January 18, 2025 • 24 mins
Amanda Blackburn was 13 weeks pregnant when she was killed in a home invasion in November 2015. Since then, her husband, Pastor Davey Blackburn, has been putting the pieces of his life back together. He chronicles his recovery in his new book, "Nothing Is Wasted." He talks to Inside Edition Digital about his long road to reconciliation and rebuilding himself and his family.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
How can someone with no motive just up and kill a young lady and her kid?
(00:04):
Today, we are going to talk about the murder of a young woman, Amanda Grace Byers.
Amanda was born on July 31, 1987 in Moson, Michigan to her parents Phil and Robin.
She was described as a great listener, gave to others without asking for anything in return,
and was someone who had deep emotional connections with the people that she loved.
(00:26):
So Amanda's sister Amber, who was a few years older than her, said that when they were younger,
the family was going on a vacation and they were going to be driving there,
and it was a seven-hour drive or something like that, a long car ride.
And she said that she remembered feeling annoyed that she was going to have to spend this long car
ride with her little sister. It's hard to have things in common with your sibling or spend
(00:47):
extended periods of time like that. But what's cool is that during this road trip, the two of them
ended up talking nonstop and something just clicked. They really connected. And Amber says
that this was a real turning point in their relationship and really the start of them
becoming incredibly close. Her family had actually moved from Michigan to Indianapolis
(01:07):
and then again to Elkhart, Indiana. And Elkhart was where Amanda went to school and where she
and her sister started getting really close. She graduated from Elkhart Christian Academy in 2006
and then went on to attend Pensacola Christian College, where she graduated from in 2008 with
her associate's degree. And that was a big year for Amanda because not only did she graduate,
(01:28):
but on August 1st, she also got married. Now, Amanda was first introduced to her husband,
Davey Blackburn, via a blind date through her sister, who was dating Davey's best friend.
And the two of them really just hit it off right away. Their first date was to go see a Christian
band, Hawk Nelson. That date went so well that the two of them ended up spending the whole rest of
(01:50):
the week together too. And I thought this was funny, but I guess at the end of the week,
they had a milkshake drinking contest and some of Amanda's milkshake actually shot through her nose
from laughter. And Davey said that he knew at that moment that he was going to marry her.
At the time, they weren't going to the same school, so they had to do the whole long distance thing.
But they made it work until they decided it was time to get married. She and her sister,
(02:14):
Amber, were very close. So close that they decided to have a joint wedding. Amber says that they both
got engaged around the same time, and planning their wedding together was just a really fun
experience for the two of them. Of course, like anything, there were some sisterly disagreements,
but in the end, it was one of the most important days of both of their lives. However, when it
(02:36):
came to the marriage itself, it definitely wasn't a walk in the park for Amanda and Davey. I mean,
at least not at first. Before getting married, they had only ever spent a few weeks together at
a time because, as a reminder, they were doing long distance for most of their relationship.
So when they actually got married and moved in together full time, it definitely posed some
(02:57):
challenges. But they did end up going to counseling together and learn how to better communicate,
and it seemed to really help. And it actually was something that they were very open about when they
went to church. They shared their story with other people, and I think it's pretty cool that they were
open about the hardships that they faced. They always, without a doubt, relied on their faith
(03:17):
to get through whatever life sent their way. In fact, their faith was such an integral part of
their lives that in 2012, they actually decided to make it their profession. That year, Davey and
Amanda decided to move from South Carolina, where they had been living and where Davey was working
as an assistant pastor, to Indianapolis to create their own church, which they called Resonate
(03:39):
Church. And they say that the story behind it is basically that God was calling upon them to create
their own church, and after denying his wish for months, they eventually knew that they had to
listen. Davey has said multiple times that starting this church was very difficult. He said that it
was like being placed in a parking lot and being asked to create a forest. But they say that through
(04:00):
their faith, and also a lot of hard work, Resonate Church began, and by 2015, it was really picking up
steam in the community. And if that weren't busy and exciting enough, during this time, Amanda also
found out that she was pregnant, and in 2014, they welcomed their son, Weston, into the world.
And Amanda definitely seemed like she was born to be a mother. Her calm composure and big heart are
(04:25):
just two of many qualities about Amanda that made her a very good mother. And so for a little over
a year, this family of three was living a life devoted to their faith and walking through the
world as they felt they were called to do. But on November 10, 2015, everything changed. That morning,
at 8.22 a.m., Davey came home from the gym to find that his beautiful wife, Amanda, was laying
(04:50):
face down in a pool of blood on their living room floor. Her shirt was pulled up over her head,
and her underwear had been removed, which suggested that maybe someone had attempted to assault her.
