INDIANAPOLIS – Former Indianapolis Public Schools special education teacher Hunter Sesemann has been indicted by a Marion County grand jury on nine criminal charges arising from accusations of physical abuse involving young students with disabilities at Washington Irving Neighborhood School 14 in Indianapolis.

The indictment, filed Oct. 19, 2026, in Marion Superior Court, includes six Level 6 felony charges and three Class B misdemeanor charges. Specifically, Sesemann faces three felony counts of battery on a person less than 14 years old, three felony counts of battery against a person with a disability, and three misdemeanor counts of battery.

The charges stem from incidents occurring in the fall of 2025. Prosecutors state that Sesemann knowingly subjected two juvenile victims to unlawful physical contact while they were under his care. Both children were younger than 14 years old and had mental disabilities.

Attorneys Catherine Michael of Connell Michael LLP and Tammy Meyer of Metzger Rosta LLP represent both juvenile victims identified in the criminal indictment, as well as a third student whose family has independently raised claims of physical abuse and neglect involving Sesemann and IPS’s failure to protect their child. The attorneys are preparing civil lawsuits on behalf of all three families.

“The accusations in the indictment are deeply troubling because they involve young children with disabilities who depended on the adults in their classroom to keep them safe,” said attorney Tammy Meyer. “Parents send their children to school trusting that educators will protect them, especially when those children may have difficulty communicating what is happening to them. That trust is fundamental, and claims that it was violated demand serious scrutiny.”

The anticipated civil lawsuits will address claims extending beyond Sesemann’s individual conduct, including whether school officials and the entities responsible for operating and overseeing School 14 fulfilled their obligations to supervise staff, respond to reports of abuse, and protect students from further harm.

“Criminal charges are an important step toward accountability, but they do not resolve the broader questions about how these children were treated or whether those responsible for their safety took appropriate action,” said attorney Catherine Michael. “Our clients and their families deserve answers about what happened inside that IPS school, what school officials knew, and what could have been done to prevent the harm.”

The families will be pursuing civil remedies to address the injuries suffered by their children and to seek accountability from those responsible for their care and protection.

“Children with disabilities are among our most vulnerable students, and schools have a responsibility to ensure that their needs are met in an environment free from abuse,” Michael continued. “These families are seeking more than an acknowledgment that something went wrong. They want meaningful accountability and changes that help prevent other children from experiencing similar abuse.”

INDIANAPOLIS — A man is dead after a shooting in the Edmors Alton Terrace subdivision on the city’s northwest side, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said.

IMPD said officers were dispatched to the 5500 block of Northland Road on a report of shots fired just before 10 p.m. Monday. Police said they believe the incident occurred just before 9:50 p.m. When officers arrived, they found a man who’d been shot. He was taken to the hospital where he later died.

IMPD Capt. Richard Ray said investigators believe this was a domestic incident and that there is no ongoing threat to the public. The department has a person of interest in custody, Ray said.

Police are asking anyone with information on this incident to contact them.

“Addressing gun violence is a community-wide issue,” Ray said.

INDIANAPOLIS — The mother of two children killed by an inmate asked for his execution, as the Indiana Parole Board held its final clemency hearing Monday for death row inmate Jeffrey Weisheit.

Weisheit is scheduled to die by lethal injection Nov. 5 for the deaths of 5-year-old Caleb Lynch and 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch. The state Department of Correction has already paid $275,000 for execution drugs, according to records obtained by Indiana’s I-Team.

Those drugs could expire, and Weisheit could spend his life in prison without parole if Republican Gov. Mike Braun decides to grant clemency.

The Parole Board will make a nonbinding recommendation before Braun makes his decision. Board members questioned Weisheit on Friday in Indianapolis and listened to more than a dozen additional speakers Monday to help guide their recommendation.

One of the strongest voices they will consider is Lisa Lynch, the children’s mother.

“I am here today to ensure my children’s voices are heard,” Lynch said through tears during a virtual appearance at Monday’s clemency hearing. “As their mother, it is my duty to protect and stand up for them, and I am here today to honor their lives.”

