Police: Slain IU prof mentioned suspect in diary

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) - An IU professor’s diary helped police make an arrest just one day after his murder.

Michael James Griffin, 25, of Bloomington is behind bars accused of stabbing Don Belton to death in his home in the 900 block of South Madison Street.

Investigators said the 53-year-old was an avid writer and author and an assistant professor of English at Indiana University.

Investigators said Belton was scheduled to leave for Hawaii Monday morning. Police said he had a friend to pick up his mail and newspapers at his house. Investigators said that’s when she noticed his body lying on the kitchen floor.

“When officers got there he was deceased. He appeared to have been stabbed several times in the torso,” said Bloomington Police Lt. David Drake.

Investigators said there was no forced entry into the professor’s home. After looking for evidence, police said they found one of Belton’s diaries, leading them to his killer.

“Michael Griffin was mentioned in that diary in a very recent entry and that kind of led us to start to look for him,” Lt. Drake said.

Police obtained a search warrant of Griffin’s home at around 10:45 p.m. Monday where they recovered the knife they say was used in the crime.

News of the professor’s death shocked his neighborhood.

“It is such a quite neighborhood and for something like this to happen, it just traumatized us. I mean, it’s scary,” said Mark Raper.

Belton’s colleagues at IU are also in disbelief.

“I think people are just in just a bit of shock at the moment. We’ll miss him terribly,” said IU Provost & Executive Vice-President Karen Hanson. ( Read more of IU media release )

24-Hour News 8 talked with Hanson who said Belton had a distinguished career.

“He was a gifted teacher, productive and enormously respected writer,” said Hanson. “He was generous to his students; he was well liked by his colleagues. He had a lot of potential. He had a lot of potential and a lot of accomplishment.”

IU Department of English Chair Jonathan Elmer, who is attending a conference out of state, released a statement:

“Don Belton's friends, colleagues, and students in the English Department are shocked and terribly saddened by the news of his death. His great talents as a writer, his extraordinary generosity to his students, and his warmth of personality were gifts to us all. We will miss him terribly."

As for a motive, police said Belton and Griffin knew each other.

Investigators said Griffin was upset about an incident that happened between the two of them on Christmas Day. Griffin is in the Monroe County Jail charged with murder.