On a quiet street in unincorporated Griffith, Indiana, a burst of violence on the afternoon of Friday, March 15, 2024, left three men dead, including 67-year-old John G. Stefanich of Highland. The tranquil neighborhood was disrupted by the sound of gunfire, drawing the attention of residents and passersby.
Events began to unfold in the 600 block of Colfax Street. An eyewitness reported seeing one man chase another out of a house and shoot him in the driveway.
The shooter was then seen going back inside the residence, and additional gunshots were heard shortly after. Another neighbor recalled hearing two gunshots and then witnessing a man standing over another man in the driveway, going through his pockets, before returning to the house. Within minutes, another single gunshot rang out from within the home.
When officers from the Lake County Sheriff's Department arrived at the scene, they discovered a grim tableau. Two men were found deceased inside the home, and a third man, who was critically wounded, was transported to a local hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. The three men who lost their lives were identified as John G. Stefanich, Marshall Lawson Jr., age 69, of Hammond, and Robert Secviar, age 63, who resided at the Colfax Street home. All three men died from gunshot wounds.
Investigators with the Lake County Sheriff's Department immediately began looking into several possibilities, with the theory of a murder-suicide being a primary focus of the investigation. The Lake County Coroner's Office later ruled the deaths of Marshall Lawson Jr. and Robert Secviar as homicides. At the time of initial reports, the manner of death for John G. Stefanich was still pending. Authorities stated that there was no ongoing threat to the public, and no arrests were made in connection with the incident. The investigation into what led to the tragic triple fatality has not been publicly concluded.
