Tag Archive for: James McFarland

Stanley Sisters’ Father Dies

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A reader left a comment on my blog today that was very intriguing. “Draddahip” informed me that the father of the Stanley sisters, two teenagers who were found dead mysteriously in September 2007 just days apart, died in April of this year. Dale was only 52-years old.

That means in less than two years, the entire family died except the mother, Lonny Stanley and her granddaughter. Seems a little strange, doesn’t it?

Crosses at cemetery

Read moreThe police originally arrested the eldest daughter’s boyfriend, James McFarland, in October 2007, but earlier this year dropped all charges against him. I was relieved as the arrest made no logical sense whatsoever.

Lonny Stanley in her 911 calls to the police when her daughter died in 2007 gave me concern. Now I am more curious than ever to know if Dale suffered from any serious long term illnesses (like cancer?) or if something just “popped up” over the last year or so.

I searched online to find Dale’s obituary and I found this in the Centerville, Indiana paper, the Pal-Item. It’s a pay-per-view obituary:

Father of Stanley sisters dies after illness Sun Apr 5, 2009

Born Dec. 2, 1956, in Richmond to Donald and Ruth Stanley, he had worked at Dick Hill and Son Heating and Air Conditioning. Survivors include his wife, Lonny J. Stanley; two brothers and a sister….

The sisters’ death in 2007 was a baffling mystery, but nothing compared to what a mystery it has become today. I hope someone in Indiana gives this case a good look over to ensure no one else keels over dead without due cause. I am quite concerned and would like to know more…

Click on the labels below to read all of my thoughts related to this case. Don’t forget to scroll down to read the first post. Post are in reverse order.

Two Cases: You Decide

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I have been struggling about how to classify two cases lately. The first case is Daniel Wade Moore. He was tried three times for the murder of Karen Tipton. In the first trial, he was convicted and sentenced to death, but that was overturned. The second trial ended with a hung jury, and last time around he was set free and found innocent. I wrote my first opinion about the case after the first trial was overturned here. Now, today, Moore is a free man.

Read moreThis case is not cut and dry, even though I feel justice was finally served. I did not believe Moore committed this crime long before he was set free, but I am not sure how we should classify this case. I am looking for your help. What do you think?


The second case is regarding the Stanley sisters, Erin and Kelly, from Indiana. Both girls, who were teenagers, ended up dead six days apart. Both girls died at home when their parents were present. Both girls died at night. In a surprise twist, the boyfriend of Erin, who died first, James McFarland, was charged with murdering both girls yet McFarland wasn’t even known to be at the house when Kelly died. He was in the bedroom with Erin when he realized she wasn’t breathing right and summons for help. The arrest was shocking and didn’t make any sense, and I stood firm on that from the beginning, even though I never saw McFarland speak publicly. You can read my thoughts on the case here (scroll down to read my first post). In 2007, when McFarland was arrested, I spoke out about my concern. In a strange twist, in early 2009, he was released and all charges were dropped.

How should we classify this case?

Stanley Sisters Mystery Update

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Back in September of 2007, I wrote about the death of two sisters, Erin and Kelly Stanley, both in their late teens, who died mysteriously, just days apart.

My original post was on Steve Huff’s True Crime Weblog. I also wrote another update about the story here on my blog. Clearly, for me, Lonny Stanley, the mother of the two deceased girls, raised my eyebrows, and in a big way, several times over.

Read moreYou see, Erin died on September 1, 2007, after just moving back home to her parents’ house with her boyfriend, and new baby, Alexis. Six days later, after Erin’s death, her sister, Kelly, who still lived at home, was also found supposedly “dying” by her mother, and by the time the EMT arrived, she was deceased.

The person who was arrested and charged with Erin’s murder, however, was a big surprise. It was her boyfriend, James McFarland, who was asleep with her on the night she died, and who subsequently moved out just after her death, and was not in the house when Kelly died. McFarland has been in jail ever since, awaiting trial, until this past week.

