GUILTY IN - Melinda Lindsey, 23, shot to death, Porter County, 16 Jan 2015 - #1

[molly1255]

It may not have involved her at all. My point is that given the level of control SL appears to have had over Melinda, it doesn't make sense that she would be the one to initiate it.

I do agree. In my 30+ years in this business, and that includes several years as an investigator, I've never seen a 22 year old woman (especially one with a young child with a father to support her) call up an insurance agent one random day and say "gee, I need to buy $1,100,000 in life insurance coverage on me so my husband can become a millionaire if I die". There may be rare cases where this has happened, but I just haven't ever seen it happen and I've seen some bizarre things when it comes to life insurance.

 

[molly1255]

I've been searching for that article... I wondered why the downgrade.

I saw it, too, but didn't save it and now cannot locate the article.

 

[Toralei]

Trust me, I do think he set the whole thing up. It was, after all, for his sole benefit. I have no idea if he picked out the agent and the insurance carrier, or how that went down. He would not have had to have given his approval on the amount of life insurance issued on Melinda's life. If the account the money came out of to pay the premium was in his name only and it was deducted from his account automatically on a monthly basis, he would have had to sign a form allowing the insurance company to debit his account. If Melinda was joint on the account, she could have signed the form for the premium deduction. Another thing - Melinda or Steve would have most likely have had to answer a question on the application that asked how much life insurance Steve (the beneficiary of her policy) had on his life and who was his beneficiary. Insurance carriers ask this question for the very purpose of establishing if there is something "off" i.e. whether the proposed insured's amount life insurance is way higher than what the beneficiary carries and whether she was named as beneficiary on his policy.

Right. What I mean by approval is that Melinda couldn't decide without running it by him. He would have to give her permission or tell her in advance not to go over a certain amount. Based on what we have all seen of her FB posts, I can't see her telling him "I got life insurance and it's going to cost $50/month" without him having some prior knowledge. He was a bully, and financial bullies question everything. She probably had to justify every purchase she made.

 

[Safeguard]

Trust me, I do think he set the whole thing up. It was, after all, for his sole benefit. I have no idea if he picked out the agent and the insurance carrier, or how that went down. He would not have had to have given his approval on the amount of life insurance issued on Melinda's life. If the account the money came out of to pay the premium was in his name only and it was deducted from his account automatically on a monthly basis, he would have had to sign a form allowing the insurance company to debit his account. If Melinda was joint on the account, she could have signed the form for the premium deduction. Another thing - Melinda or Steve would have most likely have had to answer a question on the application that asked how much life insurance Steve (the beneficiary of her policy) had on his life and who was his beneficiary. Insurance carriers ask this question for the very purpose of establishing if there is something "off" i.e. whether the proposed insured's amount life insurance is way higher than what the beneficiary carries and whether she was named as beneficiary on his policy.

That's very interesting. Do you know what they do if the information appears "off"? Would they still issue the policy, or would certain restrictions apply? Just curious...

 

[HistoryNut]

I saw it, too, but didn't save it and now cannot locate the article.

I also remember seeing the article but haven't been able to find it on any google searches.

 

[DisneyFan]

I believe that he couldn't shoot her again honestly.. For whatever reason.. I've often thought about this myself.. Why not just end it and not let her suffer anymore.. I strongly believe he is a control freak and everything g has to go his way, && when it didn't he panicked and freaked out... The zip ties could have been laying around the house since they were from his job and he just improvised.. Which would explain why his story does have SOOO many holes in it.. The murder was a well thought out plan, however his cover story for the morning of the murder I believe was a last minute panicked story..


#JusticeForMelinda

Your belief that SL couldn't shoot Melinda again, when she didn't die immediately makes sense. Things do not always go as planned.
I certainly hope the forensics and time of death will provide a time line which will provide answers. 23 is very young to die. Baby has no mother... Tragic SMH

 

[molly1255]

I think the insurance agent needs to be looked at. At the time the plan was taken out, Melinda wasn't working. How is a stay at home mom covered for 1,000,000? It would make more sense to have a policy to cover SL, because he is the primary wage earner and add Melinda and Baby Girl with riders. Typically in my state child riders cap at 10000 and can be converted to a whole life plan for the child when they reach 18.
I doubt we will ever know whose idea the plan was.

I agree that it is hard to justify why a stay-at-home mom would need $1,000,000 in coverage. Especially with just one child. The insurance agent would not have been the one to "issue" the policy, and the insurance agent would not have had any influence or control over the insurance company's underwriting guidelines or procedures. The insurance company underwrites the policy, it is on their paper and they are backing it financially. They either issue the policy or decline to issue after reviewing the application, the paramed exam results and also after reviewing how much life insurance coverage he had on his life and whether Melinda was his beneficiary as well. This is very established procedure in the industry because it is well recognized in the industry that there are beneficiaries who have bad intentions. I've seen lawsuits happen when an insurance carrier fails to underwrite and someone is murdered for life insurance, too.

