The Murder of Darin Atkins
For this case, I watched an episode of Snapped. It’s season 32 episode 21.
A man is found dead in his bedroom after his girlfriend calls 911.
Background
Darin Atkins was born on September 21, 1967. He had grown up close to the small town of Birdseye, Indiana, and was very close to his family.
After high school, Darin met his future wife, Sheri. He asked her to marry him very quickly after they met. They got married in April 1988 and had two children together. Darin accomplished his goal of becoming a truck driver.
Darin and Sheri divorced in 2003 after almost 2 decades together. Sheri said it was because Darin’s mom always meddled in their marriage. They also lost both of their daughters on June 19, 2006, in a car accident. It was very hard on them both but especially on Darin. He turned to drugs and became a different person.
Darin Atkins
A New Relationship
In 2014, Darin met Sarah Andry on Facebook. They had both been lonely, and Darin confided in her about losing his daughters. Sarah also had kids, but her kids were taken and put into foster care due to her drug use. Darin and Sarah moved in together, and their house became a known party house.
Sarah and Darin both decided that they wanted to get clean and have a future together. All that came to an end on July 19, 2017. Sarah made a 911 call and said that Darin was dead. Sarah said she had fled and was picked up by her mom. They were found at an intersection about 11 miles away from Darin’s trailer.
Darin’s body was found in the bedroom. A blunt force object had been used as the left side of his face had been bashed in. There was blood spatter found all over the walls and headboard.
After Darin’s body was found, another officer went to meet Sarah and her mom at the intersection. Her demeanor was all over the place, but she was crying and visibly upset.
Sarah was asked why she hadn’t called 911 from Darin’s house. She said she had 2 outstanding warrants for theft and failure to appear. She also said she was scared and wanted her mom.
Sarah said the front door was locked, but they always had windows unlocked. She went through the kitchen window and found Darin lying in the bed. She said she shook him but he didn’t wake up.
The Investigation
Sarah was taken to the Dubois County Sheriff’s Office for more questioning. The police also continued to search Darin’s trailer.
They found a wallet that was partially open. There was no money inside, but the contents had been taken. Robbery was eventually ruled out as nothing else had been taken from the trailer. There was no murder weapon found at the scene either.
Sarah said they had a party at the house the previous night. Sarah said there were people in and out until about midnight. She said she left the next morning around 8 a.m. and went to her friend Jason Atkins. Jason and Darin weren’t related but knew each other from growing up in Birdseye. Sarah discovered that Darin was dead after she returned home from Jason’s.
Sarah was asked who she thought had killed Darin. Sarah said a guy named Jason Bledsoe. Jason and Darin had a fight at the party the night before.
Sarah was arrested for her previous theft charge and outstanding warrants and was taken to the county jail.
On July 20, Darin’s autopsy confirmed what the police already knew. He had died from blunt force trauma to the head. He also had several small cuts from barbed wire. The medical examiner put the time of death between 4-8 a.m. Sarah said she had been at the trailer all night.
Small Town Rumors
Jason Bledsoe was interviewed. He corroborated what Sarah had said. Jason and Darin did argue because Jason hadn’t returned Darin’s car to him. But, he said there had been no violent altercation. He said he left before midnight and never returned. He was eliminated from the suspect list.
Darin’s friends all said he was a nice and helpful guy. They told the police that Darin kept a unique weapon inside his trailer. He had a bat that he had wrapped in barbed wire to use for protection.
There was a rumor that Darin also had an altercation with another person at the party named Steven Clapp. Steven’s trailer had burned down months earlier, and Steven believed that Darin had done it. Many of the partygoers said Steven angrily left the party and walked home.
Steven was interviewed. He admitted to leaving the party but had never been upset with Darin. He said he had gotten into a fight with his girlfriend and walked home from the party. Steven’s girlfriend picked him up, and they went to his mom’s trailer and were there the rest of the night. He woke up early the next morning for work. The police went to his job and learned that he hadn’t punched in until almost 10 a.m. Steven’s girlfriend was also interviewed. She told the police that Sarah was dating both Darin and Jason Atkins.
The Love Triangle
Sarah had been dating both of them for years. Everyone said Sarah was manipulative and would go to whichever man had the drugs or who was nice to her.
