Shannon Watts

My Gun Story: The Activist

"The rhetoric of the NRA has created an extremist group terrified their guns are going to be taken away."

Blindsided: A Dream Engagement Turned Nightmare

Don Huckstep thought he’d found true love in his small hometown of Fowler, Indiana. But when Teri Deneka mysteriously vanished from his life, the disappearance foreshadowed a bizarre—and grisly—series of discoveries that left Huckstep, police, and another man’s family with more questions than answers.

The Undercover Files: Child Exploitation

"Offenders know there’s a stigma. When they’re arrested, some are ashamed; others are relieved. I’ve actually had men tell me that they were glad to be caught. I think they take solace in having someone they can talk to about this secret they’ve been keeping."
0313-TROY-RIGGS.jpg

In For Questioning: Q&A with Troy Riggs

"At the end of the day, I have to make some very tough decisions that will not sit well with people. But they'll understand why I made the decision and what my thinking was."

Figures from Lauren Spierer Investigation Return to Spotlight

Sadly, there has been little in the way of breaking news to report about Lauren Spierer since June, when IM last looked into the disappearance of the Indiana University student—namely information on her whereabouts, what happened to her, or publicized leads in the police investigation. 
MILT-AND-ERIC.jpg

IM Crime Files: The Murders in Heartland Crossing

Something just wasn’t right, and Connie Ballard knew it. Three weeks earlier, one of her best patrons, a kind, elderly man named Milt Lindgren, had come into her automotive-repair shop to tell her that he was planning a roadtrip, and that he wanted the oil changed in his van before he left. But he never returned to have the work done.
0215_guns_gas-station-robbery

Under the Gun: Do Convenience-Store Clerks Need More Protection?

“We take security very seriously," says Jay Ricker of Anderson-based Ricker Oil Co.
February 2015

Editor’s Note, February 2015: Guns

As tempting as it might be to turn past such a tough subject, I encourage you to take a moment to absorb the effect one year of gun violence has had on our city.

Lauren Spierer Update: Lawsuit Targets Last People to See Her

The Spierers’ lawsuit contradicts some information included in IM’s report from June 2011, printed one year after Lauren went missing.
Beat.jpg

The Couple Investigating The Death Of Their Daughter

Jessie Whitehouse was shot in her home last fall, and IMPD hasn’t yet publicly identified a suspect.