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ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT
Kenneth R. Martin Goshen, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Steve Carter Attorney General of Indiana Monika Prekopa Talbot Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

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In the

Indiana Supreme Court
_________________________________ No. 20S00-0607-CR-270 SPENSER A. KREMPETZ, Appellant (Defendant below), v. STATE OF INDIANA, Appellee (Plaintiff below). _________________________________ On Direct Appeal from the Elkhart Circuit Court, No. 20C01-0508-MR-00150 The Honorable Terry Shewmaker, Judge _________________________________ August 29, 2007

Rucker, Justice.

Case Summary

Spenser A. Krempetz appeals his sentence of life imprisonment without parole (LWOP) after pleading guilty to murder, a felony, conspiracy to commit murder, a Class A felony, and

criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon, a Class B felony. Krempetz presents three issues for review which he phrases as follows: 1. Was there sufficient evidence to establish the two aggravators relied upon by the trial court to support the sentence of life without parole? 2. In imposing the sentence of life without parole on the conviction for murder and enhancing the sentences for the other two felonies, did the trial court properly weigh the aggravating and mitigating circumstances? 3. Was the sentence inappropriate under Indiana Appellate Rule 7(B)? We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

Eighteen-year-old Krempetz and his seventeen-year-old girlfriend Hannah Stone, along with a mutual friend, seventeen-year-old Aaron McDonald, devised a plan to rob and kill Stone's mother, Barbara Jo Keim. Stone conceived of the idea to "get rid of" Keim because she was annoyed that her mother did not approve of her relationship with Krempetz. McDonald was promised $400 for his efforts. Stone had recently moved out of her mother's home, and thus Keim lived alone in an apartment in Middlebury, Elkhart County, Indiana. The accomplices agreed that Krempetz and McDonald would hide in the stairwell located next to the apartment and Stone would knock on the door and ask her mother for clothing. They knew that Keim would not let them inside if she saw the two young men, especially Krempetz. Once Keim opened the door, Krempetz would tackle her and McDonald would follow armed with a handgun. Money obtained from Keim's credit union account would be used to pay McDonald.

The trio proceeded to execute the plan. On August 4, 2005, the group went to Keim's apartment. Krempetz and McDonald hid in the stairwell, Stone knocked on her mother's door, and when Keim opened the door, Krempetz ran inside and tackled her. Armed with a handgun

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McDonald followed. Krempetz overpowered a screaming Keim, and while McDonald held her at gunpoint, Krempetz bound Keim with duct tape over her arms, eyes, and mouth. In the meantime, searching Keim's purse, Stone retrieved Keim's ATM card. Removing the tape from her mouth long enough to get a response, Krempetz asked Keim about the location of her credit union, her PIN, and the amount of money in her account.

Krempetz and McDonald then drove Keim to the credit union. Stone remained at the apartment because the trio was concerned that someone may have called the police after hearing Keim screaming. The plan was to throw the police off track in the event officers came to check on the incident. Arriving at the ATM McDonald gave his handgun to Krempetz, exited the car, and attempted to obtain $800 or $1000. After two failed attempts McDonald retrieved $200. McDonald returned to the car, and Krempetz drove away. After a period of time that McDonald later testified "felt like hours," Tr. at 51, Krempetz drove to a cornfield in an adjacent county. Barefoot and still bound with duct tape, Keim was marched into the field where Krempetz fatally shot her in the back of the head. McDonald then gave Krempetz the $200. Krempetz kept half and gave the other half back to McDonald.

Within days of these events all three accomplices were arrested and charged as codefendants with Count I murder, a felony; Count II conspiracy to commit murder, a Class A felony; and Count III criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon, a Class B felony. The State also requested life imprisonment without parole alleging three aggravating factors: intentional killing while committing or attempting to commit robbery, Ind. Code

Download Spenser A. Krempetz v. State of Indiana.pdf

Indiana Law