Anyone hear anything?

Husband held in Long Beach shooting death
Stan Maddux Times Correspondent


LONG BEACH | Authorities Wednesday had a man in custody while they continued to investigate the shooting death of his wife at the couple's home in the upscale lakefront communtiy of Long Beach.

LaPorte County Prosecutor Bob Szilagyi said evidence was still being reviewed to determine if charges will be filed and, if so, what the charges will be.

Under Indiana law, Szilagyi said defendants can be held for 48 hours and if no charges are filed by that time they must be released.

“We have 48 hours to decide what we're going to do,” said Szilagyi.

According to Long Beach police, officers after 7 p.m. Tuesday responded to the 2900 block of Lothair Way on a report of a woman being shot.

A female was found dead inside the residence along the Long Beach Country Club golf course.

Police said it appeared a domestic dispute had occurred but further details on what led up to the shooting were being withheld due to the ongoing investigation.

Authorities were also not releasing the name of the victim or her husband.

Szilagyi confirmed the victim and man being held were husband and wife.

He also revealed the case is being investigated as a homicide but an official ruling on cause of death had not yet been made.

“I don't want to say things on something that I don't have the complete information on yet,” said Szilagyi.

Neighbors expressed sadness and surprise at what occurred.

“It's just a horrible thing,” said Jane Scott, who lives across the street from the home where the shooting took place.

Scott said four children all under the age of 14 were living in the home.

She didn't know the family very well but did say hello to them whenever she saw them while checking her mail or doing something else outside.

“They seemed like normal people,” said Scott.

“They had four lovely kids,” said another neighbor, Richard Sweney, who was familiar enough with the family to know the couple's children on a first name basis.

“I went out to turn on my Christmas lights and saw the street was full of police cars,” said Sweney.

Sweney said fatal shootings are reported in the news from different areas of the country on a regular basis and to have someone shot to death so close to his home is disheartening.

“It's a bummer because we are in a nice neighborhood and then you have the same thing next door. It’s pretty awful,” said Sweney.

By Erica Morse
Publisher, Victims News Online
Updated 2:30pm CST, December 12th, 2012
@victimsnews1

A fatal shooting Tuesday evening in Northwest Indiana has left one woman dead and her husband being held for questioning.

The incident occurred in Long Beach, Indiana, an affluent lakeshore community which runs along and around Lake Michigan. The area is home to a few year-round owners, while many are seasonal residents in the summer months from nearby Chicago.

The incident occurred 7pm last evening in the 2900 block of Lothair Way in Long Beach, and few details have been released about the situation as of today. Through real estate records, Victims News Online has been able to confirm the name of the current homeowners, but at least one real estate source in the area has indicated the home may have been in the process of a sale.

The investigation is being conducted by the Long Beach Police Department, with assistance from neighboring Michigan City Police Department’s Detective Bureau.

LaPorte County Prosecuting Attorney Robert “Z” Szilagyi told Victims News Online that the MCPD’s assistance is routine with smaller departments such as Long Beach, and he hopes more information will be released about the situation tomorrow.

We will update this story as more details become available.

ALCO is reporting that the News Dispatch named John Larkin as the shooter from the other night in Long Beach.

Long Beach man charged in shooting death of his wife
Stan Maddux Times Correspodent


LONG BEACH | A man and his wife from the upscale community of Long Beach were fighting when a gun kept inside the home went off, killing the woman, according to LaPorte County officials.

John Larkin, 47, was charged with voluntary manslaughter, a Class A felony.

The charge was leveled after evidence from the case was presented Thursday to LaPorte Superior Court 1 Judge Kathleen Lang, who ruled there was sufficient evidence to try him on the allegations.

LaPorte County Prosecutor Bob Szilagyi said evidence indicates there was a fight between John Larkin and his wife, Stacey Larkin, 41, inside the family's home.

Szilagyi said it appears Stacey Larkin retrieved a gun from a gun safe and John Larkin was trying to get the gun away from her when the firearm went off.

“That's the evidence we have at this point,” he said.

Szilagyi said the evidence indicates Larkin did not intend to kill her but did so “during sudden heat,” which under Indiana qualifies as voluntary manslaughter.

“Murder requires specific intent to kill. There's a very big difference,” said Szilagyi.

Police responded Tuesday night to the home in the 2900 block of Lothair Way on a report from an unknown caller of a woman being shot in the chest.

Szilagyi said the couple was having some marital issues and when John Larkin came home “there was a fight.”

Szilagyi said the case is still being investigated so it's possible the charge against Larkin could change depending on the discovery of any new findings.

Larkin could face a maximum 50 years on the current charge.

The couple had four children.

John Larkin ran for a seat on the Long Beach Town Council in 2011 but lost in a close race.

He was one of a couple of hot heads who ran for the Long Beach town board. He lost by several votes.

I don't get it. It says the gun went off "accidentally" yet reports suggest the victim was shot several times. So - the gun went off accidentally several times?

I hope this case isn't screwed up by the county. The county prosecutor recently had his license to practice law reinstated. The state supreme court suspended him because he had forged his ex wife's signature to a deed.

I searched this page for the word accident or accidentally and came up dry. Where does it say that?

Szilagyi said it appears Stacey Larkin retrieved a gun from a gun safe and John Larkin was trying to get the gun away from her when the firearm went off.
Wouldn't that indicate accidentally to you?

I wasn't trying to be a smart A$$, was just wondering...

To answer your question, reading this article it would appear that it might be an accident. If I had to give you a yes or no answer, due to the gravity of the situation, I would just simply say NO because it isn't clearly spelled out and I wouldn't allow ambiguity to skew my answer.

