David G. Ludwig

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David G. Ludwig in an undated self-photograph

David George Ludwig (born April 28, 1987) is an American who received two life sentences in prison without parole for murdering Michael and Cathryn Borden on November 13, 2005. The Bordens were the 50-year-old parents of his girlfriend Kara Beth Borden, who fled with him after the murders.

1 Background
2 Confrontation, murder, and arrest
3 Investigation
4 Prosecution and imprisonment
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Background

The Borden and Ludwig families are both from Lititz, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. While not members of the same church, the two families are stated to be devout evangelical Christians, and each family similarly home schooled their children. David and Kara are reported by the Carlisle, PA Sentinel to have met in a support group for home schooled children.

[edit] Confrontation, murder, and arrest

According to the online Lancaster New Era (Lancaster, PA), November 16, 2005, friends of Ludwig and Kara Beth say the two were sexually involved. At the time, Ludwig was 18 years of age and Kara Beth was 14. The age of consent in Pennsylvania is 16; intercourse with a person under 16 and four or more years younger constitutes statutory rape. The parents of the teens reportedly became concerned. When Ludwig and Kara stayed out all night together, Ludwig was summoned to the Borden home for a confrontation, which culminated in the two adult Bordens being shot in the head. The press indicates that Kara's younger sister witnessed at least one of the murders.

An Amber Alert was issued for Kara, and the story became instantaneous national news. Ludwig and Kara Beth were apprehended in the central Indiana town of Belleville on Tuesday, November 15, 2005, after he front-ended his parents' 1998 Volkswagen Jetta into a tree, subsequent to a chase by police. The latter phase of this apprehension was carried live on all the cable television news networks. Ludwig waived extradition. Both were (separately) flown back to Pennsylvania.

[edit] Investigation

Gregory P. Ludwig and Jane Ludwig are David G. Ludwig's parents. A search warrant of the Ludwig home was executed the same day as the Borden murders, and was reported on Thursday, November 17, 2005 to have recovered 54 firearms and associated ammunition. The Indiana authorities recovered a .40 caliber Glock semiautomatic pistol from the Ludwig family car which is said to be the murder weapon. The Lititz Record indicates they also recovered a Colt 1911 pistol, a Ruger .45 ACP semiautomatic pistol, and a Ruger Mini-14rifle. Another handgun from the Ludwig collection was reportedly found at the Borden home wrapped in a towel. Additional items reported to have been seized from the Ludwig home by police were at least two computers and a number of video tapes. Among this evidence an 18 minute video was recovered where Ludwig and a friend are seen discussing and perhaps executing a home invasion; at one point, they discussed having forcible sex with Kara and her sister.

The funeral for the Bordens was held Saturday, November 19, 2005, at Lancaster Bible College. Kara attended. Press reports indicate that she sat with her siblings, and that no tensions between them were apparent. The adult Bordens were buried in a dedicated Mennonite cemetery.

[edit] Prosecution and imprisonment

The case was pursued by Donald R. Totaro, District Attorney of Lancaster County. Ludwig was charged with two counts of first degree homicide, one count each of sexual assault, reckless endangerment of a minor, as well as a firearms violation. An initial charge of kidnapping was dropped after prosecutors determined that Kara Beth willingly accompanied Ludwig. Initially, Totaro had announced that he intended to seek the death penalty for the murder charges. ^[1] However, on June 14, 2006, Ludwig agreed to a plea deal and was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.^[2]

Authorities claim that Ludwig confessed to the murders at the time of his apprehension, and again while in custody ^[3].

Totaro has announced that Kara will not be charged with any crime. An orphan now, she has been appointed a guardian and is represented by legal counsel. Ludwig's lawyer has reportedly stated she willingly accompanied Ludwig in their three-state flight, and that surveillance tapes from places where the two stopped indicate she had ample opportunity to escape if she so chose. In documents released Monday November 21, Kara has admitted she ran after him as he left the Borden home, and wanted to go with him, and get married.

As of July 2006, Ludwig is currently located at SCI Camp Hill Prison in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.