INDIANAPOLIS — A deadly double stabbing on Indianapolis’ northwest side Sunday is bringing attention to the city’s mental health crisis response resources.

While the Mobile Crisis Assistance Team responds to a mental health crisis involving a threat of violence, the city’s Clinician-Led Community Response team handles calls where no threat has been reported, providing help without police.

Police say a man killed his parents at a home where MCAT had previously responded to mental health-related calls.

While MCAT has limited hours, other mental health resources in Marion County operate 24/7, like CLCR.

“They respond and engage with that individual on the scene and try to assist them with whatever their needs may be. Maybe get them connected with long-term treatment, or to the assessment or intervention center,” Indianapolis Office of Public Health and Safety Director Andrew Merkley said.

In a statement, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said its MCAT teams also spend hours following up with people, working to build trust and help them maintain treatment.

Their officers also receive mental health and de-escalation training, with many also completing additional crisis intervention training.

“This co-responder response model has the ultimate goal of diverting individuals in crisis away from the criminal justice system and emergency department and towards treatment and social services,” IMPD said.

But mental health doesn’t always end with one call for help. Sometimes, families face repeated emergencies.

“It may take multiple occurrences our teams understand that, and they’re available and try to be as available until that individual is ready to receive services,” Merkley said.

Merkley says there are also mental health programs in the city that are aimed at reducing violent crime, especially for the youth.

“It’s a partnership with Voices. They’re engaging some of the youth under 18, some of those youth who are at most risk of committing gun violence. They are engaged in intensive case management services,” Merkley said.

For families concerned about a loved one, experts say the first step is recognizing when help is needed and knowing where to turn.

Merkley says OPHS is working with EMS and the Metropolitan Emergency Services Agency to make sure emergency calls are getting the right type of response.

“We have seen an increase in utilization of CLCR. We’ve also been working really closely with Eskenazi, who operates the AIC, we’re seeing now a 97 percent utilization rate of the beds at the AIC. I think that the community should be very proud of those free resources,” Merkley said.

The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is also available around the clock to connect people with support.

JUST CALL 9-8-8.

Mental health resources

• Wellness Council of Indiana
• Indiana Suicide Prevention
• Indiana Department of Child Services’ Children’s Mental Health Initiative
• National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988 or 800-273-8255
• More resources

INDIANAPOLIS — An investigation is underway after a woman was found dead in a southeast side home early Monday morning.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department issued a release Tuesday stating that at approximately 4:52 a.m., officers were called to the 2300 block of Calhoun Street on the report of someone dead within the residence.

That location is off of South Keystone Avenue and East Raymond Street.

When officers arrived, they found a woman, 59-year-old Ginger Stephens, dead.

Police said she had injuries consistent with trauma and that her death is being investigated as a homicide.

Anyone with information about this incident is being asked to call Detective Gregory Taylor at the IMPD Homicide Office at 317-327-3475, or use Crime Stoppers.

INDIANAPOLIS — Construction on the Signia by Hilton Hotel is scheduled to finish by Dec. 9, making it the tallest hotel in Indianapolis. The 38-story, 800-room hotel will serve as the anchor for a $710 million expansion of the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium, connected by a skywalk.

Visitors to the city said the project indicates significant local growth. Andreas Waller, a visitor from Ontario, said the development signals more investment and entertainment options for the city. “This means Indianapolis is on its way up and construction means more investments and more things to do,” Waller said.

The hotel features a convention center ballroom roughly the size of 10 NBA basketball courts. It will be the largest in Indiana and among the 10 largest in the country. Other amenities include seven dining and bar options, a two-story rooftop lounge, and a state-of-the-art wellness center with infrared hybrid saunas and cold therapy.

Visiting flight attendant Nihya Gonzalez said the new hotel provides more variety for travelers. “I feel like every time I come here in Indianapolis, there’s something to spot, there’s something to see. Me coming from this hotel to maybe this hotel (Signia) hopefully, I’ve got different options,” Gonzalez said.

