Latest Stories. [14] Judge Samuel Cappas subsequently said he would take the case. Houston police said the victims were a woman and a girl. [16], On March 7, 2016, Vann was charged with murder in the deaths of five additional victims. Though officers aren't currently calling suspect Darren Deon Vann, 43, a serial killer, Hammond Police Chief John Doughty told CNN that Vann has been charged in at least one murder while investigators work to connect him to other murders in the area. … [23], In April 2017, the Indiana Supreme Court turned down Vann's request to look at the constitutionality of the state's death penalty statute before he went to trial. He was so protective of those around him. [2], Before the police investigated the murders for which Vann was detained, Thomas Hargrove, founder of the Murder Accountability Project, together with a Gary, Indiana deputy coroner, attempted to persuade police that there were 18 similar murders pointing to a serial killer in the Gary, Indiana area. We do know that he was born on March 21, 1971 in Indiana. Darren Deon Vann Photos: Pictures of Indiana Serial Killer Suspect. [4], The local authorities denied there was any evidence showing a serial killer was at work. [21] In November 2016, Judge Samuel Cappas denied Vann's motion to declare the state's death penalty statute unconstitutional. “He was a little bit of a loner," Maria Vann told the publication. The following day, Vann was charged with rape and attempted murder for an alleged February 2014 attack. He was reportedly arrested in Gary, Indiana for threatening the life of his girlfriend. A convicted sex offender suspected of murdering at least seven women and leaving the bodies in abandoned houses in northwest Indiana may be a … The last time Darren Deon Vann went to court, the alleged serial killer refused to speak. [24] At a status hearing in April 2017, Judge Samuel Cappas set jury selection to begin the week of February 12, 2018, with the actual jury trial beginning around March 12, 2018. Kristine Williams, 36, of Gary, Indiana, was a mother of four and employed at the time of her death. [15] In December 2015, Vann's trial was delayed to July 25, 2016. [20] In a motion filed August 5, 2016, Vann's attorneys argued that Indiana's death penalty law is unconstitutional. He was arrested on October 18, 2014, at the age of 43, for the strangulation death of 19-year-old Afrikka Hardy at a Motel 6 in Hammond, Indiana and has confessed to the murders of six other female victims in Indiana. Darren Deon Vann, 47, is serving life in prison after strangling the women to death and stashing their bodies in abandoned homes around Gary, Indiana in 2013 and 2014. She was found dead in a bathtub in one of its rooms on October 17, 2014. • Darren Deon Vann, 45, is accused of strangling seven women in Gary; all were found dead in 2014. American serial killer. After pleading guilty to that charge in 2009, the judge sent the rapist to prison where he served five years. Latest Stories. I never knew him to be violent, never. Authorities apply different criteria to designate serial killers. Upon his release from the Texas penitentiary in June 2013, the 42-year-old sex offender returned to northern Indiana. Vann was born on March 21, 1971 in Indiana. NBC News. He was … GARY, Ind. [30], Tracy Martin, 41, of Gary, Indiana, was reported missing on June 26, 2014. Darren Deon Vann's ex-wife says the alleged serial killer was never violent towards her. He was married 16 years to Maria Vann who was about 30 years older than him. [22] In January 2017, a Lake County judge decided that Vann could make an appeal with his claims that Indiana's death penalty statute is unconstitutional. Teaira Batey, 28, of Gary, Indiana, left to meet a friend on January 13, 2014 but she never returned. Serial killers similar to or like Darren Deon Vann. Sonya Billingsley, 53, of Gary, Indiana, was reported missing on February 7, 2014. Vann, a convicted sex offender. Darren Deon Vann's ex-wife says the alleged serial killer was never violent towards her. Marjorie Taylor Greene calls for armed troops to be placed in schools on Parkland anniversary. "A total shocker. Darren Deon Vann was born in Indiana. Darren Deon Vann (born March 21, 1971) ... Vann was previously convicted on September 28, 2009 in Travis County, Texas, of a sexual assault committed in Austin in 2007 and sentenced to five years in a state penitentiary, being released on July 5, 2013. He was reportedly arrested in Gary, Indiana for threatening the life of his girlfriend. His next hearing was held on October 28 at Lake County Jail in Crown Point where he pleaded not guilty to two charges of murder filed against him in the deaths of Afrikka Hardy and Anith Jones as well as robbery. We’ve seen this time and time again. The judge's rulings stymied defense attorneys' efforts to limit the state's case against Darren Vann, an alleged serial killer charged in the murders of seven women. [4], When 19-year-old Afrikka Hardy was found strangled in a Motel 6, authorities used Hardy's phone records and located Vann. We have human beings vanish