And next to her body were her credit cards and her wallet, as well as a knocked over decorative
ladder and lamp. And obviously, one of the first things that popped into his head was,
(05:11):
where's our son? Is he okay? So he runs upstairs, and thankfully, his baby was okay. And then as
soon as he confirmed that, he immediately called 911 and reported what he had walked into. Then,
minutes later, emergency services arrived. And although Amanda managed to hold on to life for
the rest of that day, on November 11, at 7.55 a.m., she was sadly removed from life support
(05:35):
after it was clear that she had no brain activity. In her autopsy, it was revealed that she had been
shot three times. Once to the lower left arm, once to the upper left back, and then finally,
the fatal shot, which was to the back of her head. Amanda also had some scratches on her left cheek,
her lip was split, and then one of her lower teeth had been knocked out as well. She was found with
(05:57):
her shirt pulled up over her head and with her underwear off. However, thankfully, when they did
the autopsy, there was nothing that made them believe that she was sexually assaulted. This was
more than just a single homicide because Amanda was pregnant. She was actually in her first trimester,
and their baby, who she and Davey were planning to name Everett, or Evie for short, also lost her
(06:20):
life. This was an absolute meaningless, senseless act of violence, really. So less than an hour
after 911 was called, a detective with the Indianapolis Metro Police Department, or IMPD,
arrived at Methodist Hospital, where Amanda was getting treatment, and he began taking statements,
the first of course being from Davey. And here's what he said happened that morning. So he woke up
(06:42):
at 4.30 and says that he read the Bible, and then he went to the gym at 6 a.m. And when he left the
house, he left the front door unlocked. Now, people have been very critical of this. He says that he
didn't lock the door for a few reasons, one of those reasons being that they only had one house
key, and it was actually on Amanda's keychain. And the second reason was that he felt like they lived
(07:04):
in a really safe neighborhood, and they would often just leave the front door unlocked because
they didn't feel like they had to lock it. But anyways, he goes to the gym around 6 o'clock,
and he stays there till about 7.10, and then he gets back in his car and starts driving home.
And while he's in the car, he gets on the phone with a friend. And even though he got home by 7.30,
(07:25):
he ended up staying in his car on the phone with his friend until 8.20, which is when he went inside
and found Amanda. And as for why he didn't go inside sooner, he explained that he didn't want
to wake Amanda or Weston up by talking on the phone, so he just decided to sit in his car while
they continued their conversation. But then, as soon as he gets off the phone, he walks into the
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house and has no idea what he's about to walk into. And he walked into just about the most upsetting
scene that a person could possibly walk into. So while the detective is talking with Davey and
getting his statement of what happened that day, other detectives are back at the house, starting
to process the evidence at the scene. Amanda was found with her credit cards lying next to her on
(08:07):
the floor, but they also found a swisher suite cigar wrapper on the counter, which Davey later
confirmed did not belong to either of them. Also at the scene was a roll of duct tape, a pair of
earphones, Amanda's purse and wallet, as well as her underwear. They also noted what appeared to be
a bullet hole at the base of the stairwell, but no shell casings, which suggests that a revolver had
(08:28):
been used. And then upstairs, detectives found Amanda's phone, which ended up providing some key
information because Chase Bank had called at 7.53 a.m. and left a voicemail stating that there was
suspicious activity on her debit card. And given the timeline of events, they knew that Amanda
couldn't have been the one to have used the debit card. So they then realized that that specific
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debit card was actually missing from the scene, which led them to think that this was a home
invasion gone wrong. And that theory ended up being confirmed very quickly because it turns out that
Amanda's home was one of three homes in the area that had been broken into that morning. And
thankfully, several neighbors had witnessed suspicious activity in their neighborhood that
morning, and they were able to share that with detectives, which definitely helped. For starters,
(09:14):
one woman reported that between 640 and 645 a.m., she remembered hearing what sounded like two
gunshots followed by the sound of a woman screaming. There was also another neighbor who told detectives
that that morning, he and his wife had actually seen a person dressed in all black with a hood
over his head standing outside in front of their trash cans. And then a different neighbor confirmed
(09:35):
that around 7.05 a.m., someone matching that same description was on their street talking loudly on
a cell phone. And then another neighbor said that at 7.10 a.m., he saw a man with the same description
walking on their street. And this neighbor watched as the man was picked up by a Chrysler Sebring,
which sped away. And this Chrysler Sebring ends up being very crucial, but it ended up being found.
(09:57):
It was abandoned, and they found it on November 11th so very quickly. And it was crucial for a
couple of reasons. And it basically goes back to the other two burglaries that happened that morning.
On the same morning that Amanda was murdered, a 911 call was placed at 5.23 a.m. from a woman who
said that her house had been broken into, and she actually slept through all of it. She had woken up
(10:20):
and realized that her cell phone wasn't next to her, which was odd. So she gets up and goes to check
to see if it was in the living room. When she goes into the living room, she notices that her
sliding glass door is open, and she also sees that her plants have been knocked over, and her Apple
Macbook laptop, purse, and car keys are all gone. Then she went into the parking lot and realized
(10:42):
that her car, a 2007 Chrysler Sebring, had been stolen. After this report was made, she and an
officer went through the security footage from her Xfinity home alarm system, and luckily some of the
burglary was captured on camera. In this footage, three men were captured on camera making their
entry by cutting the porch screen and then somehow unlocking the sliding glass door. However, at some
(11:06):
point, the footage just completely cuts out, and that's because these men realized that they were
on camera, and so they completely disabled the entire security system. At 8.17 a.m., which was
just minutes before Davey had called 911, someone down the street had actually called and reported
a burglary at their home. This person also had home security footage, which showed three men
(11:28):
cutting the porch screen and then entering through a sliding glass door. This time, the men managed
to steal four TVs, a Macbook Pro, a Tiffany Pearl necklace, a pink woman's sweater, an AT&T U-verse
remote, and then they also took, oddly enough, a bag of oranges and some bedsheets. They had
clearly taken their time at the scene. These guys were not too smart, and they decided to celebrate
(11:52):
or relax while they were in the middle of this burglary, and they had left open beer bottles and
wine bottles as well on the counter. This was particularly stupid, as you could probably guess.
