December trial date set for Earl Taylor
By Lisa Trigg, The Tribune-Star, Terre Haute, Ind. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Taylor was convicted of murdering his second wife, Mindy, whose body was recovered in 1987 from her submerged car in a pond off of
Judge
Roach also stated that because Taylor is being charged under the 1975 statute, he faces either up to life in prison or a sentence of 45 to 65 years in prison, if convicted. Roach told Taylor that he is researching the possible sentence and will advise Taylor of the outcome.
Taylor was arrested Tuesday by the
The Kathy Taylor cold case will be highlighted on the
A former
According to a narrative released Tuesday by the sheriff's department, detectives investigating Kathy Taylor's death found that after Earl removed her lifeless body from the tub, he did not immediately contact authorities. Instead, he summoned a family member who later reported the death to the sheriff's department.
Taylor later told deputies that Kathy had been home alone taking a bath when an electronic clock radio fell into the tub. But during the investigation, detectives noticed that the power cord on the clock radio appeared to have been changed to extend its length. The investigation revealed the factory cord length would not have allowed the radio to fall into the bathtub.
Retired Detective
Detectives also learned that weeks before her death, Kathy Taylor told family and friends that Earl was having an affair and that she was planning to file for divorce. And, just before Kathy's death, Earl had been terminated from his job with a local insurance company. It was discovered that Earl had taken out five separate life insurance policies on Kathy, without her knowledge or consent.
When told of the insurance policies, Kathy reportedly told the insurance representative that she feared her husband was going to kill her. Several years after Kathy's death, the same insurance representative learned that
On
He said the car left
An investigation revealed that the seat on the driver's side of her car was too far back for Mindy to have driven the car. Mindy's arms were under the seat belt, and her seat belt was snapped into the passenger's receptacle.
An autopsy revealed that Mindy had died of drowning, and although she had no injuries, there were no signs she attempted to escape the car.
At the time of her death, Mindy left behind three children ages 3, 5 and 7.
The 1987 investigation revealed that Earl had taken out
As part of an ongoing review of cold cases, sheriff's officials recently re-opened the Kathy Taylor death investigation.
Detectives worked for months examining evidence, in addition to tracking down and re-interviewing witnesses from nearly 40 years ago.
Retired detectives, as well as the first deputy on the scene in 1975, recently shared first-hand knowledge of the case with VCSD Capt.
The warrant for Taylor's arrest was issued Tuesday, and he was charged under the 1975 statute for first-degree murder.
Reporter
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