Prosecutors drop charges against suspect in murder of pastor's wife Amanda Blackburn following plea deal
Prosecutors have dropped the charges against a suspect in the murder of Amanda Blackburn, wife of Indiana pastor Davey Blackburn, after the accused agreed to plea deal.
The Marion County Prosecutor's Office announced that the murder charges against Diano Gordon, who was arrested and charged in December 2015, will be dismissed in exchange for his guilty plea to robbery and burglary charges.
"It is not unusual to especially in co-defending cases to charge everyone with everything. Try to figure out what really happened. They try to flip some co-defendants," attorney Chris Eskew said, as reported by Fox News.
Under the plea agreement, Gordon will help the prosecutors in their case against Larry Taylor, another suspect in the Amanda Blackburn murder.
A third suspect in the case, Jalen Watson, agreed to a plea deal in October 2017. Prosecutors dropped murder charges against Watson after he agreed to plead guilty to robbery and burglary.
"It seemed like there was one person primarily responsible for Miss Blackburn's death and that is who the prosecutor was focused on," Eskew said, according to Fox News.
Eskew said that plea deals usually take time, but they allow prosecutors to gather evidence and testimony to build a strong case against the accused.
The attorney said that the two suspects who entered the plea deals are "still looking at 30 years in prison each. So, it is not like they walked away with a misdemeanor."
Amanda was shot three times during a home invasion on Nov. 10, 2015, while her husband was away at the gym. She reportedly died two days later.
The Christian Post reported that her unborn daughter, Everette "Evie" Grace Blackburn, as a result of the attack.
Amanda and her husband had moved from South Carolina to Indiana in 2012 to launch the REsonate Church.
Davey Blackburn, who was initially considered a suspect in the case, has previously said that he forgives his wife's murderers.
"People have asked me how in the world can you forgive. ... I started realizing that if I continue to let bitterness and hatred fuel everything that I do, then it's going to perpetuate, blow up everybody that I care about around me," he said, according to The Christian Post.
He said that he is hoping to stop the cycle of bitterness and hatred by replacing it with "love and kindness and forgiveness."