Patrolman Edward J. Blakely

Edward J. Blakely

Patrolman Edward Blakely was gunned down at County Road 475 West and U.S. 30 by a murder suspect.

The suspect had shot and wounded a man outside of a Gary tavern and stole his car. When the car broke down, he killed a Hobart Township resident outside his home and stole his car. Patrolman Blakely was called to investigate when the suspect got the car stuck in a ditch. Patrolman Blakely was found shot to death beside the stolen car. He was killed with a 16-gauge shotgun taken from the trunk of the murdered resident's automobile. The suspect was captured in Gary after crashing Patrolman Blakely's patrol car a few hours later.

The suspect, a 20-year-old ex-convict and dishonorably discharged from the Marine Corps, said he was so drunk that he could not remember anything. On March 14, 1962, a judge committed him to a mental hospital in Westville. In 1968, he was deemed fit to stand trial, convicted of murder, and sentenced to death. In 1972, the Indiana Supreme Court ordered a new trial. On June 20, 1973, he was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to life. He was paroled in 1988.

Patrolman Blakely had served with the Porter County Sheriff's Department for three years and previously served with the Chesterton Police Department. He was survived by his wife, daughter, three brothers, sister, and four grandchildren.