The Murder of Lindsey Wilkins
Warning, this case discusses the subject of a possible suicide.
For this case I watched an episode of Dead Reckoning. It’s season 1 episode 4, titled ‘A Shot in the Night.’
A 33 year old mother is found dead in her home, but the police have to decide if it was murder or suicide.
Background
Lindsey Wilkins was a 33 year old mother of an 8 year old named Cerenati. They lived in Anderson, Indiana, with Lindsey’s fiance Aaron Toller.
Lindsey was also very close to her family. They all said that Lindsey liked the bad boys, and liked to think that she could change the men that she dated. Lindsey struggled with depression and anxiety, but her family said she wouldn’t have taken her life.
Lindsey Wilkins
Lindsey with her daughter Cerenati
Murder or Suicide?
On December 8, 2016, Aaron Toller called 911 around 1:51am. He told the dispatcher that his girlfriend had just killed herself.
When the police arrived, Aaron led them to the bedroom, where Lindsey was found lying on the bed. She had been shot in the temple, and her left hand was in the position of having just fired a weapon.
There were pills scattered on the floor, and ripped up letters addressed to someone named Shawn. A .9mm shell casing was also found on the bedroom floor.
This did look like it was a suicide, however, there was one item missing: the gun. The police, especially Detective Norman Rayford Jr., of the Anderson police, believed that it wasn’t a clear case of suicide. He told other officers that they needed to question Aaron down at the station.
Lindsey’s daughter had been sleeping in a nearby room, and was taken out of the house when the police arrived.
The Fiance
When Aaron was brought down to the station, Det. Rayford asked him what happened. Aaron said he and Lindsey had gotten into an argument that night. Lindsey had driven over to their co-worker’s house where Aaron was staying, and that he went over to their house sometime later to check on her. He said he found her dead in the bedroom, and called 911.
The police looked into Lindsey and Aaron’s relationship. They met in 2015 at a restaurant they both worked at. They were immediately smitten with each other, and became engaged in September 2016.
The police asked Aaron if they owned any guns. Aaron said that he bought Lindsey a gun because she wanted one in the house for safety. Aaron said it was a Glock 22 .40 caliber, and that he had hidden it outside because he didn’t know what Lindsey would do with it. The police found the gun in the tree line outside the home, but it was determined not to have been the murder weapon.
Det. Rayford confronted Aaron, and told him he no longer believed it was a suicide. He asked Aaron who else would have wanted to hurt Lindsey, and Aaron said Shawn, Lindsey’s ex-boyfriend.
The Ex-Boyfriend
The name Shawn rang a bell for the police, it was the name found on the letters in the bedroom.
Shawn was Shawn Hutchens. Lindsey and Shawn had met in 2013, and they both bonded because they had daughters from previous relationships. They became a blended family, until Shawn became controlling and manipulative.
Lindsey’s sister Hailey said that she had stayed with her sister and Shawn, and that Shawn stole from them, and was physical with her. She called the police and moved out not too long after. Lindsey also ended their relationship.
Shawn was very jealous that Lindsey was moving on with Aaron. He had wanted to fight Aaron many times, and even showed up at the restaurant where Lindsey and Aaron both worked. Lindsey told Aaron not to get involved, so there was never any physical altercation.
The police looked into Shawn’s whereabouts from the night of the murder, and discovered he had been in jail for a burglary charge. They also discovered that from October 1 to December 5, Shawn and Lindsey had been sending letters to each other while Shawn was in jail. They talked about getting back together, and Shawn begged Lindsey to end things with Aaron.
Aaron had actually intercepted one of the letters, and told Lindsey to break off all contact with Shawn. She did, and the last letter she wrote to him was the letter found in the bedroom. It was a breakup letter, saying she was going to stay with Aaron.
The police also looked into whether or not Shawn could’ve hired someone to kill Lindsey. However, Shawn didn’t have the financial means to do so, and he was ruled out.
Another Love Triangle
The police turned back to Aaron as their potential suspect. When the police obtained Lindsey’s phone records, they found messages from her to Aaron asking him about the co-worker he was staying with.
Aaron was staying with their co-worker named Monica. According to everyone that they worked with, Monica had a reputation for being flirty, and she had her sights set on Aaron.
Lindsey’s sister Summaney worked at the restaurant, and on the night Lindsey died, she had been texting with her. Summaney was giving Lindsey updates about Aaron and Monica flirting. Summaney sent her sister a final message at 10:16pm, and three hours later Lindsey was dead.
The police brought Monica in for questioning. Monica told the police that she and Aaron were in a sexual relationship, which contradicted Aaron’s story. Monica was asked if she had issues with Lindsey, and she said yes. She said Lindsey had called Aaron before they went into work, and showed up at her house on the night she died. Monica said that Lindsey threatened to kill herself, and that Aaron told her that he was going to handle it, and come back later.
Killed Over an Affair?
Det. Rayford once again confronted Aaron about everything he had just learned. Aaron agreed to take a voice stress test with Det. Jim Sundheimer.
After the test, Det. Sundheimer told Aaron that there were signs of deception. The two questions he failed were did you shoot Lindsey? And were you present at the time Lindsey was shot?
Det. Sundheimer pushed Aaron to tell them the truth. This time, his story changed again. He said that he was in the bedroom when Lindsey shot herself, and that he panicked and took the gun. Yes, that’s right, there was a second gun, and Aaron took it.
The police eventually found the second gun in a wooded area behind a liquor store. The gun was tested, and it was revealed to have been the gun that killed Lindsey.
A Shocking Development
On December 9, the prosecutors were preparing to charge Aaron with Lindsey’s murder.
The case stalled when the pathologist ruled that Lindsey’s cause of death was suicide. The prosecution still went forward with charging Aaron. There were too many inconsistencies with Aaron’s story and the crime scene.
Before Aaron’s trial, two inmates came forward and said that Aaron had confessed to killing Lindsey. One said that Aaron said he killed Lindsey and made it look like a suicide. The other said that Monica had visited Aaron in jail, and that Aaron told him that he killed for her.
The police also discovered that Aaron was on probation at the time, and he had previous restraining orders out against him from previous relationships.
Trial and Conviction
In July 2018, Aaron Toller went on trial.
Lindsey’s family and daughter all testified, the jail house informants statements were brought up and the pathologist admitted that he would have ruled the cause of death as undetermined had he known about the two guns and Aaron’s changing statements.
Aaron’s defense continued to say that Lindsey killed herself. However, it didn’t matter, the jury deliberated for two hours and found Aaron guilty. He was sentenced to 70 1/2 years in prison.
Aaron’s appeal was denied in July 2019.
Aaron Toller
FINAL THOUGHTS
I truly believe Aaron killed Lindsey. The police, especially Det. Rayburn, did an amazing job in this case and knew right away that something was off. Aaron also didn’t help himself by lying constantly, and getting rid of the gun. The police said that Aaron probably would’ve gotten away with murder, had he not moved the gun.
It’s actually a good thing that Aaron was dumb, and moved it. It’s safe to say he is not a good guy, and he deserves to be in prison for the rest of his life. He should’ve ended his relationship with Lindsey, not murder her.
Sources
https://thecinemaholic.com/lindsey-wilkins-murder/
https://www.woofboomnews.com/2019/07/conviction-upheld-for-aaron-toller/
