SULLIVAN COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Shortly after a retired farmer was found shot and killed in December of 2012, a witness came forward with a small piece of evidence.
The “Grimes Boys” had been hunting near victim Lowell Badger’s Sullivan County farm, the witness said. It was not much and, initially, it did not lead to an arrest. The first man charged with murder in the case, William Ray Grimes, is only now on trial.
On Wednesday, jurors heard how Trooper Thomas Hanks, of the Indiana State Police, investigated Badger’s death. Along with collecting evidence and searching for items stolen from the home, Hanks and the department ran down a variety of leads. The connection to the Grimes family included. Hanks told jurors he spoke with several members of the family, including William Ray Grimes, and they all denied any involvement in the killing.
Hanks and other troopers also searched a nearby river and other bodies of water for evidence. Contacted other people who were named by anonymous sources and even dug up a local resident’s backyard after a tipster claimed that people at that location burned their clothes and buried Badger’s stolen safe on the property.
Hanks also kept a close eye on Badger’s credit card accounts. With his wallet stolen during the murder, investigators hoped that someone would be foolish enough to use one of his cards. If they did, perhaps the transaction would be caught on video.
But it never happened, Hanks said.
Hanks was the lead detective on the case until January 1, 2014. At that point he took another job within the department and the murder was assigned to another investigator. It would take another decade before William Grimes was indicted in the case. Richard Taft was also charged with murder a short time later. And, in April of this year William Grimes’ brother, Arthur Lee Grimes, was indicted.
William Grimes trial is expected to continue through next week.
