GUILTY IN - Alyssa, 8, & Caleb Lynch, 5, die in arson fire, Vanderburgh Co., 10 April 2010

[Texas Mist]

What's with these men burning up children? This monster is beyond evil..there needs to be new words to describe the horrorific things being done to children...it's believed he tied up the little boy w/ duct tape & set off flares under him.

Man accused of murdering children back in Tri-State

Posted: Apr 12, 2010 1:11 PM CDT Updated: Apr 12, 2010 9:08 PM CDT

VANDERBURGH CO., IN (WFIE) - The suspect accused of setting a fire that killed his fiancee's children is back in Vanderburgh County.
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A four page affidavit released by the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office includes words like duct tape, flares, and a confession detectives say 34-year-old Jeffery Weisheit made to them, admitting to lighting the Fischer Road home on fire.
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According to an affidavit given to 14 News by the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office, Lisa Lynch's fiancee, Jeffrey Weisheit, was supposed to be at home watching the children, but when authorities arrived at the fire, Weisheit was nowhere to be found.
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Detective Randy Chapman said Weisheit admitted to lighting his home on fire.

He also stated he had been planning to leave town for a week, and didn't want to take the children.

When asked if he harmed the children, he said he didn't remember.

Authorities said duct tape found next to the children's bodies may show that the kids had been bound.

They also said flares were found at the scene.

more here

http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=12296147

sheriff's affadavit (.pdf) http://ftpcontent.worldnow.com/wfie/Images/MESSAGE.pdf

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Emergency workers coping with children's deaths
Posted: Apr 12, 2010 5:21 PM CDT Updated: Apr 12, 2010 8:14 PM CDT

<snip>

German Township Fire Department Chief John Buckman said no amount of training ever prepares a firefighter for a tragedy like Saturday, but with the support of the entire department, he said his staff learn how to move forward.

"Firefighters have the same emotions as everybody else," Buckman said. "They want to know why. They're angry. They're frustrated. Firefighters want to help people. We never say no and we never give up."

more here

http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=12298105

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FWIW, there are comments to article here - http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/apr/12/weisheit-appear-court-today/ - by someone who says he is the children's father...said he called CPS & told them the kids told him they were being abused when they visited over spring break.....just heart-breaking he tried to do something about their situation & was not able to save them.

:rose: Fly with the angels, Alyssa & Caleb...forever free from fear & pain :rose:

 

[kbl8201]

someone needs to light a candle for stepdad.........a roman candle

 

[Donjeta]

My first thought was, "Why?" but then I decided I don't want to know. Whatever kind of howling dark abyss this crime came from, I don't want to understand.

Rest in peace, little angels. Prayers for the family.

 

[2goldfish]

poor little ones.

When asked if he harmed the children, he said he didn't remember.

why do they always claim that?

 

[Texas Mist]

April 17, 2010 08:04:00 PM

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — An Indiana man was charged this week with murder after police said he set a house on fire and burned to death his fiancée’s two young children.

Jeffrey Weisheit, 34, the fiancé of the children’s’ mother, was arrested April 10 in Covington, Ky., on two counts of murder and one count of arson.

Steven Lynch of Lynn Haven is the father of 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch and her 5-year-old brother, Caleb Lynch.

He said his children told him, while they were in town for Spring Break, that Weisheit had abused them, according to tristatehomepage.com in Evansville, Ind.

“From what my children told me he was using belts to discipline him and my daughter as well,” tristatehomepage.com reported Steven Lynch as saying.

Steven Lynch, a custodian at Mowat Middle School, reported the abuse to Child Protective Services in Indiana, according to the news website. The site also says he is a former youth minister and he is coping with the tragedy through God.

more here

http://www.newsherald.com/news/arrested-83150-children-deaths.html

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Saturday, April 17 2010

The last time Steven Lynch saw his kids, they told him about being abused by the man accused of killing them.

During his kids' spring break he got to spend time with them at his Florida home-- while he cherishes the last memories he shared with Caleb and Alyssa-- something the kids told him during that trip continues to haunt him.
Steven says the family celebrated the kids' birthdays and spent quality time together. But one thing the kids told him is hard to forget.

