A judge recorded not guilty pleas on Wednesday for a former US Marine who is charged with murder in the strangulation deaths of two women found in northwestern Indiana and is suspected of killing five others.
During an initial hearing that lasted eight minutes, Lake County Magistrate Kathleen Sullivan told Darren Vann that the informal pleas in the strangulation deaths of 19-year-old Afrikka Hardy and 35-year-old Anith Jones would become formal in 20 days unless he or his attorney takes action.
Vann, 43, had refused to speak during an initial hearing in the Hardy case a week earlier and was cited for contempt.
The convicted sex offender from Gary on Wednesday responded to Sullivan’s questions, giving his address and birth date and repeatedly uttering “yes, ma’am” and “no ma’am.”
He also acknowledged that he understood the reason for the hearing. A week earlier, Vann had just stared back silently at Sullivan when she asked him the same question.
Vann is charged with murder in the deaths of Hardy and Jones, as well as two counts of murder in the perpetration of a robbery and two counts of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury.
Sullivan told Vann he faced sentences of 45 years to 65 years in prison and possibly the death penalty in each death.
Vann’s next hearing in both cases is set for Jan. 9.
Sullivan granted public defender Matthew Fech’s request that she issue a gag order barring investigators from interviewing Vann in the Jones case without Fech being present, just as she had in the Hardy case a week earlier.
Hardy’s body was found on Oct. 17 in a bathtub at a motel, 30km southeast of Chicago. The investigation led police to Vann, who police say confessed to killing Hardy. Police Chief John Doughty has said Vann began to tell police where they could find the bodies of more women in the hopes of reaching a deal with prosecutors.
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