On the evening of February 19, 2015, in the quiet town of Syracuse, Indiana, 23-year-old Tara L. Thornburg was at her residence on East Main Street, accompanied by her boyfriend, 19-year-old Joshua Randall Knisley. What began as a seemingly ordinary night turned tragic when three men arrived at the home under the guise of a social visit. Reports indicate the men—Brandon Woody, Kyle DeHart, and Thomas Hursey—had devised a plan to rob Thornburg of marijuana.
Upon entering the
residence, the situation escalated violently. Brandon Woody, armed with a handgun, first targeted Knisley, shooting him in the head and killing him instantly at the scene. He then turned the weapon on Thornburg, shooting her in the face. Despite suffering a catastrophic gunshot wound, Thornburg remained conscious after the attackers fled the scene. Summoning remarkable strength, she managed to dial 911. During the call, she was able to clearly identify Brandon Woody as the person who had shot her and her boyfriend, providing law enforcement with a critical lead before she lost consciousness.
Emergency responders airlifted Thornburg to Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, where she was placed on life support. She succumbed to her injuries the following day, February 20, 2015. Her ability to name her attacker proved vital to the investigation, leading police to quickly locate and arrest Woody, DeHart, and Hursey. Woody was apprehended at a gas station in Mishawaka, Indiana, shortly after the incident. Investigators discovered that after the murders, the trio had attempted to destroy evidence, including burning clothes and shoes worn during the crime.
The legal proceedings that followed revealed the cold-blooded nature of the crime. Prosecutors argued that the motive was a simple robbery gone wrong, where the defendants sought to steal a small amount of marijuana. In October 2016, a jury found both Brandon Woody and Kyle DeHart guilty of two counts of murder. DeHart was also convicted of obstruction of justice. Both men received sentences exceeding 100 years in prison for their roles in the double homicide. Thomas Hursey, who cooperated with prosecutors and testified against his co-defendants, pleaded guilty to aiding in a robbery resulting in serious bodily injury and was sentenced to approximately 27 years in prison.
