Amanda Blackburn murder charges factor in pregnancy

1:07 p.m. update: The Marion County Prosecutor's Office has requested an enhancement on the murder charge filed against a suspect in the Amanda Blackburn killing because Blackburn was pregnant.

If Larry Taylor is convicted of Blackburn's murder, the enhancement could add an additional six to 20 years behind bars. Blackburn was 12 weeks pregnant when she died.

The enhancement would come into play should Taylor be convicted of or plead guilty to murder, according to prosecutor's office spokeswoman Peg McLeish. At that point, she said, the state would have to make its case that the killing caused the termination of Blackburn's pregnancy.

10:34 a.m. update: The two men facing murder charges in Amanda Blackburn's slaying appeared at a court hearing Tuesday, where a judge entered not guilty pleas for them.

During the 20-minute hearing, public defenders were assigned to Taylor and Watson, who gave "yes" and "no" answers to the judge's perfunctory questions.

Tuesday's court appearance will also likely be the last until Jan. 8, when the two are scheduled for a pre-trial conference hearing. In the meantime, local authorities will be tasked with processing additional evidence taken from the crime scenes — something officials expect will take time to resolve.

"It doesn't quite work like on television," said Marion County Deputy Prosecutor Denise Robinson. "It's a process that can take weeks and into months in this case. So the crime lab has quite a bit of work to do on the case."

Robinson said Taylor's case could be under consideration for the death penalty, though she added that process has yet to be started.

Uncertainty also swirls around the fate of Diano Gordon, a third man police have accused of being involved in the string of burglaries that led to Blackburn's death. Gordon, who is named in a probable cause affidavit, has not been charged. Robinson said prosecutors are waiting for test results and other information before determining what charges may be filed against him.

Gordon is currently being held at the Marion County Jail on an unrelated parole violation.

Earlier: The crime spree that ended Amanda Blackburn’s life began with a series of burglaries carried out across the Northside of Indianapolis.

The Blackburn home was the third burglary in the early-morning hours of Nov. 10. The perpetrators, police said, were after money. But the chaos ended around 7 a.m., police said, when one of the suspects — a teenager — leaned over Blackburn’s body and shot her in the back of the head.

Then he leaned further, police said. He looked at her face. And he watched her bleed.

That harrowing account of events was made public Monday as the city’s top law enforcers announced a slew of charges against two suspects, accused triggerman Larry Taylor, 18, and suspected accomplice Jalen Watson, 21.

“We promised you ... that we would go after those violent individuals in our community,” Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Chief Rick Hite said. "(Police) put in a lot of time to bring justice."

Taylor was charged with 13 counts, including murder, burglary, theft, robbery, criminal confinement, auto theft and a misdemeanor count of carrying a handgun without a license. Watson is facing 10 counts, including murder, burglary, theft, robbery and auto theft.

A third person suspected of involvement, 24-year-old Diano Gordon, is mentioned in court documents and was named at a news conference Monday, but he has not been charged. Officials say Gordon is being held in the Marion County Jail on an unrelated parole violation. It’s unclear what type of charges, if any, might be filed against him.

The arrests came nearly two weeks after Blackburn’s husband, Davey Blackburn, found his wife in critical condition in their shared home on Sunnyfield Court. Amanda Blackburn, 28, was 12 weeks pregnant when she was shot multiple times. She died two days later.

The Blackburns, who moved to Indianapolis from South Carolina two years ago and founded Resonate Church, drew significant interest across the country as Davey Blackburn began speaking out on national media about his wife's death.

He released a statement Monday after receiving news of the arrests.

"Though everything inside of me wants to hate, be angry and slip into despair, I choose the route of forgiveness, grace and hope," a portion of the statement read. "Today I am deciding to love, not hate. Today I am deciding to extend forgiveness, not bitterness. Today I am deciding to hope, not despair. By Jesus' power at work within us, the best is still yet to come."

Newly released court documents reveal the most complete account yet of how investigators think the crime happened — along with how, through a combination of DNA testing, cellphone records, surveillance footage and cooperating individuals, investigators ultimately pinned their suspects.