from the face of the earth and no one willing to take the time and effort to look at the evidence in front of them to find them. He was reportedly arrested in Gary, Indiana for threatening the life of his girlfriend. Maria Vann said that they met in Hammond, Indiana, but moved to Texas and were married there after Darren Vann enlisted in the Marines. Copyright © 2021 WLS-TV. Serial killer Darren Vann's ex: 'He wasn't violent' HAMMOND, INDIANA -- The former wife of suspected serial killer Darren Deon Vann said her ex-hubby was never violent when they were together. By Sunday night, authorities had discovered seven dead women in Hammond and Gary, all believed to be victims of the suspect in the serial killings, Darren Deon Vann, 43. ETA: lots of info coming out about this. After Vann was arrested, he led police to an abandoned house at 415 East 43rd Avenue in Gary on October 18 where her body was found.[30]. [13] In December 2015, Lake Superior Court Judge Diane Ross Boswell recused herself from hearing the case. Using multivariate analysis, we've determined that Gary, Indiana, has an elevated number of unsolved murders of women who were strangledGary, Indiana, has an elevated number of unsolved murders of women who were strangled [17][18] The death penalty was originally sought for each. The accused, Darren Deon Vann; took advantage of law enforcement’s lackadaisical approach to following up on missing person’s reports. We’ve seen this time and time again. A Gary deputy coroner, whose suspicions were also rebuffed by the local police, agreed with Hargrove and also added 3 suspected victims to the list. Her body was found in an abandoned house with the body of Sonya Billingsley at 413 East 43rd Avenue in Gary on October 19. [6][7], In August 2010, Thomas Hargrove, a reporter with the Scripps Howard news service, used an algorithm (later the basis of the Murder Accountability Project which Hargrove founded) to analyze crime data which strongly suggested a serial killer was at work in Gary, Indiana. Two years later a prosecutor in Texas charged Vann with aggravated rape. [19], In April 2016, Judge Samuel Cappas denied a motion by Vann's attorneys to sever the murder cases of Anith Jones and Afrikka Hardy, and, as a result, the capital murder trial in said cases would have continued as one. Vann was no stranger to law enforcement and had done stretches in both jail and prison over the years. He was reportedly arrested in Gary, Indiana for threatening the life of his girlfriend. The suspect's ex-wife, who was married to him for 16 years, told the New York Times she was "lightheaded" over hearing the news. [28] On May 25, 2018, Vann was sentenced to seven concurrent life sentences without parole.[29]. Vann was born on March 21, 1971 in Indiana. Vann was also charged with battery by bodily waste for allegedly throwing a carton of urine and feces at a Lake County correctional officer at the jail on February 24, 2016. The Independent. Kenneth Bianchi. He was married 16 years to Maria Vann who was about 30 years older than him. Darren Deon Vann (March 21, 1971 – ) is a suspected American serial killer. [10], His trial was originally supposed to begin on June 22, 2015, but this trial date was canceled on April 17, 2015 when the request for a death sentence was filed. Hargrove repeatedly urged the local authorities to investigate 15 suspicious deaths in the period 1980-2008 identified by his work. The multiple charges of murder were listed as … ", "Police: Abandoned homes searched after man admits to 7 killings", "Murder charges filed against suspect in deaths of 7 women in Gary, Hammond", "Marine Corps booted Indiana serial killer suspect in 1993", https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2019/06/man-charged-in-slaying-of-serial-killer-michael-madisons-mother-stabbing-of-three-sleeping-kids-in-cleveland.cleveland.html, "Darren Vann: Indiana man arrested for murdering teenage prostitute confesses to six other murders - and police fear more", "DARREN DEON VANN, SUSPECTED SERIAL KILLER, SPEAKS AT 2ND COURT APPEARANCE", "Prosecutors push for June 22 Vann trial", "Vann's attorneys request delay in capital murder trial", "Despite objection, Vann trial moves to 2016", "Judge in Darren Vann murder trial disqualifies herself", "Judge next in line says he'll take Vann case", "Suspected Indiana Serial Killer Darren Vann Charged With Five More Murders", "Gary serial killing suspect charged in deaths of five more women", "Sex charges filed against Vann in 2014 attack", "Judge denies motion to sever Vann murder cases", "Vann's attorneys argue death penalty unconstitutional", "Judge denies claims Indiana death penalty unconstitutional", "Vann can file death penalty appeal, judge says", "Higher court denies Vann's appeal to examine death penalty statute", "Trial for Darren Deon Vann, facing death penalty, planned for 2018", "Death penalty trial in Lake County, Ind., pushed to next fall", "1st trial for alleged Indiana serial killer pushed back", "Darren Vann pleads guilty to murdering 7 women, avoids possible death sentence", "Serial killer Darren Vann