Arrest made in Seattle in Lafayette double homicide
Plus, how far do you have Purdue going in the tournament? A new look above downtown Lafayette. And more.
Support for this edition comes from the Presidential Lecture Series at Purdue. Purdue University invites you to a special evening with Loretta Rush, chief justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, on Tuesday, March 25, at 6 p.m. in the Purdue Memorial Union’s North Ballroom. Experience working as a local attorney, Tippecanoe Superior Court 3 judge and supervisor of Indiana’s judicial branch has given Rush a unique perspective on the state courts’ role. She will share her insights with Purdue President Mung Chiang at this Presidential Lecture Series event. Their conversation is free and open to the public. Reserve your seat today: https://www.purdue.edu/president/lecture-series/a-conversation-with-indiana-chief-justice-loretta-rush/
Some notes on a Monday afternoon …
SUSPECT ARRESTED IN SEATTLE FOR MARCH 1 DOUBLE HOMICIDE IN LAFAYETTE: Federal marshals in Seattle arrested a 50-year-old Lafayette woman accused of killing two women March 1 in an apartment on Cochise Trail in Lafayette.
Seyene Vargas, who lives in the 3800 block of Wembley Drive in Lafayette, faces two counts of murder, false informing and obstruction of justice, according to court documents unsealed after her arrest in connection with the murders of Laportia Shenett, 34, and Kadeisha Ross, 28, both of Lafayette.
The two women were found shot to death in Shenett’s apartment, north of South Street and near Interstate 65, by Shenett’s sister, who lives next door, according to investigators.
According to documents filed with the charges, prosecutors say that Shenett’s sister was on the phone with Vargas when police were on the scene investigating. When they asked to speak with her, Vargas agreed to come to the police station to speak with police. She told police that she’d been at the apartment for about 10 minutes the previous evening, on Feb. 28, but didn’t return. According to court documents, police said phone records later showed that Vargas that evening had been texting Shenett, asking her to get Ross to leave so the two of them could be alone. Shenett didn’t agree and stopped responding to the messages, according to court documents.
A friend of Vargas’ said she came to his home that night and asked to borrow his gun and his car and to have him hold onto her cellphones, according to the court documents. The court documents say surveillance footage of the car tracked points along the way of the vehicle making a trip from her friend’s apartment toward Cochise Trail and then back away minutes later after 9 p.m. Feb. 28.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Vargas rode on March 1 with a friend to Gary, where she disassembled the gun into three pieces and hid each one in different spots. Police say parts of the gun were recovered during the investigation and were determined to be a probable match for the firearm used to kill Shenett and Ross.
Vargas was waiting for extradition to Lafayette as of Monday afternoon.
PURDUE LANDS AS A NO. 4 SEED: Start working the angles for a long, late lunch Thursday. Purdue opens NCAA Tournament play with a 12:40 p.m. Thursday tipoff against High Point, making it among the first games that day. The game will be on TruTV.
Click the interactive bracket below, if you haven’t seen the pairings, yet.
CENTIER ON THE DOWNTOWN SKYLINE: With Centier Bank looking to consolidate its downtown Lafayette operations at the Lafayette Business Center at the corner of Second and Main streets this summer, the signs are changing on the 10-story building. Signage for Chase bank came down recently.
The four sides of the building – still referred to by some as the BankOne building, given long-time signage and presence there before Chase – will be branded with Centier signs along the roofline. As of Monday morning, the signs on the south and west sides of the building hadn’t been installed.
Centier, which has been in the Lafayette market since 2007, plans to move its downtown branch a block away at 323 Columbia St. to the first floor at 201 Main St. this summer. The company’s mortgage and business banking office is on the building’s sixth floor.
“The all-encompassing location provides us an ideal opportunity to best tailor financial services and products for our valued clients,” Timothy Schooler, Centier Bank’s Lafayette Market president, said in a release.
CHILD MOLESTATION CHARGES FILED IN CASE DATING TO 1988: For the second time this month, prosecutors filed charges connected to a child molestation case dating to the 1980s. Lynn Hall, 76, of Tippecanoe County was charged with three felony counts tied to the molestation of a girl from 1988 to 1993, when she was between the ages of 8 and 13. Lafayette police reported that allegations came to them in July 2024. Hall was arrested in early March, with his first court hearing late last week. According to the probable cause affidavit filed with the case, police say Hall admitted to several of the allegations from that time. According to Indiana law, prosecutors can initiate a case in sexual offenses against children, including child molestation, until the victim’s 31st birthday. But the statute of limitations resets in certain cases, including when there is a reported confession. An initial date for a jury trial was set for July 7.
A week earlier, a Lafayette police investigation led to charges against Scott Wheeler, 61, of Lafayette, in a case that dated to 1985. Here’s more on that: “Neighbor charged 40 years later in child molestation allegations.”
YOUNG SONGWRITERS, ATTENTION, PLEASE: For the 25th year, the Songwriters Association of Mid-north Indiana will be accepting applications through April 2 for the 2025 Shirley Martin Scholarship for Young Songwriters. The scholarship and awards are for songwriters aged 14 to 19, who live in North Central Indiana, including Tippecanoe and surrounding counties. Winners get cash awards and studio time, and all participants receive professional feedback for their song entries. Entries are free. For more information, go to www.samisong.com and click on the scholarship tab.
Support for this edition comes from the Presidential Lecture Series at Purdue, presenting a conversation with Loretta Rush, chief justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, on Tuesday, March 25, at 6 p.m. in the Purdue Memorial Union’s North Ballroom. Reserve a seat here.
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Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.
Still no building named after me.