This neighbor was not home when the burglary took place because, obviously, they probably
wouldn't have kicked back and had a few drinks if someone was home. Like we know, just minutes later,
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Davey was calling 911, and it didn't just seem like a coincidence to detectives that the other
two houses had been broken into that morning. So, to bring this full circle, when that Chrysler was
found on November 11th, obviously, detectives searched it, and they found a receipt for a
failed ATM transaction for $500 because these idiots were dumb enough to just leave it in there.
(12:34):
Of course, they noticed that the last four digits of the card that was used and printed onto the
receipt matched Amanda's missing debit card. They also found a pink sweater, an AT&T remote,
a men's XXL sweatshirt, a bedsheet, and that bag of oranges in the car. Obviously, finding all of
this evidence in this stolen vehicle meant that these three burglaries were connected to each other,
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and making this connection was huge because detectives knew from surveillance footage that
they were likely looking for three men, and whoever those three men were, were likely responsible for
Amanda's murder. So, obviously, their next step here is to swab the vehicle for any potential DNA,
and then send those samples off to be run through because detectives had obtained subpoena results
(13:16):
with photographs from the ATM associated with the failed $500 transaction. What did they see on this
footage? At 6.36 a.m., a man with a pink sweater wrapped around his face, wearing a white hoodie
and a dark vest, was attempting to withdraw $500 from Amanda's account. This same man was actually
seen on a second ATM surveillance camera later that morning at 6.54 a.m., and this time he was
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successful and withdrew $400. So, obviously, the million-dollar question here is, who was this guy?
Well, thankfully, on November 17th, there was a hit in the Cody system, and they were able to make
arrests very quickly. The DNA that was taken off that pink sweater came up as a match for a guy
named Jalen Watson, who was recently out on parole for, what else, burglary. After looking him up,
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detectives saw that he was very closely associated with another man who was also out on parole for
burglary named Gordon. So, they looked up the cell phone numbers that each of these guys had given to
the parole board and got search warrants for them. The hope was that they could track their cell data
and see if they were in the locations of the burglaries and the murder. What do you know?
(14:26):
Of course, they absolutely were. That's exactly what the data showed. Both cell phones placed
both men at all three homes, as well as the location of the ATM. But, as we know, detectives
were looking for three men. So, who was this third guy? Well, cell phone data once again basically
served his ass up on a silver platter. It turns out that while Gordon and Jalen's phones placed
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them at the ATM machines that morning, five calls were being made to a third number, aka a third
person. So, that third number was traced, and data showed that the phone was at Amanda's house right
around the time that they believe she was murdered. So, once again, the question now is, who was this
third guy? Well, detectives quickly learned that it was a guy named Larry Joe Taylor Jr. After tracing
(15:14):
his phone's current location, detectives showed up to try and talk to him. Not a whole lot happened
in this conversation initially. All they were able to do was confirm that the phone number belonged
to him and kind of put eyes on him. So, of course, detectives did the same thing for the other two
numbers. They traced their current location, and it brought them to one apartment where a girl
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actually opened the door. She confirmed that not only did she know all three of those men and who
they were, but that all three were at her apartment on November 10th, and that they left that day
together around 3.30 in the morning. Plus, she was able to identify that vest, the one that was seen
in the ATM footage, and she was actually able to show it to detectives. It was hanging in her closet,
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and she explained that it was her boyfriend's, but that Jalen would sometimes wear it. Lastly,
she showed detectives a pistol that was under her bed, and she said that either Jalen or Gordon had
put it there. So, overall, she was very helpful. If detectives weren't already pretty confident that
they had found their guys going into talking with her, everything that she showed them and told them
(16:19):
really just solidified their beliefs. The two of them just talked about driving off and leaving
Larry there, but then he came outside and he just tossed Amanda's debit card into the car. From there,
they decided to keep moving forward with their plan, and they took the debit card to two different
ATMs. The CI actually added a little bit more context to this part as well. There were five
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calls to Larry's phone while Jalen and Gordon were at the ATM. The reason for that is because
they were communicating about Amanda's PIN number. Basically, Jalen and Gordon are at the ATM trying
to pull money out of Amanda's account. Meanwhile, Larry is back still at Amanda's house, communicating
with them. The reason that the first transaction likely failed was because they probably were given
(17:03):
the wrong code. At least that's what detectives believe. Jalen and Gordon were thinking about not
even going back to get Larry at all, but he threatened that he would kill Amanda if they
didn't. As we know from the CI and the first burglary, they weren't intending to kill anybody,
so they decided to go back for him, but he did not stay true to his word. According to the CI,
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Larry told Jalen, Gordon, and possibly two other people that he had killed the woman in the house.
