Quadruple homicide suspect in Indy pleads guilty
The man accused of killing four people in Indianapolis in February 2014 has pleaded guilty to the slayings.
Kenneth "Cody" Rackemann, the man accused of killing four people in February 2014, has pleaded guilty to the slayings, Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry's office announced Friday.
Rackemann will serve four consecutive life sentences without parole for the killings, and an additional 20 years for a charge of robbery, a Class B felony, Curry's office said.
Friday's announcement comes more than a month after Rackemann backed out of an earlier plea deal in connection with the crime. During a court hearing in December, Rackemann, 26, said he "can't go forward" with the first agreement.
"I'm sitting here lying under oath," Rackemann said at the time, during a hearing in which he did not admit to a conspiracy between him and the other defendants to go to one of the victims' house and rob and kill them.
Police say Rackemann and three others went to the house of Walter "Buddy" Burnell, 47, to rob the victims of drugs and money. He is accused of fatally shooting Burnell; Jacob Rodemich, 43; and Kristy Sanchez, 22; and wounding Hayley Navarro, 21. Court records say Rackemann directed an accomplice, Valencia Williams, 23, to kill Navarro after he ran out of bullets.
"Kenneth Rackemann will spend the rest of his life in prison under this sentence," Curry said in a statement released Friday. "Whether achieved by jury verdict or admission of guilt, holding a criminal responsible for his or her actions is the justice we seek for every crime victim in Marion County, just as Rackemann has been held accountable for these homicides."
Rackemann is the second defendant in the case to plead guilty. Samantha Bradley, 22, pleaded guilty in August 2014 to conspiracy to commit robbery resulting in death, a Class A felony. She is still awaiting sentencing.
Cases for the two other defendants, Anthony LaRussa, 28, and Williams, are pending.
Call Star reporter Jill Disis at (317) 444-6137. Follow her on Twitter: @jdisis.