October 2020: Year In Review

(UNDATED) – In October 2020, a Paoli woman was arrested on murder charges after shooting William Dunn, a Bedford woman was arrested on child neglect charges after her daughter suffered burns, and a jury found a Seymour man guilty of child neglect after his son ingested a lethal dose of meth.

Paoli Woman Arrested On Murder Charge

A Paoli woman has been charged with murder after she allegedly shot and killed 51-year-old William Dunn in October 2020.

William Dunn

Paoli Police and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department were called to a home in the 830 block of College Hill Street at 7:48 a.m. on October 21, 2020, after a report of a shooting.

When police arrived they found Dunn dead inside the home.

Sabrina Dunn

Detectives with the Paoli Police Department and Indiana State Police began an investigation into the events that occurred and detained 43-year-old Sabrina Dunn for fatally shooting Dunn.

 A jury trial is scheduled for April 20, 2021 in Orange County Circuit Court.

Bedford Woman Arrested On Neglect Charges After Daughter Suffers Burns

A Bedford woman was arrested on Wednesday, October 28, 2020 on a warrant after an Indiana State Police investigation revealed she injured her child and did not immediately seek medical treatment for that injury.

Selena Thornton

Police arrested 22-year-old Selena Thornton, of 2328 South I St., on charges of neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury and domestic battery.

According to a probable cause affidavit, on Friday, May 3, 2019, Indiana State Police were contacted by the Department of Child Services after a 2-year-old female was taken to Riley Hospital after she was burned with boiling water.

Thornton told police on Thursday, May 2, 2019 she was boiling water in the bathroom at Persimmon Park Apartments to clean a pack and play and that is when her daughter stuck her hand in the boiling water. Thornton told police her daughter screamed and then calmed down and went to sleep.

The next day, Thornton took her daughter to a pediatrician after the burn seemed worse. The physician told Thornton to take her daughter to Riley Hospital for Children’s emergency room for a medical evaluation. Riley physicians told investigators the pattern of the burn was classic for an abusive burn. The burn was on the left hand and extended to the wrist.

Police say whether the injury was inflicted with intent or not, Thornton failed to prevent the injuries that occurred to her daughter and then neglected to seek immediate treatment for such severe burn.

The information was forwarded to the Lawrence County Prosecutor’s Office and a warrant was issued for Thornton’s arrest. A no-contact order was issued by Superior Court II Judge William Sleva. No trial date has been set.

Seymour Man Convicted After Son Ingests Lethal Dose Of Meth

A Seymour man was convicted on Thursday, October 8, 2020 in the death of his 8-year-old son, who died from an overdose of methamphetamine he had ingested after possibly mistaking the drug for food.

A Jackson County jury convicted 43-year-old Curtis G. Collman of Seymour on neglect of a dependent resulting in death in addition to four other charges.

Court documents show Collman first noticed there was something wrong with his son on the morning of June 21, 2018. The boy woke his father because he was hungry, but Collman told his son there was no food in the house and went back to sleep.

When he woke he found his son “not acting right.” He was “twitching and bouncing his face off the floor,” Collman told police. Collman tried to hold him down, but the boy kept “grabbing his face and scratching his own face.”

Coleman called a friend around 10 a.m. When she arrived around 10:50 a.m. she said the boy was having trouble seeing. She told Collman they needed to call 911. But when she mentioned calling for help, he “ripped” the phone out of her hand, pointed a gun at her and said he “would kill all three of them.” She left immediately the house.

Collman then took his son II his mother’s house in Crothersville around 1 p.m. His mom wanted to call 911 for help, but Collman wouldn’t let her. Jackson County dispatch later received a 911 call about a boy not breathing around 1:47 p.m. Collman left the residence when his mother called 911.

The boy was pronounced dead at the hospital.