MIDDLETOWN, Ind. (WISH) – A former Windfall man in an Indiana prison on burglary and theft charges has admitted to authorities that he committed a 2008 murder in Henry County, prosecutors said Thursday.
Dana R. Zirkel, 51, met with Henry County sheriff’s detective Ed Manning on April 13. Zirkel said he went Aug. 18, 2008, to rob the home of Michael and Macarena Patterson on County Road 950 North near Middletown. Zirkel said, during the burlgary, Michael arrived home and they got into a fight in the garage and the house, and Zirkel hit Michael with a crowbar.
“Mr. Zirkel advised that he was speaking to law enforcement because he could not have any peace in his life until he got this out,” said a news release from Henry County Prosecutor Joe Bergacs.
Macarena arrived home to find her husband slumped on the floor and breathing. Medics arrived and took Michael to a hospital, where he died. An autopsy found he died of blunt force trauma in a homicide.
The Henry County Sheriff’s Office and Indiana State Police investigated and developed Zirkel as a suspect but had been unable to completely connect him to the murder, so it became a cold case.
Zirkel is scheduled for an initial hearing Monday morning in Henry County.
Zirkel is in the Pendleton Correctional Facility on multiple charges including theft and burglary out of Tipton and Madison counties on sentences received in 2009 and 2010. His scheduled release date was 2022, according to a database.
MIDDLETOWN, Ind. (WISH) — Ryan Lohrey, 30, a Navy Corpsman of Middletown, Indiana, was among 16 people who died in the KC-130 crash. The other 15 were Marines. Family members tell WISH TV that Lohrey served as a medic in the Navy.
Lohrey was a 2005 graduate of Shenandoah High School, where he played football. News hit the Shenandoah community hard.
It’s summertime. So, the halls of the high school are empty. It’s a sentiment that matches the mood of the community; emptiness.
“We have close connections to all of our kids. I don’t care what you are involved with. When one of ours is lost, it really hurts,” said Brent Kinsey.
Kinsey is a former teacher and varsity football coach of Lohrey’s, “(He) worked hard in the weight room and took a lot of pride in that. (He’s) one of our strongest kids we’ve had there in the last 20 years.”
Yearbook photos show Lohrey was more than just a football player, though. He was a kid with a sense of humor, social, and had eerie wisdom. His senior photo includes a quote from his saying, “Live life to the fullest you can. You never know when it could end.”
“He did live life everyday to the fullest. It’s ironic. I hope we all do that,” said Kinsey.
Family members, didn’t want to go on camera, but said Lohrey channeled that passion for life into his family. Lohrey just got married last month and was the proud father of two young children. He and his family lived in North Carolina. However, he’ll always hold a special place in the heart of his Middletown community.
“One of those kids that you just don’t kind of forget,” said Kinsey. He added, “He made a great impact on our school community.”
Funeral arrangements were pending.
The flight was bound from Cherry Point, North Carolina, to a naval field at El Centro, California, when it went down, according to The Associated Press. The disaster Monday afternoon was the deadliest Marine crash anywhere in the world in more than a decade. On Thursday, federal and local officials were combing the soybean fields where the plane crashed for clues in a military plane crash that killed 15 Marines and a Navy sailor.
Officials said debris from the plane is scattered over two to three miles and that it likely will take between five and six days to clean up.
The Marine Corps says Lohrey and six of the Marines were from an elite Marine Raider battalion at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The special forces members and their equipment were headed for predeployment training in Yuma, Arizona.
Military officials continued to withhold the names of the dead, saying they were notifying family members.
U.S. Rep. Luke Messer, a Republican from Indiana, represents Middletown. He issued this statement:
It is heartbreaking to learn that Ryan Lohrey of Middletown was one of the service members killed in Monday’s KC-130 crash. This tragedy hits very close to home for Hoosiers and our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and those who knew him. Ryan’s service and dedication to his country will not be forgotten.”
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MIDDLETOWN, Ind. (WISH) — Middletown Police Department is search for a missing 18-year-old “at risk” child who jumped from the bedroom of his foster parent’s home Monday night.
The white boy is 5-foot-5 and 120 pounds, has red hair and wears leg braces. He was last seen around 7:30 p.m. at his home in the 1400 block of Congress Street on the city’s southwest side. He was wearing a white tank top and blue jeans. Police said they learned of his disappearance around 9 p.m.
No photo of the child was immediately available.
Anyone with information should call 911 or Middletown police at (765) 354-2281.