In the early morning hours of August 12, 2011, in Indianapolis, a dispute over the volume of a stereo escalated into a tragic and fatal encounter for Mary Swift, a 37-year-old woman. The argument was with Edward Lay, a man she had been dating for a short time. The verbal altercation took a violent turn when Lay produced a handgun and shot Swift multiple times.
The violence did not end with Swift's shooting.
As two other individuals, Kelly Jinks, 33, and Ronald Kortz II, 40, attempted to intervene, Lay also opened fire on them. When police, who were already patrolling the area and heard the gunshots, arrived at the 1700 block of South State Avenue, they found a grim scene. Mary Swift was pronounced dead at the scene. Jinks had also succumbed to her injuries, while Kortz was critically wounded and rushed to the hospital for surgery.
Edward Lay attempted to flee the scene but was quickly apprehended by the Indianapolis police a short distance away. He was arrested and faced multiple charges, including two counts of murder for the deaths of Mary Swift and Kelly Jinks, one count of attempted murder for the shooting of Ronald Kortz II, and a charge of being a serious violent felon in possession of a firearm. Neighbors described Swift as a mother of four and an 'awesome woman,' and noted that arguments between her and Lay were not uncommon. Following his arrest, Lay went through the legal process, and on June 27, 2012, he was found guilty on two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder for his actions on that fatal morning.