It's hard to wrap your mind around how someone could actually be this evil, but he told them that
he shot her three times and then just stood over her and watched as she bled out. On November 22,
2015, Larry Joe Taylor Jr. was arrested and charged with one count of murder, two counts of felony
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murder, burglary at a level one felony, two counts of burglary at a level four felony,
three counts of theft, robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, criminal confinement,
auto theft, and carrying a handgun without a license. In breaking developments in the
Amanda Blackburn murder overnight, police arrested and booked a teenager on preliminary murder
(18:08):
charges, and now we are hearing from the Blackburn's husband and relatives, Pastor
Davey Blackburn saying, quote, today I am deciding to love, not hate. Today I am deciding to extend
forgiveness, not bitterness. 18-year-old Larry Joe Taylor is facing over a dozen different counts,
including multiple murder charges for the brutal killing of Amanda Blackburn. Now detectives with
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IMPD's violent crimes and gang units made the arrest late last night around 10-20 with federal
help coming from the U.S. Marshals. Then, just a few days later, Amanda's dad talked about how
for his absolutely horrible of a death that his daughter had experienced, he was not holding on
to feelings of anger. I have had a hard time with feelings of anger, to tell you the truth.
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Buyers opened up for the first time after his daughter's murder. There's no good thing down
the road of anger. It causes bitterness and sometimes rage, and I don't want to live there.
And a place of hate versus love. I think that's what I would tell him. That is not the only
message he has for the man accused of killing Amanda. Shame on you. You've taken something
(19:20):
very dear to us without cause. Police say it was a crime of opportunity. Now, at every opportunity,
Amanda's family shares what keeps them going. What God wants from people is to repent of their sin
and give their heart to Jesus. That's what I'm supposed to be telling everybody that lives in
this world. I'm supposed to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Davey has also shared similar
(19:44):
feelings about not holding on to anger and even that he's chosen to forgive the men responsible.
But I have to wake up and I have to decide to forgive. And here's why I decided to decide
to forgive is because bitterness and unforgiveness is going to be a cancer to no one else except for me.
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And it's going to eat me up inside if I hang on to that. And at the end of the day, like I said,
the Lord said, revenge is mine. And so the fact that on this side of eternity, who knows what's
going to happen. But on the other side of eternity, again, Jesus is going to restore and make all things
bad completely untrue. Right. And so he's going to take care of vengeance. All I have to do is trust
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that he's got all of this in control. Clearly in the wake of Amanda's murder,
faith is what really has kept this family going and given them a lot of their strength.
Their family does feel that God was using Amanda's death for a greater purpose.
Robin, her mother, has said that following her daughter's murder, she began hearing stories big
and small from people about how Amanda's death helped them grow closer to God. These stories
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have really helped her find strength throughout this horrible tragedy. Amanda's funeral was held
a few days before Larry's arrest and four churches came together to celebrate her life and honor her
memory. More than 2000 people showed up. Amanda was only 28 years old when she was murdered and
her baby didn't even get to begin her life. Not to mention she also has a son who is now going to
(21:22):
have to grow up without his mother. Heartbreaking, devastating doesn't even begin to describe it.
Luckily in the end, there was at least justice for Amanda and for her daughter.
Larry was arrested on November 22nd, but he wasn't the only one. Jalen was also arrested in late
November, followed by Gordon, who was arrested in December. In December, some more information
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came out that actually links Larry to other violent crimes. It turns out that the spree of
burglaries that ended with Amanda's murder had been going on for eight days and she wasn't the
only person that was killed. On November 3rd, Larry had broken into a woman's house where he raped her
at gunpoint. Then, the next day, he also robbed another man, who he ended up shooting in the head
(22:07):
and just left his body lying there next to his car. Larry is just gut-wrenchingly despicable.
Jalen and Gordon are also terrible, but Larry is a whole different situation. Two years after
Amanda's murder, in 2017, Jalen Watson ended up accepting a plea deal. In this deal, they would
drop several charges, including the charge of murder, in exchange for his testimony against Larry.
(22:31):
He would also still have to plead guilty on charges of robbery and burglary, but those obviously
carried much smaller sentences. In 2018, Gordon ended up accepting the same plea, meaning both of
Larry's co-conspirators would be testifying against him. For as straightforward as you would expect
his trial to be, there ended up being not one but two mistrials. The first trial took place in
(22:55):
December of 2021, and apparently Larry wasn't facing charges related to the unborn baby's death,
so the judge ruled that any mention of the baby or her pregnancy wasn't allowed. In that first trial,
several jurors revealed that they knew about the pregnancy, so it was declared a mistrial.
In the second trial, something similar happened. One of the jurors, a woman, for some reason,
(23:18):
decided to tell the rest of the jurors about the previous mistrial and also some details about the
case that they weren't aware of, even though she had told the court that she had never heard of the
case and didn't know anything. Because of her, for the second time, the trial was thrown out.
Thankfully, the third time was the charm, and this time, instead of a jury trial, he agreed to a
(23:39):
bench trial, which just means that the judge alone would decide the case. Thanks for joining us today.
Please come back again and hear another chilling episode of The True Crime Tales.
