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Over a decade after an 85-year-old retired Indiana farmer was found dead on his bedroom floor, a second man has been charged over his murder.
Richard Taft, 39, was indicted for murder and burglary resulting in bodily harm over the 2012 death of Lowell Badger.
On 8 December 2012, Badger was found dead on his bedroom floor at his rural Sullivan County home. He had been shot with investigators believing he was killed during a burglary.
Badger’s safe and his Sony television were taken during the break-in.
But for over 11 years – despite a reward of $30,000 being offered to anyone who provided information leading to an arrest – his murder went unsolved.
Then, three months ago, the first suspect William Ray Grimes was arrested.
Now, a second man has been arrested in the case.
Taft was hit with the new charges at the Michigan City Correctional Facility, where he is currently incarcerated on a separate conviction. He was expected to be released in 2031, according to PEOPLE.
The new charges come after police questioned 58 witnesses, with some describing Taft as “emotional” and “crying” in the months following Badger’s murder, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by WTWO.
While he denied his involvement to law enforcement, witnesses claimed he had given different versions of what he knew about the case.
In his obituary, Badger was described as an “active member of Kingsley Memorial UMC since 1960” who also held various leadership positions in the church.
He was buried next to his wife, Nellie, who died in 2008, and his son, Byron, who died at the age of seven in 1957.
