In the late summer of 2020, the life of 78-year-old Paul Edmonds, a well-known Indianapolis resident, came to a tragic and violent end. Edmonds, the proprietor of Diamond Stamp and Coin for over five decades, was a man of many passions, including an avid enthusiasm for Corvettes. His life, however, was cut short on the evening of September 25, 2020, during a business transaction that turned deadly.
Edmonds had arranged to meet a young woman, Kayla Blankenship, in the parking lot of a Hardee's restaurant on Brookville Road to purchase some coins. Surveillance footage from the scene captured Edmonds' car pulling up next to a red Saturn SUV. Blankenship then entered Edmonds' vehicle. A short time later, the car lurched forward as she hastily exited and fled the scene. Despite having been shot, Edmonds managed to drive to the front of the restaurant and alert employees, who promptly called for help. He informed the responding officers that the woman he was meeting for the coin sale had shot him. Edmonds was rushed to a nearby hospital but succumbed to his injuries the following day, on September 26, 2020.
The investigation into the shooting quickly honed in on Kayla Blankenship, who was identified through emails discovered on a cellphone in Edmonds' car. She was apprehended in Plainfield, Indiana, and her boyfriend was also taken into custody on an outstanding warrant. Blankenship, who was 24 years old at the time of her arrest, was subsequently charged with murder and other related offenses.
In April 2022, just before her trial was set to begin, Blankenship pleaded guilty to the murder of Paul Edmonds as part of a plea agreement. In exchange for her guilty plea, other charges against her were dropped. The following month, in May 2022, Kayla Blankenship was sentenced to 45 years in prison for her role in the fatal shooting. The case served as a grim reminder of the potential dangers associated with private sales and the importance of exercising caution during such transactions.