I would guess the idea is that it was an accident in that he didn't intend to shoot her before she pulled the gun or her, or even when the first bullet was discharged. But after that happened, adrenaline took over?

It started of as an accident, but didn't end that way?

Obviously I don't know what happened, but it is a reasonable theory in my mind.

I would think if it really was an accident after the gun went off he'd have dropped it and tried to save her life. To keep firing rounds into her... of course, none of us can know. But multiple shots sure seems to indicate something more than an accident.

Or the weapon was fully automatic?

I would be willing to bet almost anything it wasn't a fully automatic weapon. Those are very, very, rare and if you don't have the right tax stamp, very, very illegal.

That was my sarcasm coming through

I am surprised that John did not claim that he "worked" in Argentina. The "prosecutor" probably would have agreed to let him continue his work there. I wonder how many people will want to buy any real estate from him in Indiana, Michigan or Illinois.

I would guess the idea is that it was an accident in that he didn't intend to shoot her before she pulled the gun or her, or even when the first bullet was discharged. But after that happened, adrenaline took over?

It started of as an accident, but didn't end that way?

Obviously I don't know what happened, but it is a reasonable theory in my mind.

This whole thing stinks to high heaven to me.

Multiple gunshot wounds to the chest... the wife dies... the husband who did it is put into a "mental health cell" at the county jail... is let out less than 72 hrs later... even before the wife is laid to rest... family is nervous he'll show up at the funeral. If he's such a mental case, that he needed a special cell, wouldn't somebody think he was a little risky to let out so soon after the incident?

Just my opinion: this is a case of white male privledge & family influence. I have talked to lots of people who knew this guy... this family... the stories are horrendous about John's violent temper. The family was afraid that he was going to show up at the funeral, from what I heard.

If this guy gets off for doing this to his wife... to his children... I've lost my faith in the judicial sytem in this county.

Stacey Larkin lived & breathed for her children. The last Facebook post she wrote was about how she was letting her children stay up later than usual, the night before she was murdered, in order to let her children make mini-snowmen with the season's first snowfall. This is the last memory those poor children will have of their mother.

Wrong.... so wrong.... on many levels!!! At least her murderer should spend the rest of his life in jail. I hope the older children are strong enough to testify, to assure justice for their mother.

I know several women who knew Stacey personally & they have ALL said that she would NEVER kill herself & leave her children with John. Ever! It is rumored that she even told some of her friends that she feared John would kill her. These friends need to come forward & testify in the trial. Maybe they will.

I heard the kids had a sleepover one night & Stacey went to go get McDonald's. When she got home, John's fries weren't in the bag & he went on such a rampage about it that the children who were sleeping over had to call their parents to come get them because they were so upset by John's behavior. These parents need to be found to testify also, if this is true.

I appreciate the information. Like I said, I don't know the family or the situation at all, I was just trying to make sense of the statements made connected to this shooting.

Excellent post. What I find appalling is A) the husband tried to pass it off as an "accident" and the stupid officials saying "this is the evidence we have at this point." Why - because the guy who murdered his wife told you that?

My hope is he finds a lot of love in prison.

'
True story. One of my college roommates was killed by a drunk driver who was doing 90 MPH down some state highway after having a ton of booze at a wedding. The guy got his sportscar under my buddy's tailend, flipped it over, and broke both his and his best friends necks on impact. The guy was a lawyer from PA, and had made bail and was out of the state within 48 hours. I don't know that I have ever been that angry.

Since he is out of Jail and free and Stacey cannot defend herself since she is dead, he is busy badmouthing her all over town saying all kinds of terrible things about her. According to him that makes it her fault she was shot in the chest several times. I don't care what he says. I will never ever believe it. Let's just watch him get away with it.

Since he is out of Jail and free and Stacey cannot defend herself since she is dead, he is busy badmouthing her all over town saying all kinds of terrible things about her. According to him that makes it her fault she was shot in the chest several times. I don't care what he says. I will never ever believe it. Let's just watch him get away with it.

So he murdered his wife and he's going around town bragging about it?

I think he should have his gonads ice-picked to a 2X4.

Did this guy get off yet?

If I saw the headline right, he now has a trial date.

I just discovered that the trial date has been set for some time in October. Of course, all these things go, there may be continuances. It shouldn't make any difference for Johnny; he is still out in the community telling his side of the story.

Well it's 2 years today and this guy is still free to do what he wants. Makes me sick.

Accused killer John Larkin of Long Beach is filing a lawsuit against LaPorte County for allegedly listening in on his private conversations with his attorney, and was holding back evidence that could prove his innocence. This is the second time an accusation of listening in on attorney client conversations has surfaced in LaPorte County, the last setting free accused murderer Brian Taylor during the summer.

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/laporte...254d6a45f6.html

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-...lice-department

Police Standards are broken. Doctors and Lawyers require a license. Police who are allowed to use deadly force do not have to have special licensing or certification. Many Police forces are less then 10 officers.

This article states that if the Medical profession still operated as police departments did they would still be using leaches. Law enforcement is a local matter. States may or may not mandate training standards. There is a national problem and better training supervision and licensing can help. It will cost more though.

One of the problems with the MC police seems to be in understanding how the law works. Listening in on privileged lawyer client conversations is a sure way to get that evidence thrown out. It is a stupid move and I understand they have contaminated other crimes as well. This is what a lack of training does. They may have gotten a good arrest but then contaminated the evidence so badly that it will be thrown out.

This places the prosecutor in a bad situation and he /she is forced to plea bargain from a bad position. Too bad, this is not how the justice system is supposed to work.