Authorities seek clues in homicide

by Kevin Smith
Pharos-Tribune staff writer

January 02, 2009 11:27 am

— MONTICELLO — Residents expressed shock this week on learning that a retired teacher had been killed during an apparent home invasion robbery.
“I just wish they were saying more,” Monticello resident Rick Morris told the Monticello Herald-Journal. “I get it that they have to be careful with some stuff, but at least let us know some things that can help keep us safe.”
Judith Claypool, a 67-year-old retired Twin Lakes School Corporation teacher, was found dead in her home on Monday.
“Everybody keeps saying the same thing, that you never would think of something like this happening here,” Morris said. “It’s just a reminder, I guess, that something like this can even happen in a small town.”
White County Coroner Mike Ott told the Monticello Herald-Journal that the cause of death might not be known for several weeks while investigators wait for results of an autopsy and toxicology reports from a morgue in Indianapolis.
A sheriff’s deputy discovered Claypool’s body on Monday after the department received a call from a resident on Norway Trail in Monticello about a red Chrysler PT Cruiser abandoned in their front yard
According to a news release, White County dispatchers identified the vehicle as Claypool’s and called her residence at 2352 N. Sullivan Court but got no answer.
A sheriff’s deputy followed up the call and found Claypool dead in her home.
Investigators working on the case said the death was the result of a home invasion, but they said no further details were being released.
Kevin Smith can be contacted at (574) 732-5148 or via e-mail at kevin.smith@pharostribune.com