The hotel’s general manager said in a statement that the facility will help Indianapolis attract more conventions and sporting events while creating new jobs. Local business owners also anticipate a boost in foot traffic. Richard Edwards, general manager of St. Elmo Steak House, said the surrounding restaurant community is excited for the new downtown atmosphere.

While room rates on the hotel’s website average more than $200, Waller called the price reasonable. Waller noted that in Toronto, prices often range between $400 and $800. “I think 200 is reasonable,” he said.

MUNCIE, Ind. — An Indianapolis man was sentenced to 86 years in prison Tuesday for the murder of a Shelbyville man whose body was found inside a burning car in Delaware County.

Randal Moon Jr., 41, was sentenced by Delaware Circuit Court No. 1 Judge Judi L. Calhoun after a jury found him guilty of five felonies on Sept. 18.

The jury deliberated for a little more than four hours before finding Moon guilty of murder, arson resulting in serious bodily injury, kidnapping, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

The case stems from the death of Michael D. Greer, 58, of Shelbyville. His body was found inside the trunk of a rental car that had been set on fire along Delaware County Road 500 South, west of Indiana 3, on Dec. 14, 2025.

Investigators determined Greer had been beaten and shot before being taken to Delaware County. Forensic evidence showed he was still alive when the car was set on fire.

Prosecutors presented cellphone location data and other evidence they said placed Moon at the Indianapolis home where Greer was beaten. Evidence presented at trial also showed Moon drove two other defendants from the scene of the burning car back to Indianapolis.

Moon testified that he did not know Greer was in the trunk or that the others intended to set the car on fire. Prosecutors argued Moon was an active participant in the crime.

Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman praised the prosecution team and sheriff’s department following Tuesday’s sentencing.

“Justice has been served today,” Hoffman said.

Four other defendants face charges

Moon is one of five Indianapolis-area residents charged in Greer’s death. He was the first to stand trial.

Amy Singhas, who prosecutors say was involved in the events leading to Greer’s death, is scheduled to stand trial Nov. 16 in Delaware Circuit Court No. 1, according to reporting by The Star Press following Moon’s conviction.

Ameariss Aponte, another defendant in the case, had a trial scheduled for Sept. 28. That trial was postponed and is expected to be rescheduled.

Megan Sloan, who also faces charges in the case, was previously ruled incompetent to stand trial, according to Law&Crime’s reporting in February. Her current court status could not be independently confirmed.

Tallis McCoy was the fifth person charged in the case. McCoy faces charges stemming from Greer’s death, but a current trial date or updated court status was not available in the latest reporting reviewed.

The charges against the other four defendants have not been resolved by Moon’s conviction. Each defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless and until proven guilty.

The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Chief Deputy Prosecutor Zach Craig and Deputy Prosecutor Maricel Driscoll handled the prosecution.

INDIANAPOLIS — Almost 9,000 people were without power Tuesday morning following a power outage on Indy’s near east side, according to AES Indiana.

The power outage was first reported sometime after 7 a.m. At least 9,000 were without power at the time, but the number had dropped to 4,772 by 7:30 a.m.

As of 7:44 a.m., only 1,853 homes were still in the dark.

By 8 a.m., power had been restored to almost everyone.

According to an outage map, most outages are near Brookside Park, at Massachusetts Avenue and East 21st Street.

The blackout stretches from between East 38th and Washington streets, and between Ralston and Arlington avenues, according to AES.

It’s not clear what caused the outage or how long it would take for crews to restore power.

News 8 has reached out to AES for more information.

INDIANAPOLIS — A man is dead after what police called an “altercation” on the east side of Indianapolis Monday night.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said officers were dispatched just before 7:50 p.m. to a Marathon gas station at the intersection of East 38th Street and North Mitthoeffer Road on a report of a personal injury accident. Upon arrival, officers found a man uffering from traumatic injuries, and they determined it was not an accident but an altercation between at least two people.

Police said the man was taken to an area hospital and died shortly after arriving.

IMPD Capt. Rob Rider said the suspect fled the scene and that detectives are looking for information on the suspect’s whereabouts. He said anyone with information on the incident is urged to call IMPD Homicide at 317-327-3475.

