Solved Murders - True Crime Stories - CONVICTED OF A CRIME THEY DON'T KNOW HE COMMITTED THE CASE OF THE PELLEY FAMILY PART1 #35

Episode Date: September 12, 2025

#horrorstories #reddithorrorstories #ScaryStories #creepypasta #horrortales #wrongfulconviction #legalhorror #familymystery #injustice #crimeandpunishment  This tale unfolds the chilling case of a wrongful conviction wrapped in family secrets and hidden truths. The accused remains silent about what really happened, leaving those closest to him in confusion and fear. As investigations collide with fractured loyalties and buried memories, the story questions the very nature of justice and truth. Part 1 sets the stage for a deep dive into the emotional, psychological, and legal horrors faced by those caught in a nightmare of accusation and silence.  horrorstories, reddithorrorstories, scarystories, horrorstory, creepypasta, horrortales, wrongfulconviction, familysecrets, legaldrama, crimehorror, injustice, mysterycase, darkfamilyhistory, psychologicaldrama, courtroomhorror, hauntingtruths, fracturedfamilies, silenceandsecrecy, terrifyingaccusations, realcrimehorror

We begin. This story begins in 1989, in a beautiful little house located in the small town of Lakeville, Indiana. This house, although it seemed like it, was not like the others. It was the house of the Reverend of the People's Church, Robert Lee Pelly, better known as simply Bob. Bob had a very quiet life and although we don't really know much about him, we do know that in his youth, in 1970, he married Ava Joyce Armstrong, with whom he had two children, Jeff and Jackie. However, in 1985, Ava passed away and he remarried, this time to Don Marie. Dawn, in turn, was also a widow. In fact, that same year she had lost her husband. From that marriage, she had three daughters, Jessica, Janelle Marie, and Jolene Megan.

We don't have much information about their love story, Although according to some forums, Bob's children did not agree with this marriage. Their mother had literally died just months earlier, very recently, and they felt that Bob didn't mourn properly. Their mother was literally freshly buried, and for him to remarry so soon seemed like a lack of respect. At that time, both children were pre-teens, hormones raging, rebellious, and this act seemed like a betrayal. It was an inappropriate gesture that didn't make sense, especially to the eldest son, Jeff. He was rebellious, talked back, and always made extremely inappropriate comments. Nevertheless, the Pelly family relied on appearances, and from the outside, everything looked perfect.

Bob, the Reverend of the Lakeville Church, lived in a parish house, and its doors were always open to everyone. We could say this family had no time to fight or argue because whenever they did, the doors would just open. They never locked the house, everything was open. People came and went, parishioners, friends, neighbors. They didn't even have to ring the bell. So, arguments were impossible. Either you yelled in front of people or you stayed silent. And Bob raised his children to keep silent. So, anger had no place in that house. And another very important thing, God was the center of their world. The Word of God, faith, peace, harmony, this was the most important thing for Bob Pelly, and his family had to reflect the church, reflect his own faith. He wanted to inspire

peace and harmony. So, his children had to follow that path. However, Jeff made that very difficult. And we will return to this point later. Jessica, Dawn's eldest daughter, remembers this period in a bittersweet way. On one hand, she remembers happiness, but on the other, a lot of tension. She recalls that Bob was a man with a strong character and raised her and her siblings with a firm hand. Even the girls, who technically weren't his daughters, were treated as his own children, and punished just the same. In fact, according to her, she remembers that he was excessively strict, punishing them for the smallest things, yelling, tolerating no tantrums, and that many times she saw him more as a tyrant than as a father. And she felt the same way about her older

brother Jeff, whom she saw as a younger version of Bob himself. Jeff knew exactly which buttons to push to make this man angry. He broke curfew, talked back, did whatever he wanted, and Bob completely lost his temper. Also, as a brother, Jeff could be quite mean. When he was in a good mood, he was great, affectionate, generous, attentive, but when he was in a bad mood, he could be a demon. And if he was in a bad mood, the best thing to do was stay out of his way, because being his target was no fun. In 1989, Jessica was nine years old and, leaving aside the household tensions, her life was very normal, peaceful. Her best friend was a girl from church, Stephanie Fagan, and the two were always together, in the cornfields, at her house, or at Stephanie's house. In fact, people thought they were sisters because

they were always together. There was no Stephanie without Jessica and no Jessica without Stephanie. Their lives were all fun and innocence. And everything stayed that way until Friday, April 28, 1989, when things changed forever. That Friday, Jackie, the older sister, went to church camp, and Jessica went for the weekend to a friend's house where supposedly there was going to be a sleepover party. Several girls would be there, having fun. And like Jackie, she would return home on Sunday, April 30th. Friday passed. Saturday, April 29th arrived, and in the afternoon, the Pelly House filled with people. That night there was a dance at the local high school. Jeff was going to that dance. He had his tuxedo, a date, everything ready. Around 5.30 p.m., he said goodbye to everyone and left. The night passed.

