David Maust pled guilty to three murders in Hammond Indiana today.
I'm wondering if he may be connected to others.
Article Text:
CROWN POINT, Ind. -- In a move to avoid the death penalty, a former Chicago man today admitted he killed three Hammond teens in 2003 and buried their bodies in freshly poured concrete in the basement of the apartment building where he was living.
David Maust, 51, also of Hammond, pleaded guilty in Lake County, Ind., Superior Court in a deal with prosecutors who will recommend he receive three separate life sentences when he is sentenced Dec. 16.
Mumbling single-word answers in a courtroom packed with the family of two of the slain boys, Maust showed no emotion as Superior Court Judge Clarence Murray asked if he understood the implications of his guilty plea.
As Murray formally read the names of the victims -- Nicholas James, James Raganyi and Michael Dennis sobs from family members filled the courtroom.
"Are you pleading guilty to these charges because you are indeed guilty?" Murray asked.
"Yes, sir," Maust said, refusing to say anything more.
Maust was charged with killing James, 19, on May 2, 2003. Raganyi, 16, was slain four months later, Sept. 10, and Raganyi's friend Dennis, 13, the next day, Sept. 11. Police arrested Maust in December 2003 and found the three teens' remains entombed in concrete beneath the apartment building.
The suspect previously was convicted of the 1981 murder of 15-year-old Donald Jones in Chicago and sentenced to 17 years. He eventually was released from state prison even though, according to court papers, he asked not to be released.
In 1974, while Maust was serving with the U.S. Army in Germany, he was accused of murdering Jimmy McClister, 13. He was convicted in a court martial of a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter and served four years in the military prison at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.
Maust's defense attorney, Thomas Vanes, said his client never wanted to leave jail again, and was at peace spending the rest of his life behind bars without the possibility of parole.
In the agreement with prosecutors, Vanes said, Maust asked that he be held in isolation in the Lake County Jail before his formal sentencing next month, and that his isolation continue after he is moved to a state prison. The lawyer said Maust feared for his life.
"This provides a clean ending for everyone, a final ending. There are no Hallmark moments, as your honor is aware, but this is about as close as we can get to that,'' Vanes said.
The lead prosecutor in the case, Peter Villarreal, said the families of the three victims had given their blessings to the plea deal. Had Maust been tried, convicted and sentenced to death, the families might not have seen closure to their grief for at least 20 years until all formal appeals had been exhausted.
"It's in the best interest of the people of Indiana," Villareal said of the plea agreement. "It guarantees that he will never again walk in society. We are trying to protect society.''
Murray must formally approve the plea deal at the Dec. 16 hearing. At that time, family members will have a chance to speak about the impact the slayings had on them.
Most relatives today said they agreed to the plea only after they were promised Maust would never be set free. But one of them, Michael Dennis Sr., added he did not want Maust placed in isolation.
"I don't want him to be in segregation. In the general population, he'll get what he's got coming to him,'' said Dennis, 32.
Raganyi's sister Melody, who stood with her family outside the prosecutor's office, said, "I wish he understands the grief that he caused. He took my brother away from us. [James] will never know what he could have become."
As part of the agreement, Maust spent nearly six hours recounting the murders to Hammond Police Lt. Ron Johnson, who lead the investigation.
Johnson refused to say exactly what they discussed, but did say that the suspect admitted in detail the killing of the three Hammond teens as well as the Jones killing in Chicago and the McClister slaying in Germany.
Christena Harding, McClister's mother, in a telephone interview from her home in Florida, said today all she ever wanted from Maust was for him to admit he murdered her son. McClister would have turned 44 years old on Oct. 27. She said her biggest fear was that he would walk out of jail again.
"I think it's a wonderful thing," Harding said through tears. "Maybe God's finally listening to us. I never thought he would admit to it. I have peace of mind now."
I'm wondering if he may be connected to others.
Article Text:
CROWN POINT, Ind. -- In a move to avoid the death penalty, a former Chicago man today admitted he killed three Hammond teens in 2003 and buried their bodies in freshly poured concrete in the basement of the apartment building where he was living.
David Maust, 51, also of Hammond, pleaded guilty in Lake County, Ind., Superior Court in a deal with prosecutors who will recommend he receive three separate life sentences when he is sentenced Dec. 16.
Mumbling single-word answers in a courtroom packed with the family of two of the slain boys, Maust showed no emotion as Superior Court Judge Clarence Murray asked if he understood the implications of his guilty plea.
As Murray formally read the names of the victims -- Nicholas James, James Raganyi and Michael Dennis sobs from family members filled the courtroom.
"Are you pleading guilty to these charges because you are indeed guilty?" Murray asked.
"Yes, sir," Maust said, refusing to say anything more.
Maust was charged with killing James, 19, on May 2, 2003. Raganyi, 16, was slain four months later, Sept. 10, and Raganyi's friend Dennis, 13, the next day, Sept. 11. Police arrested Maust in December 2003 and found the three teens' remains entombed in concrete beneath the apartment building.
The suspect previously was convicted of the 1981 murder of 15-year-old Donald Jones in Chicago and sentenced to 17 years. He eventually was released from state prison even though, according to court papers, he asked not to be released.
In 1974, while Maust was serving with the U.S. Army in Germany, he was accused of murdering Jimmy McClister, 13. He was convicted in a court martial of a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter and served four years in the military prison at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.
Maust's defense attorney, Thomas Vanes, said his client never wanted to leave jail again, and was at peace spending the rest of his life behind bars without the possibility of parole.
In the agreement with prosecutors, Vanes said, Maust asked that he be held in isolation in the Lake County Jail before his formal sentencing next month, and that his isolation continue after he is moved to a state prison. The lawyer said Maust feared for his life.
"This provides a clean ending for everyone, a final ending. There are no Hallmark moments, as your honor is aware, but this is about as close as we can get to that,'' Vanes said.
The lead prosecutor in the case, Peter Villarreal, said the families of the three victims had given their blessings to the plea deal. Had Maust been tried, convicted and sentenced to death, the families might not have seen closure to their grief for at least 20 years until all formal appeals had been exhausted.
"It's in the best interest of the people of Indiana," Villareal said of the plea agreement. "It guarantees that he will never again walk in society. We are trying to protect society.''
Murray must formally approve the plea deal at the Dec. 16 hearing. At that time, family members will have a chance to speak about the impact the slayings had on them.
Most relatives today said they agreed to the plea only after they were promised Maust would never be set free. But one of them, Michael Dennis Sr., added he did not want Maust placed in isolation.
"I don't want him to be in segregation. In the general population, he'll get what he's got coming to him,'' said Dennis, 32.
Raganyi's sister Melody, who stood with her family outside the prosecutor's office, said, "I wish he understands the grief that he caused. He took my brother away from us. [James] will never know what he could have become."
As part of the agreement, Maust spent nearly six hours recounting the murders to Hammond Police Lt. Ron Johnson, who lead the investigation.
Johnson refused to say exactly what they discussed, but did say that the suspect admitted in detail the killing of the three Hammond teens as well as the Jones killing in Chicago and the McClister slaying in Germany.
Christena Harding, McClister's mother, in a telephone interview from her home in Florida, said today all she ever wanted from Maust was for him to admit he murdered her son. McClister would have turned 44 years old on Oct. 27. She said her biggest fear was that he would walk out of jail again.
"I think it's a wonderful thing," Harding said through tears. "Maybe God's finally listening to us. I never thought he would admit to it. I have peace of mind now."