Tomorra “Precious” Taylor was a 25-year-old woman living in Gary, Indiana, in the spring of 2002. On Memorial Day, May 27th of that year, she spent the afternoon and evening visiting with friends and family, enjoying the holiday alongside her cousin, Adrian Ross. Those who knew her would later learn that these were the final, precious hours of her life. Throughout the day, Tomorra was in frequent contact with a man named Ronnie Drane, making plans to meet up with him later that night.
As the evening progressed, Tomorra and her cousin went to the home of her foster mother, Chinese Lofton. From there, Tomorra continued to place calls to Drane. Her last phone conversation with him was logged at 9:47 p.m. Shortly after, she left her foster mother’s house alone. Witnesses later saw her get into the passenger seat of a silver van with distinctive, "nice rims," a vehicle driven by Drane. It was the last time she was seen alive by her loved ones.
The next morning, a man collecting cans in M.C. Bennett Park in Gary made a devastating discovery. Inside a park shelter, he found Tomorra’s body. Her clothes were in disarray, and it was evident a violent struggle had occurred. An autopsy would later confirm the brutal nature of her death; she had suffered multiple bruises and abrasions, and her neck had been broken. The cause of death was determined to be strangulation. The Gary Police Department immediately launched a homicide investigation.
Detectives quickly identified Ronnie Drane as the primary person of interest. The investigation pieced together a compelling timeline based on phone records and witness testimony. An off-duty Gary police corporal reported seeing a van matching the description of Drane's parked near the crime scene between 11:00 and 11:30 p.m. on the night of the murder. When questioned, Drane admitted to speaking with Tomorra multiple times that night and to having unprotected sexual intercourse with her. However, he claimed it was consensual, that it occurred at his home, and that she left his residence unharmed shortly after midnight.
Drane was arrested and charged with the rape and murder of Tomorra Taylor. During a bench trial, the prosecution presented its evidence, which included the phone records, witness accounts, and crucial DNA evidence. Swabs taken from Tomorra’s body contained DNA that could not exclude Drane as a contributor, corroborating his admission of a sexual encounter on the night she was killed. The state argued that the evidence, though circumstantial, pointed directly to Drane as the perpetrator of the brutal assault and murder in the park.
The trial court found Ronnie Drane guilty on all counts and sentenced him to a total of 85 years in prison: 65 years for murder and a consecutive 20-year term for rape. In a surprising turn, the Indiana Court of Appeals later reversed the conviction, concluding the evidence was insufficient. However, the state appealed this decision to the highest court. In May 2007, the Indiana Supreme Court reviewed the case, overruled the appellate court, and reinstated the original conviction and sentence. They affirmed that the circumstantial evidence, taken as a whole, was sufficient for a reasonable court to find Drane guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, finally securing justice for Tomorra Taylor.