Please subscribe and comment below your thoughts on this case. Until next time, be safe out there.
How can someone with no motive just up and kill a young lady and her kid?
(00:04):
Today, we are going to talk about the murder of a young woman, Amanda Grace Byers.
Amanda was born on July 31, 1987 in Moson, Michigan to her parents Phil and Robin.
She was described as a great listener, gave to others without asking for anything in return,
and was someone who had deep emotional connections with the people that she loved.
(00:26):
So Amanda's sister Amber, who was a few years older than her, said that when they were younger,
the family was going on a vacation and they were going to be driving there,
and it was a seven-hour drive or something like that, a long car ride.
And she said that she remembered feeling annoyed that she was going to have to spend this long car
ride with her little sister. It's hard to have things in common with your sibling or spend
(00:47):
extended periods of time like that. But what's cool is that during this road trip, the two of them
ended up talking nonstop and something just clicked. They really connected. And Amber says
that this was a real turning point in their relationship and really the start of them
becoming incredibly close. Her family had actually moved from Michigan to Indianapolis
(01:07):
and then again to Elkhart, Indiana. And Elkhart was where Amanda went to school and where she
and her sister started getting really close. She graduated from Elkhart Christian Academy in 2006
and then went on to attend Pensacola Christian College, where she graduated from in 2008 with
her associate's degree. And that was a big year for Amanda because not only did she graduate,
(01:28):
but on August 1st, she also got married. Now, Amanda was first introduced to her husband,
Davey Blackburn, via a blind date through her sister, who was dating Davey's best friend.
And the two of them really just hit it off right away. Their first date was to go see a Christian
band, Hawk Nelson. That date went so well that the two of them ended up spending the whole rest of
(01:50):
the week together too. And I thought this was funny, but I guess at the end of the week,
they had a milkshake drinking contest and some of Amanda's milkshake actually shot through her nose
from laughter. And Davey said that he knew at that moment that he was going to marry her.
At the time, they weren't going to the same school, so they had to do the whole long distance thing.
But they made it work until they decided it was time to get married. She and her sister,
(02:14):
Amber, were very close. So close that they decided to have a joint wedding. Amber says that they both
got engaged around the same time, and planning their wedding together was just a really fun
experience for the two of them. Of course, like anything, there were some sisterly disagreements,
but in the end, it was one of the most important days of both of their lives. However, when it
(02:36):
came to the marriage itself, it definitely wasn't a walk in the park for Amanda and Davey. I mean,
at least not at first. Before getting married, they had only ever spent a few weeks together at
a time because, as a reminder, they were doing long distance for most of their relationship.
So when they actually got married and moved in together full time, it definitely posed some
(02:57):
challenges. But they did end up going to counseling together and learn how to better communicate,
and it seemed to really help. And it actually was something that they were very open about when they
went to church. They shared their story with other people, and I think it's pretty cool that they were
open about the hardships that they faced. They always, without a doubt, relied on their faith
(03:17):
to get through whatever life sent their way. In fact, their faith was such an integral part of
their lives that in 2012, they actually decided to make it their profession. That year, Davey and
Amanda decided to move from South Carolina, where they had been living and where Davey was working
as an assistant pastor, to Indianapolis to create their own church, which they called Resonate
(03:39):
Church. And they say that the story behind it is basically that God was calling upon them to create
their own church, and after denying his wish for months, they eventually knew that they had to
listen. Davey has said multiple times that starting this church was very difficult. He said that it
was like being placed in a parking lot and being asked to create a forest. But they say that through
(04:00):
their faith, and also a lot of hard work, Resonate Church began, and by 2015, it was really picking up
steam in the community. And if that weren't busy and exciting enough, during this time, Amanda also
found out that she was pregnant, and in 2014, they welcomed their son, Weston, into the world.
And Amanda definitely seemed like she was born to be a mother. Her calm composure and big heart are
(04:25):
just two of many qualities about Amanda that made her a very good mother. And so for a little over
a year, this family of three was living a life devoted to their faith and walking through the
world as they felt they were called to do. But on November 10, 2015, everything changed. That morning,
at 8.22 a.m., Davey came home from the gym to find that his beautiful wife, Amanda, was laying
(04:50):
face down in a pool of blood on their living room floor. Her shirt was pulled up over her head,
and her underwear had been removed, which suggested that maybe someone had attempted to assault her.