The police collected the cell phones of everyone they thought could be involved in the murder.
On Facebook, Jason had made comments to Sarah that if Darin was involved he couldn’t have her. It was clear that he was very jealous.
Steven Clapp was ruled out as a suspect. His cell phone put him in a different location around the time that Darin was believed to have been killed.
On Darin’s phone, there were texts sent from his phone at 4:12 a.m. He had made derogatory comments about Sarah and said that Sarah was still at Jason’s. Sarah had lied to the police about her whereabouts.
Jason’s Confession
On July 28, the police met with Sarah at the county jail. She admitted to being in a love triangle. But she said she finally chose to be with Darin, which made Jason angry.
Sarah was also confronted about the texts on Darin’s phone. The police told her that they thought she was protecting Jason.
Jason was interviewed. He admitted to loving Sarah but said he knew she wasn't good for him. Jason said he had been at his house all night and didn’t leave.
The police decided to go to the library to take a look at the surveillance footage. The library was in the middle of town, so if anyone left Jason’s to drive to Darin’s, they would have to pass the library. At 4:13 a.m., Jason’s car was seen driving past the library. The police were able to determine that there were 2 people in the car.
Sarah was eventually released from jail after serving time for her outstanding warrants. After her release, she married a man named Eddie, whom she had met in high school.
On May 24, 2018, Jason was interviewed. He had been held in jail for unrelated narcotics charges. Jason was confronted with a “murder box,” which contained the evidence that they had. Jason was also told that the police knew he had help. Jason said that Sarah deserved to be locked up, and was the mastermind.
Jason said Sarah had shown up at his house after the party at Darin’s. He said that Sarah told him that Darin abused her, so they made a pact that they would confront him.
Jason said they drove to Darin’s, but he waited in the car while Sarah went inside. He said he went inside after a few minutes of waiting. Jason said Darin came at him with the bat. Jason said Darin missed but he took it from him. He said he then used it and hit Darin in the head. He said he only swung once, Darin was unconscious but still alive when they left.
The Arrests
The police didn’t believe Jason as it didn’t match the evidence.
Five days after Jason’s confession, he reached out to the police. He said he was ready to tell the truth. He said Sarah was the real killer. He said Darin was unconscious, but Sarah picked up the bat after him. Jason said he watched and heard Sarah hit Darin because she was messed up on drugs.
Jason was arrested and charged with murder. Sarah was arrested on June 11, 2018.
The prosecution argued that the murder was due to drugs. It had gotten out of hand at Darin’s trailer.
Jason pled guilty and agreed to testify against Sarah. In September 2020, Sarah went on trial. Jason testified that Sarah urged him to confront Darin. There was never any evidence that Darin had abused Sarah. Sarah had once made allegations against Jason as well.
The prosecution believed that the biggest piece of evidence that they had on Sarah was her wild and inconsistent stories. They had thousands of Facebook messages throughout the years of Sarah manipulating both Jason and Darin.
Sarah’s defense pointed out that the murder weapon was never found. They argued that Jason acted alone to eliminate his romantic rival.
The evidence showed that Darin never had the bat like Jason had said. The blanket showed that Darin had been under the blanket when he was attacked by Jason and Sarah.
The Convictions
Sarah was found guilty and sentenced to 55 years in prison.
Jason pled guilty and was sentenced to 20 years followed by 5 years of home detention and 20 years of probation.
In 2021, Sarah filed an appeal with the Indiana Court of Appeals. Her conviction was upheld. She is also still married to Eddie and maintains her innocence.
Jason Atkins and Sarah Andry
FINAL THOUGHTS
Sure Darin was not perfect. After his daughters died, he became addicted to drugs and couldn’t get out of that lifestyle. Darin was manipulated for years, as was Jason. However, Jason was jealous and decided to take another man’s life. He and Sarah both deserve to sit in prison for a long time.
Sources
https://www.oxygen.com/snapped/crime-news/sarah-andry-talks-darin-atkins-murder-in-snapped-episode
https://www.duboiscountyfreepress.com/andry-found-guilty-in-birdseye-murder-case/
https://law.justia.com/cases/indiana/court-of-appeals/2021/20a-cr-02173.html
