Thread: Police: NW Indiana waitress murdered for tip money

Police: NW Indiana waitress murdered for tip money

Posted: May 24, 2012 12:58 PM EDT
Updated: May 31, 2012 12:59 PM EDT

Michael Craig


William Blasingame

SCHEREVILLE, Ind. (FOX 32 News) -Three men have been charged with killing 24 year old Jacqueline Gardner and taking the tip money she earned from her restaurant job on May 19th.
One of the three men, Stephen Lee Henderson, 25, of Gary, is still at large and considered armed and dangerous, Schererville police said Wednesday.
In custody at the Lake County Jail are Michael A. Craig, 22, of Merrillville, and William Blasingame III, 30, of Harvey, Ill.
All three were charged with murder and a second count of murder in the perpetration of a robbery.
Gardner lived in the 8000 block of Alpine Lane in the Hidden Creek apartment complex, south of Pine Island. She was shot in the hallway outside her apartment about 11:30 p.m. Saturday after she arrived home from work at Joe's Crab Shack in Merrillville.
A witness heard cries for help and saw three males enter a black Oldsmobile Aurora and leave the area, according to charging documents. The witness recorded the license plate number and gave it to police.
Timothy Sarcia, who police said was Gardner's live-in boyfriend, told police he was inside their third-floor apartment when he heard heavy footsteps and a struggle in the hallway outside of his apartment door. Through the peephole, he saw a man putting a chokehold on Gardner. He called 911 and screamed for help, he told police.
When he opened the door, he found Gardner lying on the hallway floor unconscious.
Gardner was taken to Methodist Hospitals Southlake campus in Merrillville where she died about 12:20 a.m. Sunday.
Police recovered a 12-gauge shotgun shell in the hallway. Gardner's $85 in tip money was missing, according to the charging documents.
Police found a smart phone inside the black Oldsmobile found behind the residence of William Blasingame III in Harvey, Ill.
The last time the phone's GPS function was used was in front of Gardner's apartment, police learned. The phone also displayed the address of Michael Allen Craig Jr. The phone showed several calls made to Stephen Lee Henderson on the same day.
Police also found what appeared to be blood on the seat and blood on a T-shirt.
Sarcia identified a photograph of Henderson as the man putting a chokehold on Gardner. A second witness identified Craig as one of the men running from the apartment.
In a statement, Craig said he and Blasingame and Henderson waited for about 15 minutes for Gardner to arrive home. He said Blasingame got out of the car and followed her inside the outside door of the building. He said Henderson went inside with a shotgun with a pistol grip. Craig said he heard screaming and gunshots and he saw the Henderson and Blasingame run out the door.
Craig's live-in girlfriend told police she worked with Gardner at the restaurant and when she came home about 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, Craig, Henderson and Blasingame were in the apartment playing a video game.
A visitation for Gardner is from 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Lawn Funeral Home in Burbank, Ill. The funeral is at 11:30 a.m. Friday at the funeral home. She will be buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.
Schererville Police Cmdr. Brian Neyhart said Schererville detectives worked around-the-clock to solve the homicide, with assistance from the Northwest Indiana Major Crimes Task Force, the Lake County Crime Lab and the Lake County coroner's office.


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http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/1...police-indiana

As family grieves, hunt continues for man wanted in Schererville woman’s slaying

By Carole Carlson ccarlson@post-trib.com/648-3154 June 2, 2012 11:34PM

A family photo of Jacqueline Gardner and one of her daughters. | Provided Photo~Sun-Times Media

Updated: July 6, 2012 10:54AM

SCHERERVILLE — Two weeks after Jacqueline Gardner’s murder outside her Schererville apartment, her family is still mourning her death and hoping the Gary man charged in her killing is found.

“You don’t know how you’re supposed to deal with it from day to day,” said Rick Gardner about his 24-year-old daughter’s death May 19.

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/la...-at-large.html

Young (white) mother killed for $85, one of three (black) killers still on the loose. No media?




SCHERERVILLE — The 25-year-old Gary man accused of the May 19 murder of a Schererville waitress is a convicted cocaine dealer.

Stephen Lee Henderson, who is still at large and considered armed and dangerous, was arrested by Hammond Police in 2007 for cocaine dealing. He pleaded guilty in 2009 and received a six-year sentence. Typically, Indiana offenders serve half their sentence.



Hammond police arrested Henderson in 2007 for cocaine possession, but that charge was dismissed.