"We were at a birthday party both of the kids had come up and said that Jeff was abusing them," Lynch said.
The extent of the alleged abuse disturbed Steven.

He cannot forget the chilling details his children told him.
"From what my children told me he was using belts to discipline him and my daughter as well but not in a way what people would think you use a belt to discipline your child with a spanking my daughter being the oldest told me that it was more prevalent on my son. Just the sheer amount and the pain that Caleb was feeling and I wished I could have been there."

Police say Weisheit started the fire and duct tape was found at the scene which could have been used to prevent the children from escaping.

Steven says the warning signs-- the alleged beatings leading up to their death-- were ignored by Child Protective Services.

When Steven heard about the alleged abuse-- he called CPS.

He's devastated because he says his call fell on deaf ears.

"I reported what the children told me about the abuse especially around the children they did nothing I understand that they probably get a million false calls but legally they have got to start checking on this stuff you know because if they had done their job I truly believe, I truly believe these children would be with us right now today."

more here

http://tristatehomepage.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=149585


So sad that this dad spoke up to CPS for his children -- and they were not saved.

 

[JoeFromLB]

I believe Indiana has the death penalty. It seems very appropriate in this case.
I hope the state will pursue it.

 

[Texas Mist]

Family mourns children killed in fire

April 19, 2010 12:05:00 AM

PARKER — Leona Taylor watched as her grandchildren piled into a car and headed back to Indiana. She pulled open the car door when she saw tears welling in her grandson’s eyes.

The 5-year-old boy didn’t want to go home. His big sister, a lanky, dark-haired 8-year-old girl, didn’t want to leave, either.
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On Sunday, Taylor was speaking on behalf of Steven, whom The News Herald reached in Indiana but deferred to his mother.

The father of two had recently moved to Bay County after his marriage ended in divorce, and Lisa kept the children and moved in with Weisheit. Taylor said the children never called Weisheit’s house home; it was “Jeff’s house.”

While the children were visiting, Taylor said, they told their father Weisheit frequently beat Caleb, sometimes with a belt, often to the point of bruising. The little boy got the worst beatings, Alyssa had said, Taylor added.

“We told Alyssa, that if he ever touched them again, dial 911,” Taylor said. “Whether that ever happened, I don’t know.”

In the meantime, she said, their father called Indiana’s Child Protective Services for intervention but was told he must provide physical evidence.

“I understand that they probably get a million false calls,” he told WTVW in Evansville on Saturday. “But legally, they have got to start checking on this stuff. … If they had done their part … I truly believe these children would be with us right now today.”

more here

http://www.newsherald.com/news/parker-83158-children-family.html

 

[Kat]

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/jun/10/no-headline---11a0xdodd/

Defense attorney for death penalty case dies
By Mark Wilson

Posted June 10, 2011 at 5:46 p.m.


Rest in peace.

 

[fhc]

http://www.wbiw.com/state/archive/2013/06/clark-county---the-capital.php

Capital Murder Trial To Begin Monday
Updated June 2, 2013 9:52 AM |

Alyssa and Caleb Lynch were just eight and five-years-old when that fire took their lives. Lt. Daza is hoping years of hard work will help bring a conviction.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Man, 37, faces death penalty for 'murdering fiancee's two young children by setting house on fire with them inside'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ouse-young-children-inside.html#ixzz2VtDwBJoH

 

[OkieGranny]

From February 2015:

http://www.tristatehomepage.com/sto...-reflects-on-dif/10987/eGVsHBLfeky_vYIxWYvgtA

On July 11th, 2013, a Clark County judge said he had a "cold and depraved heart." Moments later, the judge condemned Jeffrey Allen Weisheit to die by lethal injection. Now, more than a year later, the Indiana Supreme Court denied Weisheit's first round of appeals...

The jury found Weisheit guilty of murder and arson for setting fire to his Vanderburgh County home in April 2010. According to court testimony, the victims, Caleb and Alyssa Lynch, were alive when the fire was set.

 

[JerseyGirl]

The Indiana Supreme Court has again upheld the murder convictions and death sentence of Jeffrey Weisheit for killing killed two children in 2010 in Vanderburgh County.

Weisheit loses appeal of murder convictions, death sentences for killing two children