Fred Bandy Jr. Sentenced for 1975 Murder

Fred Bandy Jr. has been sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole, for the 1975 murder of 17-year-old Laurel Jean Mitchell, whose body was found in the Elkhart River after she failed to return home from her job. Bandy, along with John Wayne Lehman, was charged in 2023 following advances in forensic science that linked him to the crime via DNA evidence from Mitchell's preserved clothing. Lehman, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, received an eight-year sentence. Despite Lehman's claim that Bandy raped and drowned Mitchell, he cited fear of Bandy as the reason for his inaction. The case was revived due to DNA testing and testimonies from individuals who recalled incriminating comments made by the accused at the time of the murder. The sentencing was in line with 1975 Indiana laws, which allowed for parole.