Evansville News: Education, Bad Weather and a Possible Murder Case
by: Amanda Springer
There is always something happening in Evansville, even if it is just the abnormal weather. To start, this recent story concerning the University of Evansville may interest college-bound seniors. The University of Evansville is proud to claim a 97% retention rate of its freshman for the spring semester. This is the highest retention rate for the university in the past 10 years. Similar figures for the University of Southern Indiana will not be available until later in the year.
The unexpected snowfall on the morning of January 14 resulted in approximately 56 property damage accidents and six injury accidents just between 5:30 am and 9:30 am. This figure doesn't include accidents involving people who slid off the road and did not need to file a police report. Unfortunately for the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation, four of those accidents involved its school buses. Four buses were involved in separate accidents, but no one was injured and the students were eventually returned safely to their respective schools. Marsha Jackson, a spokeswoman for the EVSC, defended the corporation's decision to not operate on a two-hour delay by stating that the situation did not appear serious when the decision was made to not operate on a delay, at 5 am.
Judy Leann Davis, suspected of beating Bailey Bell Sr. to death, was released January 16. Police were called to Davis' home January 11 at approximately 4 pm in response to reports of a man who had been beaten. A witness stated that Davis came to his home and asked him to help her move Bell's body out of her house into the alley. Davis stated that Bell had been drinking and he grabbed her inappropriately, so she responded by kicking him. Davis had then continued to kick Bell four or five times in the face and head. However, the autopsy on Bell revealed that he died from a loss of blood from a wound on his hip. These initial results from the autopsy caused police to reconsider filing murder charges against Davis. The autopsy results are not final and the police are awaiting the final results.
Two bodies found in a car in rural Vanderburgh County on January 22 have been identified as Krystal Vogler, 28, and Karen Vogler, 60, both from Jasper County. They are daughter and mother, respectively. They died from gunshot wounds that appeared self-inflicted. Although they were discovered Monday, it is likely that they died on Saturday, which is the day they were reported missing in Jasper and the day that they purchased two rifles in Evansville. It is unclear why the pair was in Evansville, although Krystal Vogler had lived there for a long period of time. A suicide note has been discovered, but no information about its contents has been reported.
The strong line of storms that occurred January 29, 2008 killed an 83-year-old mother, Kathyrn Mason, and her 57-year-old daughter, Donna Faye Zoph. Their mobile home, located at the top of a hill on Murphy Road north of Poseyville, was blown off its foundation at 5:40 p.m. that night. When police arrived, the trailer was overturned and badly damaged.
Sources:
Bad weather news:
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/jan/14/roads-very-slick-after-overnight-snow/
Beating case:
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/jan/16/suspect-in-beating-death-freed/
UE statistics:
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/jan/16/ue-freshman-retention-highest-ever/
Mother and daughter suicide:
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/jan/22/two-bodies-found-in-county-mother-daughter-to-be/
Trailer deaths:
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/jan/30/no-headline---30a01weather/