Indiana Man Sentenced to Life for 1975 Teen Drowning
Mitchell’s body was discovered in the Elkhart River on August 7, 1975
- Fred Bandy Jr. was sentenced to life in prison for the 1975 murder of Laurel Jean Mitchell
- The victim's body was found in a river after she disappeared from her job at a church camp
- Bandy's co-defendant, John Wayne Lehman, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and received an eight-year sentence
An Indiana man has been handed a life sentence for the 1975 murder of a 17-year-old girl, whose body was discovered in a river after she didn’t return home from her church camp job.
Fred Bandy Jr., 69, was sentenced by a Noble County judge on Tuesday, receiving a life term with the possibility of parole for the August 1975 death of Laurel Jean Mitchell. He was found guilty of first-degree murder earlier this month during a bench trial.
Attempts to reach Bandy’s attorney for comments were unsuccessful.
Bandy and John Wayne Lehman, 69, of Auburn, Indiana, were charged last year in connection with Mitchell’s death.
Lehman recently received an eight-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit murder.
Mitchell’s body was discovered in the Elkhart River on August 7, 1975, the day after she went missing in North Webster, approximately 140 miles northeast of Indianapolis.
Charges against Bandy and Lehman were filed in February 2023, nearly fifty years after the crime. In a deposition, Lehman stated that Bandy raped and drowned Mitchell, while he claimed he did not take part in the assault or murder due to his fear of Bandy.
