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Paul Michael McMANUS
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics:
Parricide
Number of victims: 3
Date of murders:
February 26, 2001
Date of arrest:
Same day (suicide attempt)
Date of birth: July
14,
1972
Victims profile: His estranged wife Melissa McManus, 29, and
their daughters Lindsey, 8, and Shelby, 23 months
Method of murder:
Shooting
(.38 handgun)
Location: Vanderburgh County, Indiana, USA
Status: Sentenced to death on June 5, 2002
MCMANUS, PAUL
MICHAEL # 96
ON DEATH ROW SINCE 06-05-02
DOB: 07-14-72
DOC: #108001 White Male
Vanderburgh County Circuit Court Judge Carl A. Heldt
Summary: McManus was separated
from his wife, Melissa. His two daughters, Lindsay (8) and Shelby
(23 months) lived with Melissa. Shelby was born with severe birth
defects. Divorce papers were served on him at his mother's house on
the day of the murders.
McManus took a taxi to his wife's residence and
shot her once in the leg and 3 times in the head, killing her. He
then shot 8 year old Lindsey 3 times in the head, then shot Shelby
once in the head.
He then drove to the Henderson bridge between
Indiana and Kentucky and climbed to the very top (the equivalent of
11 stories). Despite the best efforts of law enforcement to talk him
down, he jumped into the Ohio River. Miraculously, he was rescued
from the water with only minor back injuries.
An insanity defense was unsuccessfully presented
at trial. McManus had told acquaintances the weekend before the
murders to “watch the papers,” because he was going to “do something
big.”
Conviction: Murder (3 counts)
Sentencing: June 5, 2002 (Death
Sentence)
Aggravating Circumstances: b(12)
Victims less than 12 years old; b(8) 3 Murders
Mitigating Circumstances: No
significant prior criminal record, Depression and mental
abnormalities, Irresistible impulse
A Vanderburgh Circuit Court Jury convicted Paul
Michael McManus of three counts of murder on May 9, 2002, rejecting
McManus's insanity defense.
McManus's attorneys, Glenn A. Grampp of Evansvile
and Mitchell B. Rothman of Tampa, Florida, never disputed that on
February 26, 2001, McManus shot to death his estranged wife, Melissa
McManus, and their two daughters, eight-year-old Lindsey and two-year-old
Shelby in their home located at 4903 Tanglewood Drive in Vanderburgh
County, Indiana. They asserted that he was legally insane when he shot
his wife once in the leg and three times in the head, when he shot
Lindsey three times in the back of her head, and when he shot Shelby
once in the side of her head with a .38 caliber revolver.
After shooting his family, McManus drove Melissa's
car to the Ohio River bridges between Evansville, Indiana, and
Henderson, Kentucky, where he climbed to the top of the southbound
bridge and eventually jumped into the river. He survived the jump and
was pulled from the river and taken into custody and to a Henderson
hospital for treatment.
Two psychiatrists appointed by the Court, Dr.
Thomas Liffick and Dr. David Hilton testified that, in their opinions,
at the time he killed his family McManus was not legally insane. Under
Indiana law, a person is not legally responsible for his actions, if,
as a result of mental disease or defect, he was unable to appreciate
the wrongfulness of his conduct at the time of the offense.
A psychologist hired by the defense, Dr. Michael
Gelbort from Joliet, Illinois, testified to his opinion that McManus
was legally insane when he shot his wife and daughters. He testified
that McManus was having an acute episode where he lost contact with
reality at the time of the shootings.
Testimony at trial showed that McManus had made
threats in the past that he was going to kill his whole family and
commit suicide. The weekend before the shootings, McManus quit his job
at a blliard parlor and told co-workers to watch the papers Monday for
something big. Evidence at trial indicated that, on the day of the
shootings, McManus went to his brother's house and took a .38 caliber
revolver, and went to a gun shop and purchased .38 caliber ammunition
after asking for the cheapest kind.
On Friday, May 10, 2002, after hearing evidence and
arguments of counsel in the penalty phase of the trial, the jury
recommended to Judge Carl Heldt that he sentence McManus to death.
On June 5, 2002, Judge Heldt followed the
recommendation of the jury and sentenced McManus to death "in the
manner prescribed by law", which is by lethal injection. The Court
appointed Public Defenders John Brinson and Timothy Dodd to represent
McManus in his appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court. On August 31,
2004, the Indiana Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentencing
of McManus.