 

[molly1255]

Right. What I mean by approval is that Melinda couldn't decide without running it by him. He would have to give her permission or tell her in advance not to go over a certain amount. Based on what we have all seen of her FB posts, I can't see her telling him "I got life insurance and it's going to cost $50/month" without him having some prior knowledge. He was a bully, and financial bullies question everything. She probably had to justify every purchase she made.

I misunderstood - thought you meant the amount of coverage. I agree that he would have had the say on how much was spent on the premium.

 

[Tina Grant]

I saw it, too, but didn't save it and now cannot locate the article.

I've been searching for it too and can't find it. For some reason I seem to remember it being the article with the pic of Steve being led into court.

 

[Mercurial]

Is my memory entirely gone or was there some sort of trial that was supposed to happen this week? An omnibus? Did anything happen?

 

[SweetPea60]

Right. What I mean by approval is that Melinda couldn't decide without running it by him. He would have to give her permission or tell her in advance not to go over a certain amount. Based on what we have all seen of her FB posts, I can't see her telling him "I got life insurance and it's going to cost $50/month" without him having some prior knowledge. He was a bully, and financial bullies question everything. She probably had to justify every purchase she made.

I agree. I don't think she would make that kind of decision on her own and tell him after the fact. I imagine her as one who would bend over backwards to get his approval and praise....... and also to avoid his temper. I don't think she would want to spend money on an over-the-top insurance policy when money was tight to begin with.

"According to court documents, Steven Lindsey moved in with his brother five or six weeks before his wife's death, and Melinda Lindsey had threatened to leave her husband because he wasn't working. Steven Lindsey told police they talked about divorce when he left to stay with his brother. Steven Lindsey also told police the couple fought about money."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/subur...tb-lindsey-arrest-st-0213-20150212-story.html

 

[molly1255]

If they determined something was "off", for example, if she was applying for way more life insurance coverage than he had on his life or if she wasn't the beneficiary on his policy, they could do several things. They might ask questions about their concerns and if they weren't comfortable with the responses, the might either decline to issue the policy, or they might offer a lesser amount of coverage.

 

[molly1255]

There is no policy on baby girl. There is no rider on baby girl. This policy was strictly on Melinda. I have seen the policy (copies given to defense), it is part of evidence. Steve is beneficiary.

Can you say who, if anyone, was named as the contingent beneficiary on the policy on Melinda?

 

[starshine4u]

Can you say who, if anyone, was named as the contingent beneficiary on the policy on Melinda?

Due to a pending lawsuit filed against Melinda's estate, I can't discuss anything else related to the policy, I'm sorry.

 

[starshine4u]

Is my memory entirely gone or was there some sort of trial that was supposed to happen this week? An omnibus? Did anything happen?

There was an omnibus hearing on the 10th.

 

[Snowhite]

Thinking about the gun ....Does anyone know when Melinda purchased or someone gave her the gun? Without someone taking this as blaming the victim because I'm definitely not....With all this talk about Steve being the one in control,etc...you would think he would have owned the gun and not the other way around...Yes, I realize she was killed with her own gun...but I did find it odd that she owned the gun and not the controlling,manipulative,aggressive bully that Steve's been painted as...Just a random thought as to how long she actually had a gun...

 

[Toralei]

Thinking about the gun ....Does anyone know when Melinda purchased or someone gave her the gun? Without someone taking this as blaming the victim because I'm definitely not....With all this talk about Steve being the one in control,etc...you would think he would have owned the gun and not the other way around...Yes, I realize she was killed with her own gun...but I did find it odd that she owned the gun and not the controlling,manipulative,aggressive bully that Steve's been painted as...Just a random thought as to how long she actually had a gun...

I think she owned it before she married him.

 

[molly1255]

I believe that he couldn't shoot her again honestly.. For whatever reason.. I've often thought about this myself.. Why not just end it and not let her suffer anymore.. I strongly believe he is a control freak and everything g has to go his way, && when it didn't he panicked and freaked out... The zip ties could have been laying around the house since they were from his job and he just improvised.. Which would explain why his story does have SOOO many holes in it.. The murder was a well thought out plan, however his cover story for the morning of the murder I believe was a last minute panicked story..


#JusticeForMelinda

You just said exactly what I have been thinking but you were able to way it in way less words than I! This is the only thing that makes sense to me.

 

[molly1255]

I think she owned it before she married him.

I recall the gun being discussed earlier on in this forum and it is also my recollection she had the gun before she knew Steve.

 

[skinnycat]

This is what was posted in the Chesterton Tribune regarding the gun, I don't recall reading that Melinda owned the gun before she was with SL


* A semi-automatic pistol was found on the floor of the master bedroom, partially underneath the foot of the bed, in an open locked position with the magazine seated. That handgun apparently belonged to Melinda Lindsey, had been purchased for her by someone named “Trinidad,” and she’d been sleeping with it “after all this stuff (that) has been happening,” Lindsey said. He added that he’d never handled a handgun himself and had not shot any weapons recently. “Samples were then taken from Mr. Lindsey to check for gun shot residue,” police said. “Preliminary tests on Mr. Lindsey returned presumptive positive for gun shot residue.”