Shortly McFarland’s arrest, the death of the second daughter, Kelly, was ruled a death by natural causes (a seizure).

As you can see, the story has taken incredible twists and turns that no one could expect. I was really baffled by it. The arrest of McFarland, the boyfriend of Erin, made little sense to me when I considered the untimely and strange death of her sister, Kelly. Worse, the actions of the girl’s mother made my hair stand up on end. Repeatedly.

For the past year, I have looked for news on this case, concerned about McFarland. I was hoping for video of him so I could feel at ease that they did get the right guy, but nothing ever surfaced. Nothing happened on this case until this week, when jury selection began, and then the most surprising news came out.

The murder charges against McFarland have been dropped.

You read that right. They have been dropped.

[Pal-item.com]”…forensic pathologist Dr. Joseph Czaja reversed his original finding that Erin Stanley had been strangled. On Monday, Czaja testified that he couldn’t be medically certain of the cause of death because Stanley’s body had been washed and sterilized and tissues had been removed prior to the autopsy.”

Another article from the Pal-item.com says:

Defense attorneys Terry O’Maley and Adam Forrest contend in their motion Shipman knew there were problems with the case after a discussion with Czaja in November 2007. That was more than a year before O’Maley and Forrest learned of the pathologist’s doubts, they contend.

It looks like this mystery has yet to be resolved. I only hope there is enough evidence for police to find the real killers of these two innocent young women. If only the parents would speak out. Lonny Stanley makes me very uncomfortable, to say the least. Has she ever been investigated?

Psychogenic (si-ko-JEN-ik) Seizure

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As many of you know, the situation that is brewing in Indiana has kept my attention because there are a lot of strange events going on.

I was looking to see if any news came out this morning and I found this article which I think is interesting. The odds are getting more and more unusual day-by-day. In the article, it says:

…Dr. Kelley Parnell, a Richmond neurologist who published a detailed study on psychogenic or pseudo seizures in the Journal of Neurology in 1999 while completing an internal medicine internship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said Wednesday she’s never heard of the ailment causing death.

There is a very slight chance of death in an epileptic seizure, but ‘it is so rare,’ she said.

‘There may be some data on (death caused by psychogenic seizure) but I’ve never heard of it,’ she said.

Hmmmm… Anyone else find things to be strange?

A Baffling Mystery

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If there was every to be a strange and baffling mystery going on in the here and now, it would have to be the case of the two young Indiana sisters who ended up dead less than a week apart earlier this year. I’ve written about it before here.

The two sisters, Erin (19) and Kelly (18) Stanley, were young, vibrant and healthy. Yet sadly, on September 1, 2007, Erin’s body was found lifeless at her family home by her boyfriend in the middle of the night. Erin and her boyfriend, James McFarland, had just recently moved home to her family’s house with their young daughter.

At first, police didn’t release any details. Then, rumor abounded that Erin died of strangulation — which the police later confirmed.

When Erin’s sister, Kelly, ended up dead six days later, it was widely reported that she, too, died from homicide, and again, indications were that it was from strangulation as well. Obviously, there was a murderer among them.

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As reported by the Palladium-Item, “The affidavit for the search warrant said that both deaths appeared to be caused by “similar action on the part of another party.“

During all of this, I looked to see if I could find any red flags. The only thing I could find to review was the 911 call made by the girls’ mother, Lonny Stanley.

Lonny Stanley’s behavior was strange during the 911 call. It was odd, and the first thing I questioned was if the mother was on drugs, because her behavior was not normal. She acted weird and strangely disconnected.

I wrote this story on Crimeblog.US., which has now moved and been renamed to TrueCrimeWeblog.com. With that, while the post is up, the comments have not been transferred by the site editor over to the new site. However, I do have a copy of what I wrote on September 23:

I heard a segment of the 911 tape here:
http://www.wishtv.com/global/story.asp?s=7086963

I found the mom’s behavior exceptionally STRANGE!! Something isn’t right here.

