Rep's wife: Attack is incomprehensible

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - It will take weeks for State Representative Ed DeLaney to recover from his injuries after a brutal beating over the weekend. In the meantime, he and his family are trying to make sense of the attack.

His wife, Ann DeLaney, said that in a long legal career that includes a stint in war-torn Kosovo, Ed DeLaney has been involved in a lot of cases that might prompt strong feelings. But they never anticipated anything like Saturday's brutal beating and especially not as the result of an eviction case that Ed DeLaney has trouble remembering.

Ann DeLaney said her husband's injuries were so severe he was unrecognizable on Saturday. DeLaney survived only because police interrupted the beating he received at the hands of Augustus Mendenhall ( Mendenhall spoke extensively to 24-Hour News 8 Monday. Find out what he had to say ).

"He's going to recover," said Ann. "It's gonna require surgery. He's going to be in a lot of pain for a considerable amount of time because he has five broken ribs."

Ann DeLaney told the story of a carefully planned attack by Mendendhall. A gun and a knife were in plastic bags, the attacker wore gloves and a wig at a meeting he arranged using a California phone number and a newly created e-mail address.

It didn't work because John and Cathy Palmer happened on it and called police after getting a signal from DeLaney. And when Mendenhall held the gun to DeLaney's head, she said, it didn't fire.

"We feel lucky," Ann DeLaney said. "We feel lucky. There were two miracles that occurred. The jamming of the gun and the two good Samaritans coming by and recognizing Ed's sign and, frankly, him having the presence of mind to signal them."

She knows that her husband's work earned him enemies.

"But the irony of this is that he's made his life by using the law to redress grievances," Ann said.

She calls the attack incomprehensible.

Meantime, the DeLaney family has alerted other attorneys involved in the 1983 lawsuit which Mendenhall cites as his motivation, as well as former prosecutor Steve Goldsmith, who was also involved in the case.

They were advised to take security precautions.