Indiana State Police arrested him for speeding in 2008. He failed to show up for a court appearance and a judge suspended his driver’s license.

Henderson and Michael A. Craig, 22, of Merrillville, and William Blasingame III, 30, of Harvey, Ill., are facing a murder charge and a second count of murder in the perpetration of a robbery in Lake Superior Court.

Police said Jacqueline Gardner, 24, was shot to death in the hallway of her Hidden Creek apartment complex in the 8000 block of Alpine Lane, south of Pine Island about 11:30 p.m. May 19.

She was the mother of two small children, including one she was still breastfeeding, a witness said.

Gardner was returning home from her shift at a Merrillville restaurant with about $85 in tip money.

Police checked a cellphone found in a car driven by Blasingame and saw the last time its GPS function was used was in front of Gardner’s apartment.

Gardner’s live-in boyfriend told police he heard a struggle in the hallway and through a peephole he saw Henderson grab Gardner in a chokehold. Gardner suffered a fatal shotgun wound in her back. Police said the money was missing.

Gardner’s funeral is at 11:30 a.m. Friday at Lawn Funeral Home in Burbank, Ill.

Anyone with information about Henderson’s whereabouts can call Schererville police at 322-5000.


SOURCE: http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/la...-at-large.html

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SCHERERVILLE (WLS) - Three men have been charged with killing 24-year-old Jacqueline Gardner and taking the tip money she earned from her restaurant job on May 19.

One of the three men, Stephen Lee Henderson, 25, of Gary, is still at large and considered armed and dangerous, Schererville police said Wednesday.

In custody at the Lake County Jail are Michael A. Craig, 22, of Merrillville, and William Blasingame III, 30, of Harvey, Ill.


All three were charged with murder and a second count of murder in the perpetration of a robbery.

Gardner lived in the 8000 block of Alpine Lane in the Hidden Creek apartment complex, south of Pine Island. She was shot in the hallway outside her apartment about 11:30 p.m. Saturday after she arrived home from work at Joe's Crab Shack in Merrillville.

A witness heard cries for help and saw three males enter a black Oldsmobile Aurora and leave the area, according to charging documents. The witness recorded the license plate number and gave it to police.

Timothy Sarcia, who police said was Gardner's live-in boyfriend, told police he was inside their third-floor apartment when he heard heavy footsteps and a struggle in the hallway outside of his apartment door. Through the peephole, he saw a man putting a chokehold on Gardner. He called 911 and screamed for help, he told police.

When he opened the door, he found Gardner lying on the hallway floor unconscious.

Gardner was taken to Methodist Hospitals Southlake campus in Merrillville where she died about 12:20 a.m. Sunday.

Police recovered a 12-gauge shotgun shell in the hallway. Gardner's $85 in tip money was missing, according to the charging documents.

Police found a smart phone inside the black Oldsmobile found behind the residence of William Blasingame III in Harvey, Ill.

The last time the phone's GPS function was used was in front of Gardner's apartment, police learned. The phone also displayed the address of Michael Allen Craig Jr. The phone showed several calls made to Stephen Lee Henderson on the same day.

Police also found what appeared to be blood on the seat and blood on a T-shirt.

Sarcia identified a photograph of Henderson as the man putting a chokehold on Gardner. A second witness identified Craig as one of the men running from the apartment.

In a statement, Craig said he and Blasingame and Henderson waited for about 15 minutes for Gardner to arrive home. He said Blasingame got out of the car and followed her inside the outside door of the building. He said Henderson went inside with a shotgun with a pistol grip. Craig said he heard screaming and gunshots and he saw the Henderson and Blasingame run out the door.

Craig's live-in girlfriend told police she worked with Gardner at the restaurant and when she came home about 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, Craig, Henderson and Blasingame were in the apartment playing a video game.

A visitation for Gardner is from 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Lawn Funeral Home in Burbank, Ill. The funeral is at 11:30 a.m. Friday at the funeral home. She will be buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

Schererville Police Cmdr. Brian Neyhart said Schererville detectives worked around-the-clock to solve the homicide, with assistance from the Northwest Indiana Major Crimes Task Force, the Lake County Crime Lab and the Lake County coroner's office.

SOURCE: http://www.wlsam.com/Article.asp?id=2462640&;spid=


http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f9f_1338039156

85% of cross racial violent crime in America is black on white. Only 15% is white on Black. This is the case the nation should be discussing, not Trayvon Martin.

W