On February 25, 2019, 19-year-old Molley Renee Lanham, a recent high school graduate from St. John, Indiana, drove her boyfriend, 18-year-old Thomas Grill Jr., to a residence in rural Hebron, Indiana. The purpose of the trip was allegedly a drug transaction taking place at the home of Connor Kerner’s grandparents, who were away at the time. While Lanham waited in her black Honda Civic outside the garage, a violent altercation erupted inside between Grill and Kerner, who was 17 years old.
According to court testimony and evidence presented later, Kerner claimed that Grill attempted to rob him, prompting Kerner to shoot Grill. When the initial gunshots did not kill him, Kerner brutally beat Grill to death with a pipe wrench. Following the murder of Grill, Kerner exited the garage and approached the vehicle where Lanham was waiting. He brought her into the garage, showed her the body of her boyfriend, and although he initially told her she could leave if she remained silent, he shot her in the head execution-style as she turned to walk away.
In an attempt to cover up the double homicide, Kerner loaded both bodies into the trunk of Lanham's Honda Civic. He drove the vehicle to a remote field in Hebron, doused it with flammable liquids and propane tanks, and set it on fire to destroy the evidence. The teenagers were reported missing, leading to a search that ended days later when police received a tip from a confidential informant to whom Kerner had confessed the crimes. The burnt wreckage and remains were subsequently discovered by authorities.
Connor Kerner was arrested and charged as an adult with two counts of murder, two counts of murder in the perpetration of a robbery, and arson. During the trial in October 2020, the jury found him guilty on all counts. In December 2020, a judge sentenced Kerner to 179 years in prison, describing the killings as particularly cold-blooded and noting the 'Mafioso-style' execution of Molley Lanham to eliminate a witness.