(FREE PRESS INDIANA) — Some of the largest data centers under construction in Indiana have avoided more extensive environmental scrutiny, public input and costs associated with restoring wetlands.

That’s because the projects were not required to get a federal water permit after a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2023 narrowed the scope of the Clean Water Act, the landmark 1972 legislation that protects and restores surface water.

The ruling removed federal oversight of around half of all the nation’s surface waters.

Five data center developments in Indiana contain wetlands, streams or ponds that, before the court ruling, would have fallen under the jurisdiction of the law and required a federal permit, according to a POLITICO analysis.

Now, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management is the only agency overseeing the surface water impacts at those sites.

Wetlands are needed to protect and improve water quality, provide fish and wildlife habitats, store floodwaters and maintain surface water flow during dry periods.

Without a federal permit, the data centers avoid the process that requires extensive public input — including public comments, a hearing and federal comment review — and scrutiny from the Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees the federal program.

The federal process also poses the real possibility that the permit may be denied, according to David Van Gilder, senior policy and legal director with the Hoosier Environmental Council.

“If I own and want to develop land on which there is a federally regulated wetland, I’m going to have to jump through a lot more hoops,” he said. “If I’m sitting on that same land now under (IDEM), I can breathe a lot easier because I’m going to get a permit, almost 100% assured, from the state of Indiana.”

A tale of two data centers

Two massive data centers currently under construction in Indiana highlight how the process changes when a federal permit is required.

Project Rainer, the 1,200-acre Amazon data center campus in New Carlisle in northwest Indiana, includes wetlands and streams regulated by the Clean Water Act.

The first federal application filed by the company requested authorization to fill in nearly 10 acres of wetlands in order to build the campus. The Army Corps responded by requesting another plan with less impact.

Amazon is now proposing to fill in around 5 acres of wetlands, but create around 10 acres of new wetlands in the southeast corner of the site to make up for the lost land. The permit is still under review.

At Project Zodiac, the nearly 900-acre Google campus in Fort Wayne, an inspection determined the first two construction phases at the site didn’t contain any federal waterways, placing jurisdiction with IDEM.

The state agency determined the project area contained nearly 12 acres of wetlands, but just 2.4 acres under state jurisdiction would be impacted by the development. Another 2 acres were considered exempt, allowing the company to fill them in without any permit.

IDEM required Google to mitigate the loss by purchasing credits through a program administered by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to restore around 4 acres of wetlands in other parts of the state.

However, the Army Corps in July determined the state program to be out of compliance because it wasn’t restoring wetlands in the federally mandated three-year timeframe. The program has collected at least $109 million in wetlands payments from developers, but has only fully completed two projects.

“I think there’s an open question about whether it’s reasonable or arbitrary and capricious for our agency to accept (mitigation credits) even though the federal government says the program isn’t good enough anymore,” Van Gilder said.

Mark Becker, the IDNR’s land acquisition division director, told the Indiana Capital Chronicle the main reason for the backlog comes from complex regulatory hurdles and lengthy review timelines to begin implementing wetland mitigation projects for which developers can buy credits.

He said the agency is building a “robust pipeline” of 27 mitigation projects in various stages of development to reduce the backlog.

Indiana loosens wetland protections

The court decision narrowing the Clean Water Act is impacting other states beyond Indiana. At the time of the ruling in 2023, nearly half of all 50 states had no state-level regulations or permitting process for wetlands.

Indiana law for decades has required reviews, permits and mitigation efforts that, in some ways, closely mirror federal regulations.

But those state standards in 2024 were significantly reduced by House Enrolled Act 1383, which completely removed some wetlands from state oversight and reduced regulations on other protected wetlands.

Kim Ferraro, managing attorney at the Conservation Law Center based in Bloomington, said the law “gutted” the state’s wetland program, leading to “very few” wetlands receiving protection from either state or federal laws.

“Now they can just fill them, and they don’t have to replace the damage that they caused,” she said.

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FPI News reporter Carson Gerber covers healthcare, manufacturing, agriculture, immigration … and just about any other topic that’s shaping how we live in Indiana today. Reach him at 765-204-4250‬ or carson.gerber@fpinews.org.