sentenced to life in prison for killing 7 women", "Possible serial killer's victims: 'They're somebody's daughter, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Darren_Deon_Vann&oldid=1005591356, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 8 February 2021, at 13:27. "This is all unbelievable to me," the unidentified woman said. [8] During police interrogation he allegedly confessed to his involvement in Hardy's killing and told police he was involved in other killings. Wikipedia. [11] Vann's attorneys requested that the trial be delayed,[12] and the trial was again delayed to January 25, 2016. Darren Deon Vann, the “Backpage Serial Killer” NOTE: This article concerns an open murder investigation. Two others, including a boy, were taken to a local … List of serial killers in the United States, https://medium.com/@rodarky1/who-is-darren-deon-vann-inside-the-case-of-one-of-indianas-most-prolific-serial-killers-c3eb41273107, "Who is Indiana serial killer suspect Darren Deon Vann? He was charged with a class D felony and spent 90 days in jail. 2014: Darren Deon Vann Darren Deon Vann was arrested in the killing of a 19-year-old woman at a motel in Indiana and later confessed to the murders of … The suspect named remains, in legal terms, a suspect. Tanya Gatlin, 27, of Gary, Indiana, had been missing since January 2014. The trial date of June 22, 2015 was subsequently restored. The accused, Darren Deon Vann; took advantage of law enforcement’s lackadaisical approach to following up on missing person’s reports. As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors dropped the death penalty. Her body was found in an abandoned house with the body of Tanya Gatlin at 413 East 43rd Avenue in Gary on October 19. [26][27], On May 4, 2018, Vann pleaded guilty to seven murders. He was charged with a class D felony and spent 90 days in jail. Initially convicted of 48 separate murders. Gary Ridgway. He was charged with a class D felony and spent 90 days in jail. He was arrested on October 18, 2014 for the murder of 19-year-old Afrikka Hardy at a Motel 6 in Hammond, Indiana and has confessed to the murders of six other female victims in Indiana. He would stay at the library a ton of time. The suspect Indiana police say confessed to killing seven women is scheduled to appear before a Lake County judge for a second time. Alleged Indiana serial killer Darren Deon Vann reportedly told police that a hit man recently paid him $300 and gave him drugs to kill a 35-year-old, Merrillville, Ind., woman, according to the Chi… Vann, a convicted sex offender, confessed to seven murders in Indiana, police said. Two dead from carbon monoxide poisoning after using car for heat in Texas storm. — The man who allegedly told police that he’d killed seven women remained silent during his court appearance Wednesday, despite the judge’s admonishment that he’d face prison for “the rest of his life” unless he cooperated, media reports said. His wife, Maria Vann, filed for a divorce in August 2009 and their marriage was dissolved in 2011. [2][5], His wife, Maria Vann, filed for a divorce in August 2009 and their marriage was dissolved in 2011. Her body was found in an abandoned house at 2200 Massachusetts Street in Gary on October 19.[30]. Her body was found in an abandoned house at 1800 East 19th Avenue in Gary on October 19. [4], Vann was born on March 21, 1971 in Indiana. He was charged with a class D felony and spent 90 days in jail. Wikipedia. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via E-mail More share options Share … Vann was previously convicted on September 28, 2009 in Travis County, Texas, of a sexual assault committed in Austin in 2007 and sentenced to five years in a state penitentiary, being released on July 5, 2013. "Pure evil" is the only way Linda Felinski and Barbara Dufresne describe Darren Deon Vann. Vann, a convicted sex offender, confessed to seven murders in Indiana, police said. Alleged serial killer charged with murder, IL expands 1B vaccine eligibility, but Chicago area not moving forward with expansion yet, Illinois unemployment scam reports top 1M, state says, Elgin man convicted in toddler's 1997 murder to be released from prison early, Convicted CPD officer killer's parole bid no longer opposed by Foxx, 1 injured after crash sends car into Englewood building, Hot mic catches Lightfoot swearing during city council meeting, Wentworth Gardens gas station shooting leaves 2 hurt: CPD, Thousands raised for Marengo gas station clerk shot in armed robbery, Researchers find worrying new coronavirus variant in NYC, Madigan replacement Edward Kodatt resigns after only 3 days, Chicago Weather: Chilly start to Thursday. "He could be on his own, listening to his own music, for a long time. Police were called to a Motel 6 in Gary, Indiana, Friday night when acquaintances of 19-year-old Afrikka Hardy found her naked corpse in a … Most set a threshold of three murders, whilst others extend it to four or two. Vann was convicted of murdering these seven women: Afrikka Hardy, 19, had recently moved to Chicago after graduating from high school.