Avilla Town Marshal William Dean Miner Jr. was killed in the early morning hours of May 28, 1983, after responding to a report of vandalism on Indiana 3. The 29-year-old, a two-year veteran of the Avilla Police Department, confronted two men breaking into a vehicle at the Avilla Salvage Yard. During a struggle Miner’s .357-caliber handgun fell from its holster and one of the men picked it up and shot him in the back. The assailants fled, leaving Miner fatally wounded; he was survived by his wife and two small children.

An intensive investigation followed, and three days later two suspects were arrested. Authorities recovered Miner’s gun and a flashlight from Summit Lake. One suspect was 18 and the other 26; the older man later pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and received an eight-year sentence, while the younger man was identified as the shooter and was convicted of murder with a death sentence initially imposed but later changed on appeal.

Are there readers who remember Avilla in 1983 or who have memories about Miner and his family to share?