RISING SUN, Ind. — In front of a few friends but with his mother and father conspicuously absent, an Indiana teenager pleaded not guilty Friday to murdering his 10-year-old brother. A few blocks away, the grieving couple greeted well-wishers who had come to pay respects to their slain younger son.
Andrew Conley, 17, was charged as an adult in Circuit Court with murdering his brother, Conner Conley, a decision supported by the boys’ parents, Shawn and Bridget Conley, said Dearborn-Ohio County prosecutor Aaron Negangard.
The teen showed no emotion and answered only basic questions during the hearing. His attorney, Gary Sorge, entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf and left the courthouse without commenting to reporters.
A few blocks away, the boys’ parents and relatives greeted friends and well-wishers at the Markland Funeral Home who came to a viewing of Connor’s body. The fifth-grader was dressed in a dark suit and lay in an open casket.
According to prosecutors, Andrew Conley told investigators he strangled Conner while they were wrestling at their home Sunday, then drove his body to a park and dumped it.
They said he described how he choked his younger brother, saying he strangled the boy to satisfy a craving like a hungry person eating a hamburger.
They also said Conley told police that killing his brother made him feel like the fictional TV serial killer “Dexter.”
