Samuel Thomas Bennett, 23, was found dead on Sunday morning, April 28, 2019, by a dog walker near a retention pond along the Big-4 Rail Trail in Zionsville, Indiana. An autopsy showed he had been shot twice. Initial calls to the area reported gunfire, but nothing was found until daylight revealed the body.

Investigators collected evidence at the scene and executed search warrants that led them to a suspect, 23-year-old James Earl Hughes. A .357 revolver recovered near Bennett’s body yielded DNA matching Hughes, and muddy footprints at the scene matched shoes belonging to him. Hughes’s parents told police he had confessed to his mother, and records indicate he had a history of mental health issues and checked himself into a stress center hours after the shooting. In August 2021 Hughes pleaded guilty but mentally ill to Bennett’s murder and received a 50-year sentence, with 45 years to be served in prison.

If anyone saw suspicious activity near the Big-4 Rail Trail on April 28, 2019, or has further information about Samuel’s last movements, please come forward.