Teen accused of killing his family in argument over prom

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Did an Indiana teen execution 4 members of his household successful an statement implicit prom? CBS News main researcher and elder nationalist analogous Jim Axelrod reports connected the Pelley household execution lawsuit and the way of Jessi Toronjo — a sibling near to prime up the pieces successful an encore of "Murder connected Prom Night," airing Saturday, June 21 astatine 9/8c connected CBS and streaming connected Paramount+.

From tweeting celebrities for a date, to hiring helicopters alternatively of limos, determination seems to beryllium nary bounds to what teenagers volition bash to marque their prom a nighttime to remember. But conscionable however acold would a teen spell for his elder dance? Detectives successful Lakeville, Indiana, accidental 17-year-old Jeff Pelley was consenting to termination his household to marque his 1989 prom nighttime perfect.

More than 30 years later, erstwhile Indiana State Police Detective Mark Senter says helium inactive remembers walking into the Pelley household location connected Sunday, April 30, 1989. "No 1 should person seen what we saw that morning." What Senter saw successful the location adjacent to the Olive Branch Church was gruesome: The Reverend Robert "Bob" Pelley, his woman Dawn, and Dawn's daughters Janel and Jolene were changeable astatine adjacent scope with a shotgun. Parishioners discovered the 4 bodies erstwhile Bob Pelley and his household did not amusement up for services that morning.

Three of the Pelley household children were not astatine the location the nighttime of the murders. Jessica Pelley, 9, slept implicit astatine a adjacent friend's house. Jacque Pelley was retired of town, and Jeff Pelley, 17, attended the LaVille High School elder prom and was with friends astatine Great America, a Chicago country amusement park, arsenic portion of the after-prom events that Sunday.

For Senter and different investigators astatine the Pelley house, determination were respective clues that stuck out. The doors were locked and the curtains were closed, which neighbors successful the tiny municipality of Lakeville said was unusual. A shotgun was besides missing from the household weapon rack and judging from the determination of Bob Pelley's assemblage successful the hallway, detectives surmised that whoever killed him came from a chamber not accessible from the outside.

"It did not look similar a burglary. It did not look similar a location invasion," Senter recalls. "As a detective I saw the worst of the worst that morning, but we had a occupation to do. So instantly started talking astir suspects." The 1 fishy that investigators began to look into astir instantly was Jeff Pelley. Senter was acquainted with Jeff Pelley. Just weeks earlier prom Jeff was caught stealing CDs and immoderate wealth from a adjacent location and Senter worked the investigation.

"Bob Pelley grounded Jeff for the burglary case. He could not spell to the prom without his dada taking him. He couldn't spell to meal earlier the prom. He couldn't spell to the aft prom." The embarrassment of his begetter driving him to prom, Senter said, "was crushing to Jeff Pelley… I judge helium killed his household and past was capable to spell to the prom."

While investigators had a motive, the lawsuit against Jeff was thin, said John Botich, a retired St Joseph's County detective who besides worked the case. "We didn't person immoderate forensic evidence. We didn't find a execution weapon… No eyewitnesses. We had circumstantial grounds and the timeline. Very pugnacious lawsuit to beryllium precise pugnacious lawsuit to prosecute."

Prosecutors initially declined to property charges connected Jeff Pelley and helium yet married, had a son, and built a palmy vocation arsenic a machine advisor successful Florida. But successful 2002, a caller authoritative took a look astatine the lawsuit and decided to complaint Pelley with 4 counts of homicide, adjacent though determination was nary caller evidence. Authorities arrested Jeff Pelley astatine Los Angeles International Airport connected his mode location from a concern trip.

Frank Schaffer, past an Assistant District Attorney for St Joseph's County, said the lawsuit hinged chiefly connected Pelley's motive — his choler implicit prom — and the timeline of events connected Saturday, April 29, 1989.

At Pelley's 2006 trial, Schaffer argued that Jeff Pelley changeable his begetter successful an statement implicit prom and past had to get escaped of the surviving witnesses, each wrong a astir 30-minute timeframe.

"It was a very, precise tiny model erstwhile the household could person been murdered, and it was precise wide the lone idiosyncratic who could person done this was Jeff," Schaffer said.

According to Schaffer, galore witnesses who stopped by the Pelley household earlier prom to amusement disconnected their dresses and airs for pictures, helped physique the prosecution's timeline. "On Saturday April 29th, the Pelley location was decidedly buzzing. Many of the individuals going to the prom wanted to travel by and amusement Bob their prom dress, their prom tux…. So up until astir 5 o'clock determination was a batch of postulation successful and retired of the home."

But Schaffer said that by 5:30, nary different visitors could get into the location and Jeff's car was gone from the driveway. "The location was locked up arsenic choky arsenic a drum. It became precise wide that the murders had to hap betwixt accidental 5 and 5:20."

Pelley's defence lawyer Alan Baum disputed the prosecution's allegations that Jeff killed his household and past attended prom arsenic if thing had happened. "From each indications, the radical that were with Jeff that nighttime described him arsenic conscionable 1 of the group, they were having a bully time. To deliberation helium could walk that full evening doing each of the things they did and conscionable having amusive similar a kid aft murdering his household is preposterous."

In the summertime of 2006, a assemblage recovered Jeff Pelley blameworthy for the murders of Bob, Dawn, Janel and Jolene Pelley. He was sentenced to 160 years successful prison.

However, much than 3 decades aft the murders, Jeff Pelley's lawsuit is inactive moving its mode done the courts. On April 28, 2024, the St. Joseph Superior Court denied Jeff Pelley's petition for post-conviction relief, 1 time anterior to the 35-year day of the murders. Pelley is appealing that denial.