On the evening of September 1, 1981, in Beverly Shores, Indiana, 44-year-old volunteer firefighter Paul Witte was found dead on his living room couch from a single gunshot to the head. Family tensions had been high: Paul’s wife, Hilma Marie Witte, complained she wanted to be free of him and, according to later court findings, had tried to poison him over months. The family’s eldest son Eric, then a mid-teen, ultimately told investigators he fired one of Paul’s handguns while his father slept, initially claiming the gun discharged accidentally when he tripped on a rug. Paul’s death was ruled accidental at the time and no one was charged in that killing.

Afterward the household moved in with Paul’s widowed stepmother, Elaine Witte. By early 1984 Elaine had disappeared; her car was sold, her accounts drained, and her Social Security checks cashed locally. Marie and her younger son John fled Indiana and were later arrested on forgery charges in California. John admitted that Marie ordered him to kill Elaine and that he shot her with a crossbow.

Several major questions remain about how two violent deaths within the same family went undetected for years and who knew what at each step. Does anyone have information about the Witte family in Beverly Shores or the movements of Elaine’s car and accounts in early 1984?