CARMEL — Three people have been arrested in connection with a January homicide investigation in Carmel, according to police.
Carmel Police Department officers found Francis Kelley dead inside his home on Jan. 18 on Howe Drive, south of Oak Ridge Drive and West 146th Street, according to a press release from police. An investigation found his death was the result of a homicide.
On Thursday evening, police announced the arrests of three people in connection with his death.
Heidi Littlefield, 41, of Sheridan, was charged with murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, according to the release and online court records.
Logan Runyon, 22, of Englewood, Ohio, was charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder, according to the release and online court records.
Robert Walker, 29, also of Englewood, Ohio, was charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, according to the release and online court records.
According to court documents, an autopsy on Jan. 20 determined Kelley's cause of death was asphyxia due to strangulation. A toxicology test also found Kelley had fentanyl in his system at the time of his death.
Littlefield and Runyon put fentanyl in Kelley’s oatmeal inside the fridge, according to court documents.
Around 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 15, Kelley texted Littlefield and asked if she did something “to the oatmeal that was in my fridge,” according to court documents. “What the actual f**k are you talking about????” Littlefield responded.
“You were in my fridge last night and it tasted funny after a couple of bites and now I am light headed,” Kelley said in a text message to Littlefield. He said he just got off the phone and had to ask them to “repeat things basic things.”
Littlefield sent two other messages that went unread by Kelley. The last email he sent on his work computer was at 1:56 p.m., which, his employer said, was “highly unusual” for him, according to court documents.
During the investigation, detectives learned Littlefield and Runyon went inside Kelley’s home on Jan. 15 and found he still had a pulse and was on the kitchen floor, according to court documents. Littlefield then grabbed his “favorite tie,” tried to strangle Kelley, and smashed his head on the floor. They then left Kelley on the floor and left.
Kelley was found dead on a couch inside the home on Jan. 18, according to court documents.
Detectives later learned Littlefield paid Walker $2,500 to find someone to kill Kelley, but ended up spending the money on other items, according to court documents.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Det. Loveall at 317-571-2500, gloveall@carmel.in.gov, or Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-TIPS (8477) and mention Carmel police case number 21-4365.
