On July 13, 2015, the life of 34-year-old White / Caucasian female Martha I. Cronkhite came to a tragic and violent end in Indianapolis, Indiana. A beloved mother of two children, Braxton and Hailey, and a daughter to Mark and Vickie Cronkhite, her future was stolen in a brutal act of violence that shook her family and community. Investigators discovered her body in a horrific state; she had been severely beaten, shot, and subsequently stuffed inside a bathtub, marking a grim conclusion to a search for answers that her grieving family desperately sought.
Law enforcement officials eventually identified and arrested suspects connected to the heinous crime, focusing their investigation on Candace Looper and Steven Jones. The legal process dragged on for years, prolonging the agony for Martha's parents and siblings, Lori, Lisa, Emily, and Christopher. The family hoped for a jury trial that would fully expose the details of the murder and deliver what they felt would be appropriate justice for the loss of their sister and daughter.
However, the judicial proceedings concluded with plea agreements rather than a full trial, a development that left the victim's family deeply frustrated and sorrowful. In February 2018, Candace Looper appeared in a Marion County courtroom and pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Under the terms of the agreement, Looper was sentenced to 17 years in prison followed by three years of house arrest. The family expressed their outrage to the judge, believing the sentence was insufficient for the brutality of the crime and fearing that Looper would one day be free to reunite with her own family while they remained permanently separated from Martha.
Steven Jones, the second suspect involved in the case, also reached a plea deal with prosecutors. Reports from the time indicated that his arrangement would see him released from prison in approximately four years. The resolution of the case left Martha Cronkhite's loved ones feeling let down by the justice system, forcing them to grapple with their loss without the sense of closure they had hoped a stricter verdict would provide.