The timeline detailed in charging documents began around 4:30 a.m. the day Blackburn was shot, when a woman living about 10 miles from the Blackburn home awoke to find her apartment burglarized. She told police that burglars stole her cellphone, laptop, purse, keys and 2007 Chrysler Sebring. The woman’s security system, court documents say, took pictures of three people.

Police claim the Sebring became a getaway vehicle as the suspects drove across town to burglarize more homes in the 2800 block of Sunnyfield Court. One home on that block was burglarized around 5:30 a.m. Court documents say the men ripped a window screen and unlocked a patio door before stealing a laptop, Tiffany pearl necklace, pink sweater, bag of oranges, four televisions and other items.

The Blackburn home, two doors down on Sunnyfield, was targeted next. Police said the suspects entered the unlocked door after Davey Blackburn left to go to a gym at 6:11 a.m.

According to court documents, the men did not immediately decide to kill Amanda Blackburn. Instead, documents allege Taylor hit her with his gun, stole her bank cards and threw them in the getaway car with Watson and Gordon. Those two then drove to two ATMs, attempting to withdraw money. They communicated several times via phone with Taylor, who remained in the Blackburn house.

A cooperating individual who is unidentified in court records provided a narrative of that morning to police. That person told investigators that the two men in the car planned to leave Taylor behind after successfully withdrawing money from an ATM on 86th Street. But Taylor, court documents say, “threatened to kill the woman if they left him.”

Ultimately, the two decided to return for Taylor. Court documents attribute that decision to another person who called them and said Taylor was “family” and could not be left behind.

It's not clear when Blackburn was shot. A neighbor later told police she heard two gunshots and what sounded like a woman's scream about 6:45 a.m. According to the unidentified cooperating individual, Taylor later told several people that he shot Blackburn in the back of the head.

After picking up Taylor, court documents say, the two men dropped him off in a different neighborhood with a bag of stolen property and stashed the Sebring elsewhere.

That Sebring, which was recovered late Nov. 11 about 3 miles east of the Blackburn home, would later become the first piece of evidence that helped investigators track down their suspects. Inside the stolen vehicle, police found a denied ATM transaction notice for Blackburn’s missing debit card.

More critically, detectives also found a pink sweater stolen from the other home on Sunnyfield Court. That evidence, Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said, gave officials a “significant break” in the case via a DNA swab.

DNA found on the sweater was run through the FBI’s DNA index system. It returned a match for Watson, who has a prior felony conviction for burglary. Court documents claim Watson used the sweater to conceal his face as he attempted to use Blackburn’s stolen debit card at area ATMs.

Pieces began falling into place with that match. Investigators pulled phone numbers they say belonged to Watson and Gordon, whom they identified as close associates. According to phone records, their numbers pinged cell towers in areas where the Nov. 10 burglaries occurred.

Phone records also placed Taylor's phone at the scene of the crime. Additional research led investigators to Taylor, who was interviewed Thursday.

During that interview, Taylor would tell police only that he "possibly" rode in the Sebring and stopped on Sunnyfield Court, claiming he “was so messed up he could not remember.” Watson and Gordon also were taken into custody that day on unrelated parole violations after questioning about the killing.

Taylor, meanwhile, would not elude arrest for long. Saturday, court documents say, police interviewed the unnamed “cooperating individual” who gave them the sequence of events leading to Blackburn’s death — including a confession to the killing from Taylor himself. Taylor was arrested late Sunday.

That person characterized the crimes as motivated by greed, telling investigators the group “wanted more money” as they drove to their targets.

Ultimately, the unnamed individual told police, Taylor confessed to the crime at a later rendezvous point, where he told several people “he killed the woman.”

“Taylor stated that she charged at him and he shot her somewhere in the upper body so he would not be scratched,” the person told police.

Then Taylor shot her in the back of the head.

Star reporters Madeline Buckley and Vic Ryckaert contributed to this story. Call Star reporter Jill Disis at (317) 444-6137. Follow her on Twitter: @jdisis.