Why isn’t this mother concerned?!!!! Is she high as a kite on drugs? You sure do wonder, because her reactions aren’t normal.

911 SNIPPET:

“Is she breathing,” the operator asked.

“I don’t know. Is she breathing, dad? …She’s trying,” Mrs. Stanley said.

This is just WEIRD! It was like she was asking if there was tea or coffee being served — not if her daughter was facing life or death!!

I’d like to hear more of this, and the other 911 call.

On September 25th, here is an excerpt of another comment I wrote:

But when I listen to the entire 911 call, there are inconsistencies that cannot be ignored. Emerson, you are right on the money, and I completely concur!

When a child is near death, either the mother is right there doing all she can, or she is in hysterics because she can’t cope—in another room, unable to deal with it. I’ll accept either, but I can’t accept this middle ground of running to and from, yet offering no help. It does not fit.

I also find it extremely odd how she conveniently finds time to pick up the cell phone when the EMT arrives, but didn’t find it important enough to grab it when her daughter was in the throes of death. There (sic) This is a huge red flag. The only thing that makes sense here is when the EMT got there, she wanted to see if they were going to revive her daughter. She didn’t seem to care to help her when her daughter needed it most, but she sure was curious if someone else was going to help her. This gives me the creeps!!!

And it still does give me the creeps. If we knew that Lonny Stanley was on drugs or medication, it could explain her strange behavior. I could at least live with the fact she was subdued and not thinking clearly, but we do not know this for sure. So, for me, it will remain a big red flag.

Then on October 2, 2007, I wrote the following in the comments section (which is not online at this time):

Apparently, James McFarland is making statements (to the media?) stating his innocence.

http://tinyurl.com/2r5uzf

I looked around hoping to find video of him, but I haven’t been able to.

From what the media has quoted, nothing raises my suspicion, but without reading an entire transcript, it’s not conclusive in any way.

Next, on October 10, news came out that Erin’s boyfriend, James McFarland, who openly admitted to finding her unresponsive, was arrested and charged with her murder. While I found that odd, it could be plausible, but how would that explain the fact that Kelly ended up dead six days later?? After Erin’s death, James McFarland moved out of the house. Did he break back in, do they have the wrong suspect, or did something else happen?

I was waiting and wondering what would develop when I saw more news come out about Lonny Stanley again that raised the hairs on my neck. On October 11, police release a few more details of the case, and a comment made by Lonny stopped me dead in my tracks again (in bold below). I wrote about it here:

“Lonny Stanley…called for an ambulance for Erin about 5:15 a.m. Sept. 1. Although she suggested during the 911 call that her daughter was still trying to breathe, court documents filed Wednesday indicate Stanley likely was dead before a police officer arrived.

Lonny Stanley later told investigators that “was more of a hope than an observation,” according to a probable cause affidavit.” Indy Star

This statement is flat out STRANGE again. It’s odd, and it is not normal whatsoever. Either Lonny couldn’t cope or she could, but she keeps playing this middle ground and waffling, which people don’t do in situations like this. In high-stress environments, people tend to be very black and white. Her behaviors are not–they are gray and inconsistent–that is all I can say. I am not comfortable with them.

With all of the news that has broken, I have not seen anywhere where the Stanleys have come forward and spoken about their daughters’ deaths. I would find it valuable to see them speak, as they leave me with lots of questions.

And now, yesterday, more news has developed. According to the coroner, the second sister’s death is being ruled death by natural causes. Apparently, they are saying she died of a stress-induced seizure, or a psychogenic seizure (what are the odds?). Just a few weeks ago, reports were suggesting that she died of homicide (see above).

This is one mystery to say the least. The odds are very unusual here — one-in-a-million — or higher, and while freaky things happen, until I see James McFarland and Lonny Stanley speak, I won’t be at peace.

Update February 2009:
http://eyesforlies.blogspot.com/2009/02/stanley-sisters-mystery-update.html