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{{Use American English|date=March 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox event
|partof=[[mass shootings in the United States]]
|date=June 1, 2006
|location=Indianapolis, Indiana
|motive=Unknown|venue=House on 560 North Hamilton Avenue
|deaths=7
|reported injuries=0|convicted=James Stewart and Desmond Turner
}}
The '''Hamilton Avenue murders''' is the colloquial name for the [[mass murder]] of seven people in a house at 560 North Hamilton Avenue in [[Indianapolis, Indiana]], on June 1, 2006.

==Incident==
According to the [[television program]] ''[[America's Most Wanted]]'', the [[Indianapolis Police Department]] responded to a 911 call just after 10:00 p.m. They found seven dead victims, three of whom were children. The victims were shot with a military-style weapon, police charged. Evidence technicians recovered 23 discharged [[7.62x39mm]] cartridge casings from the scene. These cartridges accommodate high velocity bullets used in AK-47 and SKS-type rifles.<ref name=":0" />

Witnesses said two suspects were seen entering the house shortly before the murders were believed to have taken place. Flora Albarran arrived with a friend to pick up her son around 10:00 p.m. Albarran's brother, Magno, also arrived about the same time. Both noticed that the house lights were out, which they knew was odd. When Flora Albarran entered, witnesses said she screamed to her friend not to come in. The suspects were seen leaving through the front door moments later.<ref>[http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=39033 America's Most Wanted, "Seven Family Members Slain; Manhunt Underway", June 2, 2006] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070622050635/http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=39033 |date=June 22, 2007 }}</ref>

==Victims==
The victims were identified as:<ref>[http://www.indystar.com/article/99999999/NEWS02/91008056 IndyStar.com, "The Seven Victims"]{{dead link|date=June 2016}}</ref>

* Emma Valdez, 46
* Alberto Covarrubias, 56, Valdez's husband
* Flora Albarran, 22, Valdez's daughter
* Magno Albarran, 29, Valdez's son, Flora Albarran's brother
* Luis Albarran, 5, Flora Albarran's son
* David Covarrubias, 8, Valdez's son
* Alberto Covarrubias, 11, Valdez's son

== Perpetrators ==
Police identified the suspects as James Stewart and Desmond Turner.

Stewart was arrested without incident the following day. Turner, who had finished a four-year stint in [[prison]] only six months before, was the subject of a widespread [[Manhunt (law enforcement)|manhunt]] by local, state, and federal authorities. He was captured on June 3, two days after the murders, when he turned himself in without incident at a [[Hardee's|Hardee's restaurant]] on Indianapolis's east side.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=4984676 |title=WTHR.com, "Desmond Turner Surrenders to Police" |access-date=2007-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715051737/http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=4984676 |archive-date=2007-07-15 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Prosecutors charged Turner and Stewart with seven counts of [[murder]], seven counts of [[felony murder rule|felony murder]], seven counts of criminal confinement, [[robbery]], [[burglary]], carrying a handgun without a license (Stewart), and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon (Stewart).<ref>http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/09281101rdr.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref> Prosecutors originally sought the [[death penalty]] against Turner, but eventually dropped that request and sought a sentence of [[life imprisonment|life without parole]] in exchange for Turner agreeing to waive his right to a trial by jury and instead be tried before a judge only.<ref>[http://www.indystar.com/article/20091022/LOCAL18/910220424/1112/NEWS10/Judge-could-get-Hamilton-Ave.-case-today ''Indianapolis Star'', "Prosecutors Wrap Up Case in Hamilton Avenue Slayings", October 22, 2009] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208162955/http://www.indystar.com/article/20091022/LOCAL18/910220424/1112/NEWS10/Judge-could-get-Hamilton-Ave.-case-today |date=December 8, 2015 }}</ref> Both suspects maintained their innocence, but Stewart's [[girlfriend]] claimed that he admitted his role in the shootings.<ref>[http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070601/LOCAL/70601038 ''Indianapolis Star'', "Hamilton Ave. Victims Honored", June 1, 2007] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016205010/http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20070601%2FLOCAL%2F70601038 |date=October 16, 2007 }}</ref>

