Woman with key piece of evidence speaks

CUMBERLAND, Ind. (WISH) - A cell phone was key to cracking the case in the deaths of Kyleigh Crane, 7, and her uncle, Jeremy Crane, 21.

The two were shot in the head in their Cumberland home on Dec. 12.

The first big break came when police pinged Jeremy Crane’s cell phone and located it in the possession of a woman 24-Hour News 8 is calling Renee.

“When police came to the door I thought they had the wrong address,” said Renee. “I was shocked. And I was calm at the same time because I knew that I did nothing wrong.”

Court documents state Renee was riding on bus No. 8 at 1:19 p.m. Dec. 12. That’s when she said “two black males”… “dropped the phone”… and “told her to keep it.”

“I was wondering why the phone was still on,” said Renee. “I was just thinking why they didn’t cut it off yet. I didn’t see anything obvious about them acting odd.”

Police then tracked down bus surveillance video — identifying the suspects “carrying what appears to be a very large bundled item(s).”

That was the first big break — the perpetrators’ trail of clues began with giving the still-activated victim’s cell phone to Renee on bus No. 8.

“I’m a very honest," said Renee. "I told police right away when they said why they were here. I said, “It’s right here sitting on the table.’”