And next to her body were her credit cards and her wallet, as well as a knocked over decorative
ladder and lamp. And obviously, one of the first things that popped into his head was,
(05:11):
where's our son? Is he okay? So he runs upstairs, and thankfully, his baby was okay. And then as
soon as he confirmed that, he immediately called 911 and reported what he had walked into. Then,
minutes later, emergency services arrived. And although Amanda managed to hold on to life for
the rest of that day, on November 11, at 7.55 a.m., she was sadly removed from life support
(05:35):
after it was clear that she had no brain activity. In her autopsy, it was revealed that she had been
shot three times. Once to the lower left arm, once to the upper left back, and then finally,
the fatal shot, which was to the back of her head. Amanda also had some scratches on her left cheek,
her lip was split, and then one of her lower teeth had been knocked out as well. She was found with
(05:57):
her shirt pulled up over her head and with her underwear off. However, thankfully, when they did
the autopsy, there was nothing that made them believe that she was sexually assaulted. This was
more than just a single homicide because Amanda was pregnant. She was actually in her first trimester,
and their baby, who she and Davey were planning to name Everett, or Evie for short, also lost her
(06:20):
life. This was an absolute meaningless, senseless act of violence, really. So less than an hour
after 911 was called, a detective with the Indianapolis Metro Police Department, or IMPD,
arrived at Methodist Hospital, where Amanda was getting treatment, and he began taking statements,
the first of course being from Davey. And here's what he said happened that morning. So he woke up
(06:42):
at 4.30 and says that he read the Bible, and then he went to the gym at 6 a.m. And when he left the
house, he left the front door unlocked. Now, people have been very critical of this. He says that he
didn't lock the door for a few reasons, one of those reasons being that they only had one house
key, and it was actually on Amanda's keychain. And the second reason was that he felt like they lived
(07:04):
in a really safe neighborhood, and they would often just leave the front door unlocked because
they didn't feel like they had to lock it. But anyways, he goes to the gym around 6 o'clock,
and he stays there till about 7.10, and then he gets back in his car and starts driving home.
And while he's in the car, he gets on the phone with a friend. And even though he got home by 7.30,
(07:25):
he ended up staying in his car on the phone with his friend until 8.20, which is when he went inside
and found Amanda. And as for why he didn't go inside sooner, he explained that he didn't want
to wake Amanda or Weston up by talking on the phone, so he just decided to sit in his car while
they continued their conversation. But then, as soon as he gets off the phone, he walks into the
(07:46):
house and has no idea what he's about to walk into. And he walked into just about the most upsetting
scene that a person could possibly walk into. So while the detective is talking with Davey and
getting his statement of what happened that day, other detectives are back at the house, starting
to process the evidence at the scene. Amanda was found with her credit cards lying next to her on
(08:07):
the floor, but they also found a swisher suite cigar wrapper on the counter, which Davey later
confirmed did not belong to either of them. Also at the scene was a roll of duct tape, a pair of
earphones, Amanda's purse and wallet, as well as her underwear. They also noted what appeared to be
a bullet hole at the base of the stairwell, but no shell casings, which suggests that a revolver had
(08:28):
been used. And then upstairs, detectives found Amanda's phone, which ended up providing some key
information because Chase Bank had called at 7.53 a.m. and left a voicemail stating that there was
suspicious activity on her debit card. And given the timeline of events, they knew that Amanda
couldn't have been the one to have used the debit card. So they then realized that that specific
(08:49):
debit card was actually missing from the scene, which led them to think that this was a home
invasion gone wrong. And that theory ended up being confirmed very quickly because it turns out that
Amanda's home was one of three homes in the area that had been broken into that morning. And
thankfully, several neighbors had witnessed suspicious activity in their neighborhood that
morning, and they were able to share that with detectives, which definitely helped. For starters,
(09:14):
one woman reported that between 640 and 645 a.m., she remembered hearing what sounded like two
gunshots followed by the sound of a woman screaming. There was also another neighbor who told detectives
that that morning, he and his wife had actually seen a person dressed in all black with a hood
over his head standing outside in front of their trash cans. And then a different neighbor confirmed
(09:35):
that around 7.05 a.m., someone matching that same description was on their street talking loudly on
a cell phone. And then another neighbor said that at 7.10 a.m., he saw a man with the same description
walking on their street. And this neighbor watched as the man was picked up by a Chrysler Sebring,
which sped away. And this Chrysler Sebring ends up being very crucial, but it ended up being found.
(09:57):
It was abandoned, and they found it on November 11th so very quickly. And it was crucial for a
couple of reasons. And it basically goes back to the other two burglaries that happened that morning.
On the same morning that Amanda was murdered, a 911 call was placed at 5.23 a.m. from a woman who
said that her house had been broken into, and she actually slept through all of it. She had woken up
(10:20):
and realized that her cell phone wasn't next to her, which was odd. So she gets up and goes to check
to see if it was in the living room. When she goes into the living room, she notices that her
sliding glass door is open, and she also sees that her plants have been knocked over, and her Apple
Macbook laptop, purse, and car keys are all gone. Then she went into the parking lot and realized
(10:42):
that her car, a 2007 Chrysler Sebring, had been stolen. After this report was made, she and an
officer went through the security footage from her Xfinity home alarm system, and luckily some of the
burglary was captured on camera. In this footage, three men were captured on camera making their
entry by cutting the porch screen and then somehow unlocking the sliding glass door. However, at some
(11:06):
point, the footage just completely cuts out, and that's because these men realized that they were
on camera, and so they completely disabled the entire security system. At 8.17 a.m., which was
just minutes before Davey had called 911, someone down the street had actually called and reported
a burglary at their home. This person also had home security footage, which showed three men
(11:28):
cutting the porch screen and then entering through a sliding glass door. This time, the men managed
to steal four TVs, a Macbook Pro, a Tiffany Pearl necklace, a pink woman's sweater, an AT&T U-verse
remote, and then they also took, oddly enough, a bag of oranges and some bedsheets. They had
clearly taken their time at the scene. These guys were not too smart, and they decided to celebrate
(11:52):
or relax while they were in the middle of this burglary, and they had left open beer bottles and
wine bottles as well on the counter. This was particularly stupid, as you could probably guess.