Sunday morning came, and around 9 a.m., Stephanie Fagan knocked on their door. Usually, she didn't have to. She would walk through the yard and enter through the back door, everything was always open. The Pellys were always there with a smile. But this time, the doors were locked. She tried the back, went around to the front door, rang the bell, no one answered. Seeing no one was home, Stephanie went to the church right next to the house and told her parents. Everyone then went to the Pelly House. They rang the bell, knocked on windows, went to the back door. It wasn't normal for the house to be locked, it made no sense. Worried, they called the police. And when the officers entered,

they found a scene that made no sense, the entire family lay lifeless inside the the house. Bob's body was on the floor in a pool of blood in front of the basement door. According to the police, he had been shot twice. Going down the stairs, they found the bodies of Dawn and her two daughters, Janelle and Jolene. All three had been shot. The most heartbreaking thing was that Dawn had tried to protect the girls, she positioned herself in front of them, hugged them, shielded them, and yet the attacker showed no mercy. They killed all four without hesitation. And the most disturbing part, nothing made sense. The house was clean, tidy, nothing was missing. The motive for the crime was not robbery. And seeing the bodies, it seemed like an execution.

They searched the house for the weapon or any evidence and realized that the weapon had to be inside the house because, displayed on a wall in the dining room, there had been two weapons, a bow and a shotgun. And the shotgun was missing. doors and windows were locked. There were no signs of forced entry. All of this pointed to one thing, the killer knew the victims, and not only knew them but also knew the layout of the house. This didn't seem like a robbery.

It didn't seem like a home invasion. As a detective, I saw the worst of the worst that morning. But we had a job to do. So, we immediately started talking about suspects. statements by Mark Center, former Indiana State Police Detective. While the scene was being processed, the older children started arriving at the house. Jackie returned from camp, came home, and found the place full of police. Jeff, that morning, was at an amusement park with his girlfriend.

So when he came back, he found everything. But the biggest impact was on little Jessica. Her friend's mother drove her home, and she was so young. young that she didn't understand anything. She saw the woman get out of the car, talk to the police, cry, people asking questions, talking to her. She saw tension, chaos, she didn't understand. Days later, on May 3rd, she had to attend her family's funeral. She only remembers seeing the coffins, and the rest is blurry in her mind. It was such a traumatic event that her mind couldn't process it. She didn't understand anything. The place was full of people, journalists,

cameras, it was packed. Stranger speaking to her, asking questions. But the worst part was yet to come. The police wanted to talk to the three older children because they believed the key to the case was with them. They spoke with the eldest daughter, Jackie. She had been away, far away. They spoke with Jessica, she didn't remember anything, she had been away too. And then they spoke with the eldest son, Jeff, who, remember, had been at the house until Saturday evening. On Saturday, April 29th, the Pelly House was full of people. Many who were going to the dance wanted to show Bob their dresses or tuxedos. So until about 5 p.m., there was a lot of movement in and out of the house. statements by Frank Chiva, Deputy District Attorney of St. Joseph County.

But according to witnesses, after 5.30 p.m., no one could get in. They knocked on the door, rang the bell, and the entire house was locked tight, which, remember, was very strange. Doors and windows, whether it was hot or cold, were always open. Bob always welcomed everyone. No matter the time, no matter the reason. Every visit was well received. This supposedly placed the time of death between 5 p.m. and 5.20 p.m.

At that time, Jeff arrived at a friend's house, supposedly with the tuxedo in his hand, not wearing it. According to tradition, he had to pick up his girlfriend from her parents' house, dressed in his tuxedo, with flowers, take pictures there, and then go to the dance together. But that's not what happened. He met her at a friend's house. He arrived without the tuxedo, put it on there, they took pictures, and then went to the dance. All night Jeff was the life of the party. He joked, smiled, took pictures, was full of energy, happy, having fun. And supposedly, that night he didn't sleep at home, he stayed with his girlfriend. Sunday, April 30th arrived. He went to an amusement park and, while having fun, suddenly stopped smiling. He told his girlfriend he had a bad feeling,

that he felt something had happened to his family. So they left the park, and Jeff returned home, where he found everything full of police. To be continued.