Turner was convicted of seven counts of [[felony murder rule|felony murder]], seven counts of criminal confinement, [[burglary]], and [[robbery]] and was sentenced on November 20, 2009, to [[life imprisonment]] without parole plus 88 years.<ref>[http://blogs.indystar.com/crime/2009/11/1145_am_desmond.html IndyStar.com: Justice Watch, "Life Plus 88 Years in Prison for Turner", November 20, 2009] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100123233239/http://blogs.indystar.com/crime/2009/11/1145_am_desmond.html |date=January 23, 2010 }}</ref> On September 28, 2011, the [[Indiana Supreme Court]] unanimously affirmed Turner's convictions and sentence in full.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Indiana Supreme Court|date=September 28, 2011|title=Desmond Turner v. State of Indiana|url=https://public.courts.in.gov/Decisions/api/Document/Opinion?Id=qwJUgXsFtvYG3Cy9T7zLBtz4d7YKV9dOqm4egHygAGY1xpobBa1VqWuYDmrXhp440|url-status=live|access-date=March 3, 2021|website=Indiana Appellate Decisions}}</ref>

Stewart was convicted of seven counts of [[felony murder rule|felony murder]], six counts of criminal confinement, [[robbery]], [[burglary]], carrying a handgun without a license, and being a [[habitual offender]]; he was sentenced on January 6, 2010 to 425 years in prison.<ref>[http://www.indystar.com/article/20100106/NEWS/100106039/Hamilton-Ave.-killer-gets-425-years ''Indianapolis Star'', "Hamilton Ave. Killer Gets 425 Years", January 6, 2010] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151209010224/http://www.indystar.com/article/20100106/NEWS/100106039/Hamilton-Ave.-killer-gets-425-years |date=December 9, 2015 }}</ref> On April 18, 2011, the [[Indiana Court of Appeals]] affirmed all of Stewart's convictions and sentences except for the robbery conviction and resulting four-year sentence, which it vacated because that conviction violated the constitutional protections against [[double jeopardy]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Court of Appeals of Indiana|date=April 18, 2011|title=James Stewart v. State of Indiana|url=https://public.courts.in.gov/Decisions/api/Document/Opinion?Id=p2L6pSxUuU_I0H2oSpVk8lnRas8_EBDhl69Ave0YPP5ZIB5_t0vF9YMK4uPLIkpX0|url-status=live|access-date=March 3, 2021|website=Indiana Appellate Decisions}}</ref> The opinion left Stewart with a 425-year aggregate sentence. The Indiana Supreme Court denied a review of the Stewart appeal on September 28, 2011, the same day it rejected Turner's appeal.

==Aftermath==
The house was set on fire in an [[arson]] attack on August 23, 2008. It was demolished on July 16, 2010.<ref>{{cite web|last=Dumandan|first=Joy|date=July 16, 2010|title=City razes Hamilton Ave mass murder home|url=http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/local/marion_county/city-razes-hamilton-ave-mass-murder-home|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100719164552/http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/local/marion_county/city-razes-hamilton-ave-mass-murder-home|archivedate=July 19, 2010|accessdate=July 16, 2010|website=[[WISH-TV]]}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Mass shootings in the United States in the 2000s}}

[[Category:2006 in Indiana]]
[[Category:2006 mass shootings in the United States]]
[[Category:2006 murders in the United States]]
[[Category:2000s in Indianapolis]]
[[Category:21st-century mass murder in the United States]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in Indiana]]
[[Category:Family murders]]
[[Category:June 2006 crimes]]
[[Category:June 2006 events in the United States]]
[[Category:Mass murder in 2006]]
[[Category:Mass murder in Indiana]]
[[Category:Mass shootings in Indiana]]
[[Category:Mass shootings in the United States]]
[[Category:Murder in Indianapolis]]

Hamilton Avenue murders - Revision history

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