Ison pleads guilty to 5 murders

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February 17, 2012

Debbie Blank Rushville Republican The Rushville Republican Fri Feb 17, 2012, 12:29 PM EST

RUSHVILLE — David Ison, 46, Glenwood, pled guilty to five murders around 11:30 a.m.

Feb. 14 in Franklin Circuit Court, reported county Prosecutor Melvin Wilhelm.

On Oct. 7, 2011, formal charges were filed there accusing Ison of shooting to death a Laurel family (Roy Napier, 50, his estranged wife Angela Napier, 47, and two of their children, Jacob Napier, 18, and Melissa Napier, 23) Sept. 25, 2011, inside of a mobile home, and a neighbor, Henry X. Smith, 43, outside across Stipps Hill Road, according to a probable cause affidavit.

After interviews were conducted, detectives surmised an argument over the quantity and price of oxycodone prescription medications Ison was trying to purchase from Roy Napier may have provoked the shootings.

The defendant was in the courtroom for an initial hearing about a Feb. 3

charge by the prosecutor seeking a life in prison without the possibility of parole sentence for Ison if he was determined to be guilty of causing those deaths.

Earlier Wilhelm had been weighing the possibility of recommending a death

sentence for Ison. "It was not an easy decision," he admitted Feb. 14.

"It's one I took a lot of time thinking about. I talked to a lot of people ... (including) the families of the victims. The majority wanted me to go with life without parole. Several wanted the death penalty. Under the facts of the case, certainly the aggravators are there."

According to Indiana Code 35-50-2-9, there has to be at least one

aggravating circumstance for a person to be sentenced to death and the

prosecutor contended Ison qualified for two or three.

"I could understand why they would want the death penalty."

He noted that because the defendant did plead guilty, there will be no appeal and the case is almost over.

Ison's formal sentencing will take place March 14 at 9 a.m., Judge Stephen Cox decided Feb. 14.

Wilhelm wasn't totally surprised by the hearing's outcome. The prosecutor

said he discussed the possibility of Ison admitting he was guilty with defense attorney Hubert Branstetter, Brookville, beforehand. However, "I didn't know it was going to take place today."

Of Ison's plea, the prosecutor reflected, "It's always good to get a closure on a case. We want to do justice for the county and make sure our county's safe. We feel we've accomplished that by getting him off the

streets for the rest of his life."

"I feel sorry for the families" of the victims. "It was such a horrible thing for them to deal with ... devastating for them. It's something they'll live with for the rest of their lives."

Will charges be filed against Amanda Napier, 35, in connection with the

murders? Ison's girlfriend told authorities she waited in the vehicle during the shootings and was driving it when Ison was arrested Sept. 28, 2011, on an unrelated attempted armed robbery charge that stemmed from a

May 9, 2011, incident at Triplett's Drug Store, Osgood.

Wilhelm answered, "That's what we're going to focus on now." He will

discuss with officers whether she should face charges. "I'm not saying we

will or won't. We'll certainly go through it."

Contact: Debbie Blank at 812-934-4343 x113.

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