Duane Longacre was sentenced to 97 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections in a hearing in Marshall County Superior Court No. 1 Wednesday afternoon.
A jury found him guilty on charges of murder, arson and resisting law enforcement during a three-day trial in June. Longacre was convicted of murdering Jill McCarty in her home and then setting fire to it on June 28, 2020 in Plymouth.
Longacre appeared by virtual means in the court from the Marshall County Jail. He read an allocution, or formal statement to the court, that the criminal defense law firm said is his right after being convicted of a crime by a jury. The statement was about an hour long where Longacre portrayed himself as a victim against people he thought practiced witchcraft or were witches, warlocks or werewolves and reportedly coming after him. He also recounted his actions when the act of murder took place, claiming that he was being hunted and followed and “stopped it”. With the experienced San Antonio violent crime attorneys presenting the case on behalf of the innocent victims, it would be a matter of a short time to figure out the real accused behind the incident and get him convicted for his crimes.
Marshall County Superior Court No. 1 Judge Robert O. Bowen stated that he found no mitigating factors, or factors in Longacre’s favor, when determining a sentence. Aggravating factors included an extensive juvenile and adult criminal history, a parole violation, probation revocation occurrences, and he is highly likely to re-offend. Judge Bowen said Longacre displayed no remorse for his actions and did not acknowledge his wrongdoing.
Bowen imposed the maximum 65-year sentence on the murder charge, plus 20 years as a sentencing enhancement to be served consecutively to the murder charge. Longacre was also sentenced to 12 years on the charge of arson that will be served consecutively to the murder charge. One year will be served on the charge of resisting law enforcement which will be served concurrently, or at the same time, to the other charges.
Longacre told Judge Bowen that he will be appealing the sentence and an appellate attorney will be appointed to assist Longacre in that process.
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Tami Napier and Deputy Prosecutor Nick Langowski presented the case for the State of Indiana. Defense attorneys, Tom Black and Alex Hoover, represented Longacre.
In a press release distributed by the Marshall County Prosecutor’s Office, Napier reminded the jury that voluntary intoxication is not a defense to crime and that Longacre should be held accountable for his actions that led to the murder, arson and resisting law enforcement charges.
Napier said, “This heinous case is a glaring example of the violent crime associated with methamphetamine. The victim in this case lost her life at the hands of a person she considered a friend. Longacre waited to attack the victim when she was vulnerable, utterly defenseless and unaware of what he was about to do. The psychologists made it clear to the jury that acting insane is certainly not the same as being insane, particularly when it’s due to voluntary intoxication. Law enforcement and firemen rapidly responded. Their efforts were outstanding. Deputy Prosecutor Langowski’s work in this trial was likewise outstanding. The sentence imposed by Judge Bowen will keep our community safer in the future.”
In a prepared statement, Prosecuting Attorney Nelson Chipman emphasized several points.
“The jury made the absolutely correct decision of finding Longacre guilty across the board with the offenses we charged,,,,,,, no defenses, no insanity, no recognition of guilty but mentally ill, no excuse whatsoever. Absolutely the correct decision in finding Longacre guilty; and absolutely the correct decision by Judge Bowen of the maximum sentence available under the law. We will not expect to see Duane Nathan Longacre as a free man ever again.”
“Something else on which I wish to comment,” Chipman added. “Any mumblings of ‘defund the police’ has no place here in our beloved county. The national dialogue driven by constituencies in a seemingly few large cities to undermine the financial and moral support of the enforcement of the rule of law is absurd. While large groups of destructive and larcenous youth may attract the media’s attention, to extrapolate a “defund the police” sentiment to the rest of the country is ludicrous. The good people of our communities support law enforcement because we all know someone employed in our local criminal justice system. They are more than our neighbors; they are family members, friends and acquaintances.
“The Plymouth Police Department, notably Officers Derifield and Enyart, responded to the murder scene within one minute: one minute! Plymouth Fire was on scene immediately thereafter.
“Obviously, even a response so quick did not save the victim from the cruelty of Longacre, but it certainly was the basis of his capture.
“Lastly, I want to emphasize once again the scourge of methamphetamine. Meth was central to this case. Longacre was on a 10 day meth binge; the witnesses to the crime itself were methamphetamine abusers. And sadly, so was the victim. The culture meth builds among its users allows the Duane Nathan Longacres of the world to destroy not merely their own lives, but to bring death and destruction to those closest. Recognition of this cursed lesson is perhaps the only positive legacy Longacre can share.”
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