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Man in Indiana prison indicted in 2012 murder of retired farmer

Man indicted for 2012 murder of 85-year-old Lowell Badger

SULLIVAN, Ind. (WISH) — A Sullivan County grand jury has indicted a 38-year-old man in connection to the death of a retired farmer in his home in 2012, the Indiana State Police say.

The sheriff’s office and Indiana State Police previously reported Lowell R. Badger, 85, was found dead with a gunshot wound just after 9:30 a.m. Dec. 8, 2012, on the bedroom floor of his home in rural Sullivan County, Indiana. It was about 2 miles northeast of the village of Hudsonville, Illinois.

A gray safe, manufactured by John D. Brush Co., and a 46-inch Sony Bravia television were believed to have been stolen from Badger’s home, authorities say.

The grand jury heard six days of evidence and testimony before indicting William Ray Grimes, formerly of Merom, Indiana, on felony charges of murder, burglary, and conspiracy to commit burglary.

The Indiana Department of Correction database shows Grimes is in the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility near Terre Haute after being convicted in 2015 for battery, and in 2023 for battery, theft, receiving stolen property, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious felon. His earliest release date is Jan. 2, 2053.

Online court records on Wednesday night did not yet show a case filed against Grimes.

Lowell R. Badger, 85, was found killed just after 9:30 a.m. Dec. 8, 2012, in his rural Sullivan County, Indiana. (Provided Photo/Sullivan County, Indiana, Sheriff’s Office)