drove back to the Blackburn house to pick up Taylor.
In their absence, a struggle ensued in the house. Amanda came to her senses after being hit and lunged at the perpetrator, at which point he tackled the woman.
Afterward, Taylor put the stolen debit cards in the car of the accomplice who had gone to an ATM at the time of the crime, and when they returned, he admitted to shooting Amanda.
According to court documents, the Blackburn home was the third target of the November 10th attack by Taylor, Watson, and Gordon.
In the first break-in, the thieves stole a laptop, wallet, and car while the resident was asleep.
While inside the home, they discovered they were being recorded by a video camera but simply moved on.
The group drove up to another home, broke in through a patio window, and stole four televisions, a laptop, jewelry, a bag of oranges, and a pink sweater that eventually helped police identify them, the affidavit said.
Court documents outlined the evidence police collected against the suspects.
The most important piece of evidence: Watson’s DNA was found on a pink sweater taken during the second burglary, which was then used to cover his face from a surveillance camera as he tried to withdraw cash using Amanda Blackburn’s bank card.
Watson and Gordon cooperated with the investigation in return for a reduced sentence.
Larry Taylor waived his right to remain silent and admitted to being near the scene of the burglary.
He said:
“I may have stopped in the Blackburn neighborhood, but I was so confused I couldn’t remember.”
Formal charges were filed by the county prosecutor.
Larry Taylor faced 13 charges, including felony murder after knowingly and willfully killing Amanda Blackburn.
Jalen Watson was charged with a felony. Both he and Taylor faced multiple charges of burglary, robbery, and theft.
Diano Gordon, who was in custody due to a parole violation, also faced burglary charges.
There was a fourth person who knew about the robberies, burglaries, and other crimes but did not participate in them. He was questioned and released.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department’s violent crimes unit worked with the gang unit and federal marshals to arrest Taylor.
Police Chief Rick Hite praised the cooperation that led to the arrest.
“The detectives worked tirelessly all day long without sleep to solve the murders in the city.”
With the assistance of Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler and prosecutor Terry Curry, justice was served.
Because the victim was pregnant, prosecutors said they would consider filing additional charges related to the fetus.
Even though the woman’s underwear was removed and her shirt was pulled up, they said there was no evidence to support rape charges.
Larry Taylor’s first trial took place in December 2021, but the trial was over in seconds when it was discovered that one of the jurors had shared information about the case with other jurors.
The disclosure interrupted the trial.
A mistrial was declared.
The final trial was held in October 2022.
Subsequent jury selection was more thorough. The county drew more than 100 people as possible jurors. Each had to fill out a 16-page questionnaire so attorneys could assess whether they could reach a fair verdict.
Larry Joe Taylor was sentenced to 86 years in the Indiana State Correctional Institution for the murder of Amanda Blackburn and for additional charges related to a burglary from a home.
Diano Gordon and Jalen Watson agreed to plea agreements and testified against Larry Taylor at trial.
Both received sentences ranging from 20 to 35 years in prison.
Jalen Watson and Larry Taylor are currently incarcerated in the Marion County Jail.
A murder conviction in Indiana can send a person to prison for 45 to 60 years, and some are punishable by life in prison or the death penalty.
Prosecutors filed a motion to enhance Larry Taylor’s sentence, which means he could face an additional 20 years in prison because Amanda Blackburn was pregnant when he allegedly massacred her.
Davey Blackburn, the church’s pastor, said he is relieved that those responsible for killing his wife have been caught and will not be able to harm anyone else.
Amanda Blackburn’s death has resonated with thousands of people, including the state’s chief executive.
Her funeral at a Christian church was attended by more than 2,000 people. Among them was Governor Mike Pence.
Resonate Church set up a donation page to help pay for Amanda Blackburn’s funeral and medical expenses.
Davey Blackburn said he is hopeful for a judicial system that will certainly show wisdom to the people who have caused his family so much pain.
Incredibly, he has repeatedly reported that he has decided to forgive Amanda’s killers.
“I was very relieved to learn of the arrest,” he told reporters.
“Although everything inside me wants to hate, be angry, and despair, I choose the path of forgiveness, grace, and hope.”
Amanda Blackburn’s case has generated significant interest across the country, with coverage appearing in national and international media.
Davey Blackburn changed his role from that of an unhappy husband to that of a popular blogger.
He began to capitalize on his tragedy and recorded multiple podcasts and videos which he called “Nothing Is Wasted.”
He began appearing on TV stations and speaking out about his wife’s death, repeating over and over the pain he had experienced and recounting the tragedy.
But he didn’t seem unhappy.
Amanda’s death made Davey not only famous, but rich.
The fact that he received an insurance payout after his wife’s death does suggest that he didn’t accidentally forget to lock the door that day on November 10th, 2015, didn’t he?
What do you guys think?
