In the autumn of 2000, tensions simmered within a shared house in Marion, Indiana, culminating in the violent deaths of Andrew Cataldi and Tricia Nordman. Andrew Cataldi, a 24-year-old male, and his roommate Tricia Nordman, 25, were shot and killed on October 24, 2000. Their bodies were later discovered in a dumpster behind a local union hall. Both Cataldi and Nordman were fugitives from a correctional facility in Nevada.
The investigation into the double homicide quickly focused on
their housemates, Sarah Jo Pender and her boyfriend, Richard Edward Hull. Investigators learned that Hull and Cataldi were involved in selling drugs from the residence, and arguments over money had become frequent. Just hours before the murders, Pender purchased a 12-gauge shotgun and deer slugs, the same type of ammunition used in the killings.
According to Hull's account to law enforcement, a heated argument erupted between him and Cataldi over money Cataldi was owed by Hull's sister. Hull stated that Cataldi threatened his family and attempted to grab the newly acquired shotgun. In the ensuing struggle, Hull shot Cataldi in the chest and then shot Nordman in the head and chest. Following the murders, Pender and Hull attempted to clean the bloody scene and then dumped the bodies of their roommates.
Four days after the murders, both Pender and Hull were arrested. During questioning, Pender provided a full statement and turned over a pair of Hull's pants that were later found to have the victims' blood on them. DNA evidence from the blood of Andrew Cataldi was also found in the bed of a pickup truck Hull had borrowed.
Richard Hull ultimately pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and was sentenced to a total of ninety years in prison. Sarah Jo Pender was also convicted of two counts of murder and received a 110-year sentence. Years later, the prosecutor in Pender's case expressed doubts about her conviction, suggesting that her trial may have been unfair due to questionable testimony, though he maintained she was not innocent of assisting Hull after the fact. Pender gained further notoriety in 2008 when she escaped from prison and was featured on 'America's Most Wanted' before being recaptured months later in Chicago.
