Indianapolis, IN–An unarmed 64-year-old man confronts a 52-year-old man who is armed with a knife. The 64-year-old kills the 52-year-old with his bare hands. How? Perhaps it was the younger man’s condition. Or maybe it was just the older man’s superior motivation.
Also note the heroic father’s classy, measured comments at the end of the story.
From Indiana Father Kills Sex Offender Who Broke Into Home (Associated Press, 9/29/08):
INDIANAPOLIS — A convicted sex offender died Sunday during a struggle with a father who found the naked man in or near his 17-year-old daughter’s bedroom, police said.
Police responding to a call from the city’s northwest side about 3:20 a.m. found 64-year-old Robert McNally on the hallway floor with his arm around the neck of 52-year-old David T. Meyers, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police spokesman Sgt. Matthew Mount said Meyers had a heart condition and may have had a heart attack. An autopsy was planned.
Police said Meyers was naked except for a mask and latex gloves and had entered the home through a window near the girl’s bedroom with rope, condoms and a knife. He was familiar with the home’s layout because it belonged to a relative, police said.
The girl awoke and screamed when she saw the man in her room, police said. The father responded and struggled with the intruder while the girl’s mother phoned 911.
Police did not anticipate any charges against McNally.
“If a person breaks into your home, you are justified in using deadly force in defending your family,” said Mount. “In this situation, I don’t think he was trying to kill him, he was trying to hold him down.”
Meyers had served 10 years in prison for criminal confinement and sexual deviate conduct and was wanted in Boone County for failure to register as a sex offender. He was registered as a sex offender in Marion County.
Police said Meyers lived with his mother and had recently lost his job.
The death is under investigation and will be reviewed by a Marion County prosecutor.
“Nobody wins,” McNally told The Indianapolis Star. “It’s a lose-lose situation for everybody. He has family also.”
He said his daughter went to church Sunday after the incident.
Thanks to readers John and Tony for the story.