Detective: Family Knows Who Killed Amish Teen in 1969 — But Were “Sworn to Secrecy”
Less that two weeks ago, we learned that the Indiana State Police were seeking tips in an over 50-year-old case, in which an Amish youth was killed by a rock thrown into his buggy.
Since that public call for assistance, tips have “poured in”. Not only that, ISP Detective Jake Quick says “we have some potential suspects at this time,” according to a new report at WANE 15.
Tips Are “Still Pouring In”
In this tragic case, 17-year-old Mervin Lehman of LaGrange, Indiana was killed when late one night, a large rock was hurled from a passing car into the buggy he was traveling in.
A second Amish couple was injured nearby in a similar attack at around the same time. The case was never solved as authorities had no good description of the car, and leads “led authorities nowhere”.
But now with the passage of over half-a-century, it sounds like they are making real progress – maybe even heading towards an arrest or arrests? More from the report:
As for the culprit behind Mervin’s death, “several people” have come forward to share what they remember of that night.
Even information that tipsters thought would be small details has been helpful, Quick said, adding tips are still pouring in.
“It definitely breathed some life into the case when we put out the news release,” Quick said.
He explained it’s not uncommon for information to be withheld during the initial investigation only to be admitted years later, as was the case in this instance.
Given the amount of time that’s passed – nearly 57 years – whoever did this would be getting well into old age by now, if they are even still alive.
Mervin Lehman’s Family Apparently Knows Who Did It
The big eyebrow-raising bit of this story comes toward the end. In a real twist to the case, whoever did this apparently confessed to – it sounds like – the family of Mervin Lehman.
And by the sound of it, it may have been long ago, perhaps around the time of the incident – but they had been sworn not to tell anyone:
“The family knows, from what I’m told, who did it,” Quick said. “They came forward to them and were sworn to secrecy.”
While some of the family passed away during the time the case went cold, Quick expressed it’s been a challenge over the last two weeks to earn the trust of family members who are still alive and are believed to have pivotal information to solving the case.
When things are buried for a long time, it can be easier to leave them that way. But as time passes, it can also work in the opposite direction.
As people who were closest to the events pass away, those left behind might feel more comfortable – or more compelled, for whatever reason – to act.
Somewhat confusingly, in the final line of the report, Quick makes this comment:
“The family just wants answers. They want closure,” Quick said. “And we’re going to try to get that to them.”
On the one hand, it’s suggested that Lehman’s family know who did it. But here, Quick says the family just want answers. Perhaps these are family members who were removed from the matter by time or age, and are seeking answers to questions such as “why”.
It’s a bit hard to say, but taken all together, it feels like this case has momentum. I wondered before why this was being re-investigated at this time. Perhaps it was one or some of those family members who have spurred this on.
And perhaps – and this is just speculation – the culprit recently passed away. Did someone who knew the culprit’s identity feel more comfortable in raising the issue, now knowing the person, who had been promised secrecy, was now gone?
In any case, the report really gives a sense that things are happening with this case. So I imagine we’ll be learning more in the not-too-distant future.
Video Report Adds Additional Details
The video report by WANE (below) adds some additional details, including on the challenges of the case, one of which the fact that the original report from 1969 has apparently been lost – after a local police station was closed in the early 1980s.
“In these last two weeks, there have been more developments than in the last several decades,” we also hear in the report. Detective Quick also acknowledges that the suspects they have now were not suspects two weeks ago.
Mervin Lehman Cold Case
Sounds like someone had a hand in making the initial police report simply “disappear”. Why anyone would protect a killer is beyond all comprehension to me.