This neighbor was not home when the burglary took place because, obviously, they probably
wouldn't have kicked back and had a few drinks if someone was home. Like we know, just minutes later,
(12:12):
Davey was calling 911, and it didn't just seem like a coincidence to detectives that the other
two houses had been broken into that morning. So, to bring this full circle, when that Chrysler was
found on November 11th, obviously, detectives searched it, and they found a receipt for a
failed ATM transaction for $500 because these idiots were dumb enough to just leave it in there.
(12:34):
Of course, they noticed that the last four digits of the card that was used and printed onto the
receipt matched Amanda's missing debit card. They also found a pink sweater, an AT&T remote,
a men's XXL sweatshirt, a bedsheet, and that bag of oranges in the car. Obviously, finding all of
this evidence in this stolen vehicle meant that these three burglaries were connected to each other,
(12:55):
and making this connection was huge because detectives knew from surveillance footage that
they were likely looking for three men, and whoever those three men were, were likely responsible for
Amanda's murder. So, obviously, their next step here is to swab the vehicle for any potential DNA,
and then send those samples off to be run through because detectives had obtained subpoena results
(13:16):
with photographs from the ATM associated with the failed $500 transaction. What did they see on this
footage? At 6.36 a.m., a man with a pink sweater wrapped around his face, wearing a white hoodie
and a dark vest, was attempting to withdraw $500 from Amanda's account. This same man was actually
seen on a second ATM surveillance camera later that morning at 6.54 a.m., and this time he was
(13:41):
successful and withdrew $400. So, obviously, the million-dollar question here is, who was this guy?
Well, thankfully, on November 17th, there was a hit in the Cody system, and they were able to make
arrests very quickly. The DNA that was taken off that pink sweater came up as a match for a guy
named Jalen Watson, who was recently out on parole for, what else, burglary. After looking him up,
(14:06):
detectives saw that he was very closely associated with another man who was also out on parole for
burglary named Gordon. So, they looked up the cell phone numbers that each of these guys had given to
the parole board and got search warrants for them. The hope was that they could track their cell data
and see if they were in the locations of the burglaries and the murder. What do you know?
(14:26):
Of course, they absolutely were. That's exactly what the data showed. Both cell phones placed
both men at all three homes, as well as the location of the ATM. But, as we know, detectives
were looking for three men. So, who was this third guy? Well, cell phone data once again basically
served his ass up on a silver platter. It turns out that while Gordon and Jalen's phones placed
(14:50):
them at the ATM machines that morning, five calls were being made to a third number, aka a third
person. So, that third number was traced, and data showed that the phone was at Amanda's house right
around the time that they believe she was murdered. So, once again, the question now is, who was this
third guy? Well, detectives quickly learned that it was a guy named Larry Joe Taylor Jr. After tracing
(15:14):
his phone's current location, detectives showed up to try and talk to him. Not a whole lot happened
in this conversation initially. All they were able to do was confirm that the phone number belonged
to him and kind of put eyes on him. So, of course, detectives did the same thing for the other two
numbers. They traced their current location, and it brought them to one apartment where a girl
(15:35):
actually opened the door. She confirmed that not only did she know all three of those men and who
they were, but that all three were at her apartment on November 10th, and that they left that day
together around 3.30 in the morning. Plus, she was able to identify that vest, the one that was seen
in the ATM footage, and she was actually able to show it to detectives. It was hanging in her closet,
(15:57):
and she explained that it was her boyfriend's, but that Jalen would sometimes wear it. Lastly,
she showed detectives a pistol that was under her bed, and she said that either Jalen or Gordon had
put it there. So, overall, she was very helpful. If detectives weren't already pretty confident that
they had found their guys going into talking with her, everything that she showed them and told them
(16:19):
really just solidified their beliefs. The two of them just talked about driving off and leaving
Larry there, but then he came outside and he just tossed Amanda's debit card into the car. From there,
they decided to keep moving forward with their plan, and they took the debit card to two different
ATMs. The CI actually added a little bit more context to this part as well. There were five
(16:40):
calls to Larry's phone while Jalen and Gordon were at the ATM. The reason for that is because
they were communicating about Amanda's PIN number. Basically, Jalen and Gordon are at the ATM trying
to pull money out of Amanda's account. Meanwhile, Larry is back still at Amanda's house, communicating
with them. The reason that the first transaction likely failed was because they probably were given
(17:03):
the wrong code. At least that's what detectives believe. Jalen and Gordon were thinking about not
even going back to get Larry at all, but he threatened that he would kill Amanda if they
didn't. As we know from the CI and the first burglary, they weren't intending to kill anybody,
so they decided to go back for him, but he did not stay true to his word. According to the CI,
(17:24):
Larry told Jalen, Gordon, and possibly two other people that he had killed the woman in the house.