Lisa and Weisheit were dating and living together when he killed her children in 2010. While the children’s father has asked for mercy, Lisa believes justice for those children means carrying out Weisheit’s death sentence.

“Nothing about an abuser’s twisted narrative changes the horror of what was done,” Lynch said.

Monday’s hearing began in the morning with speakers favoring clemency.

Weisheit’s attorneys spoke about his severe mental illness and potential brain trauma, arguing it was largely to blame for his crimes.

Family members talked about a gentler side of Weisheit that they knew, as well as struggles he had as a young man with depression and suicide attempts. Weisheit’s father, a veteran police officer, said he was horrified by his son’s crimes and called the death sentence “just.”

But he and Weisheit’s mother, Susan, said they could not bear the thought of his execution.

When the state presented its argument, Tyler Banks of the Indiana Attorney General’s Office said Weisheit’s crimes were heinous and premeditated, making him undeserving of clemency.

Banks described threats Weisheit made before the murders and walked the board through the brutal details of the children’s deaths.

Weisheit hogtied Caleb with duct tape, stuffed a rag down his throat, and ignited road flares in the boy’s clothes. The ensuing fire incinerated their Vanderburgh County home, killing the children.

“He burned the children alive,” Banks said.

The state called first responders who found the children dead, a doctor who examined Caleb’s body, and the original investigators on the case. Almost all speakers opposing clemency wept at different points, stopping for deep breaths or fighting back tears.

Lt. Doug Daza of the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office said Weisheit traumatized first responders who witnessed the horrors he caused.

The Parole Board is expected to make its recommendation to Braun soon.

Weisheit’s attorneys asked for a 14-day delay in his execution to conduct brain scans to provide Braun information to determine if Weisheit’s mental illness caused his actions. The state says that question was already litigated.

INDIANAPOLIS — A woman is dead following a multi-vehicle crash on I-465 Monday morning, according to Indiana State Police.

ISP Sgt. John Perrine said the crash occurred at approximately 7:20 a.m. on I-465 westbound at the Keystone Avenue exit ramp.

Perrine says four vehicles were involved in what he described as a “rear-ending chain reaction” crash. An adult female, who was driving the second vehicle in the four-car chain, sustained fatal injuries.

An off-duty police officer happened to be on scene “almost immediately” following the crash, according to Perrine. The officer pronounced the driver dead at the scene.

At this time, authorities have not released any additional information regarding other injuries or the number of drivers and passengers involved in the crash.

LIZTON, Ind. — A car driver died Monday afternoon in a crash with a trash truck in a rural area north of the town of Lizton, Hendricks County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

The crash happened about 1:55 p.m. Monday on State Road 39 near the intersection with County Road 950 North, about a half-mile north of the I-74 interchange.

Investigators think the driver’s southbound black Ford Fusion crossed into the northbound lanes for an undetermined reason and struck a northbound Waste Management trash truck.

The driver was car’s sole occupant. The driver’s identity was being withheld pending notification of family.

The driver of the trash truck, who was not identified in the release, was uninjured.

Investigators said it was unknown whether drugs and alcohol were factors in the collision.

At 3:30 p.m Monday, State Road 39 remained closed between County Road 950 North and County Road 975 North.

INDIANAPOLIS — Two people are dead following a shooting on Indianapolis’ northwest side Monday afternoon.

According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, at approximately 1:05 p.m., officers were called to the 4400 block of Village Lane on a report of a person shot.

That location is an apartment complex located off Eagle Creek Parkway.

Arriving officers found two victims with injuries consistent with a gunshot wound(s).

They both died at the scene, according to IMPD.

News 8 has a crew heading to the scene. Check back for updates.

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts have parted ways with General Manager Chris Ballard, according to reports.

Ballard was relieved of his duties, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday.

In ten seasons, Ballard had a 72-82-1 record, along with a 1-2 record in the playoffs.

Ballard was announced as the Colts general manager in 2016. In 2021, Ballard signed a five-year extension with the team.

The Colts are currently 2-4 this season after Sunday’s 26-20 loss to the Tennessee Titans.