Indianapolis mass murder (2006)
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The Hamilton Avenue murders is the colloquial name for the mass murder of seven people in a house at 560 North Hamilton Avenue in Indianapolis, Indiana, on June 1, 2006.
According to the television program America's Most Wanted, Indianapolis police responded to a 911 call just after 10:00 p.m. They found seven dead victims on main floor, three of which were children aged 11 and under. The victims were shot with a military-style weapon, police charged.
Witnesses said that two suspects were seen entering the house shortly before the murders were believed to have taken place. Flora Alderran arrived with a friend to pick up her son around 10:00 p.m. Her cousin Magno also arrived about the same time. Both noticed that the house lights were out, which they knew was odd. When Flora entered, witnesses said she started screaming and yelled to her friend not to come in. The two suspects were seen leaving through the front door moments later. [1]
Police identified the suspects as James Stewart and Desmond Turner. Stewart was caught the following day and arrested without incident. Turner, who had finished a four-year stint in prison only weeks before, was the subject of a widespread manhunt by local, state and federal authorities. He was captured on June 3, two days after the murders, when he turned himself in without incident at a Hardee's restaurant on Indianapolis's east side.[2]
Both suspects maintain their innocence, but Stewart's girlfriend has claimed that he had admitted his role in the shootings.[3] Turner and Stewart are awaiting trial.
[edit] Victims
- Emma Valdez, 46
- Alberto Covarrubias, 56, Valdez's husband
- Flora Alderran, 22, Valdez's daughter
- Magno Aldarran, 29, Flora Alderran's husband
- Luis Aldarran, 5, Flora Alderran's son
- David Covarrubias, 8
- Alberto Covarrubias, 11
