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Gonzalez murder conviction affirmed on appeal
Classifying the offense as “callous and brutal,” the Court of Appeals of Indiana has upheld the murder conviction of a former Greencastle man.
Appealing his conviction and sentencing for the January 2020 slaying of Lisa Attkisson, convicted murderer John Gonzalez, 31, found no quarter with the higher court.
As convicted by a jury of peers, Gonzalez remains guilty of the murder of Lisa Attkisson, 44, Greencastle, as well as stealing her automobile and handgun following the slaying.
As sentenced by Putnam Superior Court Judge Denny Bridges, he will serve 87.5 years.
The three-judge panel not only affirmed Gonzalez’s conviction and sentencing, but did so unanimously, with Judge Melissa May writing a strongly-worded decision with which fellow judges Patrica Riley and Elizabeth Tavitas concurred.
The appeal, which was argued by Lisa Diane Manning of the Indiana Public Defenders Office, was based on three issues:
1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying Gonzalez’s motion for change of venue;
2. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by relying on inappropriate aggravating factors in imposing sentence; and
3. Whether Gonzalez’s sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of his offenses and his character.
The judges determined in each case that the trial court acted appropriately, saying Gonzalez did not meet the burden of proof that a change of venue was necessary, that the aggravating factors were appropriate to the sentencing and that the sentence fit the nature of the crime.
The most telling passage of the 20-page memorandum decision was regarding this last matter, as May noted:
Gonzalez’s offense was callous and brutal … Gonzalez did not simply kill Attkisson. He researched the murder ahead of time by reading internet articles and watching videos regarding how to load and shoot Attkisson’s handgun.
In addition to shooting Attkisson, Gonzalez also brutally beat her. Instead of seeking medical attention for Attkisson, he documented her death with his cell phone as she lay dying. In fact, the Putnam County prosecutor described the cell phone video as worse than anything he had seen during “all [his] years in the bowels of the criminal justice system in Marion County,” where he practiced before becoming prosecutor.
After the murder, Gonzalez took steps to conceal his crime by turning on the air conditioner — which made it more difficult for investigators to determine Attkisson’s time of death — and by attempting to dispose of the gun and cell phone. He also stole Attkisson’s credit cards and car, rather than simply leaving Attkisson’s possessions as they were.
Therefore, the nature of Gonzalez’s offense does not render his maximum sentence inappropriate.
This line of reasoning largely fell in line with the arguments made by Putnam County Prosecutor Tim Bookwalter over the course of a three-day trial in August 2021 as well the subsequent sentencing hearing that October.
The investigation revealed that after Attkisson’s murder, Gonzalez spent the next several days driving through Indiana, Illinois and Missouri in Attkisson’s vehicle with another female companion, using Attkisson’s credit cards and disposing of the gun and phone.
Police near the Illinois-Iowa border took Gonzalez into custody on Feb. 5, locating him near where Attkisson’s car had broken down.