It's hard to wrap your mind around how someone could actually be this evil, but he told them that
he shot her three times and then just stood over her and watched as she bled out. On November 22,
2015, Larry Joe Taylor Jr. was arrested and charged with one count of murder, two counts of felony
(17:47):
murder, burglary at a level one felony, two counts of burglary at a level four felony,
three counts of theft, robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, criminal confinement,
auto theft, and carrying a handgun without a license. In breaking developments in the
Amanda Blackburn murder overnight, police arrested and booked a teenager on preliminary murder
(18:08):
charges, and now we are hearing from the Blackburn's husband and relatives, Pastor
Davey Blackburn saying, quote, today I am deciding to love, not hate. Today I am deciding to extend
forgiveness, not bitterness. 18-year-old Larry Joe Taylor is facing over a dozen different counts,
including multiple murder charges for the brutal killing of Amanda Blackburn. Now detectives with
(18:32):
IMPD's violent crimes and gang units made the arrest late last night around 10-20 with federal
help coming from the U.S. Marshals. Then, just a few days later, Amanda's dad talked about how
for his absolutely horrible of a death that his daughter had experienced, he was not holding on
to feelings of anger. I have had a hard time with feelings of anger, to tell you the truth.
(18:56):
Buyers opened up for the first time after his daughter's murder. There's no good thing down
the road of anger. It causes bitterness and sometimes rage, and I don't want to live there.
And a place of hate versus love. I think that's what I would tell him. That is not the only
message he has for the man accused of killing Amanda. Shame on you. You've taken something
(19:20):
very dear to us without cause. Police say it was a crime of opportunity. Now, at every opportunity,
Amanda's family shares what keeps them going. What God wants from people is to repent of their sin
and give their heart to Jesus. That's what I'm supposed to be telling everybody that lives in
this world. I'm supposed to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Davey has also shared similar
(19:44):
feelings about not holding on to anger and even that he's chosen to forgive the men responsible.
But I have to wake up and I have to decide to forgive. And here's why I decided to decide
to forgive is because bitterness and unforgiveness is going to be a cancer to no one else except for me.
(20:07):
And it's going to eat me up inside if I hang on to that. And at the end of the day, like I said,
the Lord said, revenge is mine. And so the fact that on this side of eternity, who knows what's
going to happen. But on the other side of eternity, again, Jesus is going to restore and make all things
bad completely untrue. Right. And so he's going to take care of vengeance. All I have to do is trust
(20:34):
that he's got all of this in control. Clearly in the wake of Amanda's murder,
faith is what really has kept this family going and given them a lot of their strength.
Their family does feel that God was using Amanda's death for a greater purpose.
Robin, her mother, has said that following her daughter's murder, she began hearing stories big
and small from people about how Amanda's death helped them grow closer to God. These stories
(20:59):
have really helped her find strength throughout this horrible tragedy. Amanda's funeral was held
a few days before Larry's arrest and four churches came together to celebrate her life and honor her
memory. More than 2000 people showed up. Amanda was only 28 years old when she was murdered and
her baby didn't even get to begin her life. Not to mention she also has a son who is now going to
(21:22):
have to grow up without his mother. Heartbreaking, devastating doesn't even begin to describe it.
Luckily in the end, there was at least justice for Amanda and for her daughter.
Larry was arrested on November 22nd, but he wasn't the only one. Jalen was also arrested in late
November, followed by Gordon, who was arrested in December. In December, some more information
(21:45):
came out that actually links Larry to other violent crimes. It turns out that the spree of
burglaries that ended with Amanda's murder had been going on for eight days and she wasn't the
only person that was killed. On November 3rd, Larry had broken into a woman's house where he raped her
at gunpoint. Then, the next day, he also robbed another man, who he ended up shooting in the head
(22:07):
and just left his body lying there next to his car. Larry is just gut-wrenchingly despicable.
Jalen and Gordon are also terrible, but Larry is a whole different situation. Two years after
Amanda's murder, in 2017, Jalen Watson ended up accepting a plea deal. In this deal, they would
drop several charges, including the charge of murder, in exchange for his testimony against Larry.
(22:31):
He would also still have to plead guilty on charges of robbery and burglary, but those obviously
carried much smaller sentences. In 2018, Gordon ended up accepting the same plea, meaning both of
Larry's co-conspirators would be testifying against him. For as straightforward as you would expect
his trial to be, there ended up being not one but two mistrials. The first trial took place in
(22:55):
December of 2021, and apparently Larry wasn't facing charges related to the unborn baby's death,
so the judge ruled that any mention of the baby or her pregnancy wasn't allowed. In that first trial,
several jurors revealed that they knew about the pregnancy, so it was declared a mistrial.
In the second trial, something similar happened. One of the jurors, a woman, for some reason,
(23:18):
decided to tell the rest of the jurors about the previous mistrial and also some details about the
case that they weren't aware of, even though she had told the court that she had never heard of the
case and didn't know anything. Because of her, for the second time, the trial was thrown out.
Thankfully, the third time was the charm, and this time, instead of a jury trial, he agreed to a
(23:39):
bench trial, which just means that the judge alone would decide the case. Thanks for joining us today.
Please come back again and hear another chilling episode of The True Crime Tales.
Please subscribe and comment below your thoughts on this case. Until next time, be safe out there.
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