Attorney Representing Co-Defendant in Costello Murder Case Files Plea Agreement with Marshall County Prosecutor’s Office

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

A plea agreement has been executed between the Marshall County Prosecutor’s Office and Attorney June Bules who is representing Maeson Coffin, the co-defendant in the Richard “Paul” Costello murder case. Coffin will submit an official guilty plea to the charges of burglary, theft and auto theft in January, with the charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder dismissed.

In a statement released to the media, Marshall County Prosecuting Attorney Nelson Chipman explained that filing a plea agreement is different than submitting a plea. He said typically, the terms of plea agreements are not made public until presented in open court at the time the defendant pleads guilty.

However, due to the “understandable intense public interest in this horrific crime,” Chipman chose to make an exception to the rule of non-disclosure of the terms after thoroughly consulting with the victim’s family about major case developments. Continue reading →

Gauvin Monaghan Sentenced to 65 Years for Murder of Paul Costello

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

In a Wednesday sentencing hearing in Marshall County Superior Court No.1 , Judge Robert O. Bowen sentenced 19-year-old Gauvin Monaghan to the maximum allowable sentence of 65 years for the October 2016 murder of 78-year-old Richard “Paul” Costello.

After the hearing, Marshall County Prosecuting Attorney Nelson Chipman commented on the totality of the circumstances of the offense and the background of the defendant saying Gauvin Monaghan was a serial killer who fortunately got caught after his first murder.

According to information released by the Marshall County Prosecutor’s Office, Monaghan read aloud from a letter, asking the victim’s family for forgiveness. Costello’s friends and family members filled the spectator section of the courtroom and intensely watched the proceedings.

Prosecuting Attorney Nelson Chipman attempted to seek some kind of explanation from Monaghan of why he beat an elderly man to death, inquiring as to whether anger, money or revenge played a factor. Monaghan reportedly could only answer that he did not know why.

No other live testimony was provided by either side. Instead, the state of Indiana submitted numerous photographs depicting the viciousness of the crime and the extent of the victim’s injuries and relied upon the Victim Impact letters provided by family members and some of Paul’s friends. Continue reading →

Gauvin Monaghan Pleads Guilty to November 2016 Murder of Marshall County Man

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

According to information provided by the Marshall County Prosecutor’s Office, in a last minute arrangement Monday morning, Gauvin Monaghan was brought before Judge Robert O. Bowen to plead guilty to the murder of 78-year-old Richard “Paul” Costello in November of 2016.

During the brief court proceedings, Judge Bowen advised Monaghan of his various rights and the terms of his plea agreement. By pleading guilty to the single count of murder, all other counts were dismissed including conspiracy to commit murder, burglary, auto theft and a separate count of theft.

The press release indicates that Monaghan addressed the Judge’s questions with very quiet, one word answers and said he was asked to speak louder more than once. When asked how he pled, Monaghan said he was guilty of murder. Continue reading →