In a tragic event that unfolded in the small town of Austin, Indiana, nine-year-old Katelynn Bennett, a female, was found deceased on Friday, January 21, 2011. The grim discovery was made inside her family's home on New York Street after a concerned family member requested a welfare check. Responding officers entered the residence to find parts of the home had been burned and discovered the lifeless bodies of Katelynn, her 14-year-old sister Jasmine, 4-year-old brother Ryan, and their
30-year-old mother, Amanda Bennett.
Subsequent investigation by the Indiana State Police revealed a heart-wrenching murder-suicide. Preliminary autopsy reports determined that Katelynn and her siblings all died from gunshot wounds to the head. The reports also indicated that Katelynn and her mother, Amanda, had suffered from smoke inhalation. Investigators concluded that Amanda Bennett shot her three children and the family dog before setting fire to the house and then taking her own life.
The motive behind the devastating act appeared to be linked to domestic turmoil. Amanda Bennett and the father of her children were reportedly in the process of a divorce, and she had filed a petition just weeks before the incident. Friends and community members indicated that the family had been going through a difficult time. In the wake of the tragedy, as the community mourned the loss of the three young children, authorities confirmed that with the perpetrator also deceased, the investigation would not result in any arrests.
