David Camm

Floyd County, Indiana
Date of Crime:  September 28, 2000

David Camm, a former Indiana state trooper, was convicted in 2002 of the murders of his wife Kimberly, daughter Jill, 5, and son Bradley, 7. Inside the garage of the Camm residence, the children had been shot to death while sitting in the back seat of the family's Ford Bronco. Kim was shot to death next to the Bronco. The residence was on Lockhart Road in Georgetown, IN.

Kim's brown shoes were off her feet and found laying neatly on top of the passenger side roof of the Bronco. She was found stripped to her panties as her pants and stockings had been removed. Her panties were rolled inward indicating that they had hurriedly been put on. Her feet had injuries consistent with being stomped on with hard sole shoes. Two condoms of recent origin were found in the septic tank of the Camm residence. The killer may have used them as Kim and Dave reportedly did not use condoms.

Five-year-old Jill suffered blunt force trauma to her genital area. Although her hymen was not broken, the prosecution alleged that the trauma was the result of Dave molesting Jill, even though there was no other evidence to support the allegation. Such trauma would have been noticeable if it had occurred before the time of the murders, as Jill would have had a painful time urinating. No such problem was reported, and Jill was reportedly running around freely at Brad's swimming practice shortly before the murders. The prosecution alleged that this purported molestation occurred hours or days before the murders and that the murders were committed to cover it up.

On the night of the murders Dave had gone to play basketball at the gymnasium of the Georgetown Community Church, 2 1/2 miles from his home. Testimony along with records of the gym security alarm indicated he entered the gym with the other players at 6:59 p.m. and exited with them at 9:22 p.m. Eleven witnesses testified that he was in the gymnasium the whole time. Of the three basketball games that were played, Dave played the first two. He sat on the sidelines during the third game, talking to a church elder. Since no witness could specifically remember seeing Dave every minute of the two plus hours the gym was open, the prosecution alleged that Dave slipped away from the gym, committed the murders, then returned without anyone noticing his absence.

The murders were reported at 9:29 p.m. by Dave after he arrived home from basketball. It is not clear when exactly the murders occurred, but evidence indicated that the victims left Brad's swimming practice at 7:10 p.m. and arrived home about 7:35 p.m. The prosecution conceded that Dave could not have committed the murders after he left the gym at 9:22 p.m.

After arriving home, Dave leaned over Jill in the backseat of the Bronco, and picked up Brad, thinking he was still alive, and tried to perform CPR on him. In the process, he got eight tiny bloodstains on the bottom of his shirt that apparently came from beaded blood droplets on Jill's hair. At trial, it was alleged that these bloodstains were from high velocity blood spatter caused by firing a gun into the victims.

A sweatshirt was found at that the crime scene that was alleged to have been worn by Dave during basketball. The sweatshirt had the name BACKBONE hand printed on the inside rear collar. The DNA of an unknown male and female was found on it as well as that of Kim and Brad Camm. At trial, the prosecution argued that while a state trooper, Dave had had relationships with other women, and it also argued he molested Jill. In 2004, Dave's conviction was overturned due to the introduction of prejudicial allegations regarding relationships and molestation.

In preparation for a retrial, the defense petitioned the court to compare the unknown DNA from the crime to the state's DNA database. The unknown male DNA and a palm print matched another man, Charles Darnell Boney, and showed he was present at the crime. Evidence also identified Boney's girlfriend, Mala Singh, as being present. Boney had a sexual fetish for shoes. He also had prior convictions for assaulting women for their shoes. According to a list of inmate nicknames kept by Indiana prison officials, Boney used the moniker BACKBONE.

Rather than admit it was mistaken about Dave, the prosecution offered Boney a deal. If he would testify that he committed the murders with Dave, the prosecution would not seek the death penalty against him. Boney so testified, even though there was no evidence to corroborate Boney's story. A few prison informants also testified against Dave, but since Boney had not been identified when the informants first related the stories, their stories had Dave acting alone. The state also introduced the prejudicial allegations used in the first trial despite their being the reason his first conviction had been overturned. Dave was reconvicted of the crime in 2006. In June 2009, Dave's conviction was again overturned for the same reason as his first conviction.  [6/09]

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References:  www.justicefordavidcamm.com, 48 Hours

Posted in:  Victims of the State, Indiana Cases, Police Officer Defendants, Wife Murder Cases, Triple Homicide Cases