wfn.org | Trial in Murder of Indianapolis Pastor, Wife, Ends in Hung Jury

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8-March-1999 
99093 
 
    Trial in Murder of Indianapolis Pastor, 
    Wife, Ends in Hung Jury 
 
    by Alexa Smith 
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - An Indianapolis jury was unable to reach a verdict on 
murder charges against a teenage boy accused of killing a Presbyterian 
minister and his wife in 1996. 
 
    Officials said a retrial is likely. 
 
    After 11 hours of deliberations on March 3, a jury of six men and six 
women found Sean P. Rich, 17, guilty of burglary, confinement and theft - 
five of the 12 charges he faced in connection with the ax-murders of the 
Rev. Frederick Mathias and his wife, Cleta, just before Christmas three 
years ago. 
 
    The judge declared a mistrial on the charges of murder, felony murder, 
battery and arson. 
 
    For the three charges of which he was convicted, Rich could be 
sentenced to a maximum of 93 years in prison. Sentencing is set for April 
8. 
 
     A hearing on a possible retrial for Rich on the charges that 
deadlocked the jury is scheduled for March 16. 
 
    Immediately after the jury handed down its verdicts, the Northminster 
Presbyterian Church - where Mathias was senior pastor and Rich was a member 
of the youth group - issued a statement: 
 
    "Although we are saddened - no, we are bewildered - by the verdicts the 
jury failed to reach on Wednesday night, we must accept them. In large 
measure, we will come to accept them because Sean Rich taught those of us 
at Northminster Church something terribly valuable for a time like this - 
that nothing in life or in death, nothing in all creation, can separate us 
from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. 
 
    "As Christians, we must pray that Sean will learn the valuable lesson 
that he taught us. We will pray that Sean will begin to feel God's healing 
grace. We, too, need to feel that healing." 
 
    The Indianapolis Star/News reported that four jurors were unable to 
reach agreement on what constituted felony murder - a charge that is 
defined in this case as killing someone while committing a burglary. Murder 
is defined by Indiana state law as the intentional killing of a human 
being. 
 
    Mark Moore, a spokesperson for the Northminster church, told the 
Presbyterian News Service that members of the congregation cannot 
understand how the jury could convict Rich of burglary, but not hold him 
accountable for the killings that occurred during the burglary - whether he 
wielded the ax or not. "People are bewildered that the jury did not come 
through with a verdict," he said, noting that the congregation - and the 
Mathias' family - were hoping for closure on this long ordeal. 
 
    Rich has repeatedly denied involvement in the crimes. Members of his 
family testified that he was at home the night of the killings. 
 
     Rich's co-defendant, Paul Brightman, 19, confessed to his own 
involvement in the Mathias' deaths and said Rich was the actual killer. In 
a plea bargain reached during his own trial, Brightman agreed to plead 
guilty to two counts of felony murder. He is expected to be sentenced to 65 
years in prison and will be eligible for parole after serving half the 
sentence, according to the Star/News. 
 
    The Marion County Prosecutor's Office said it intends to retry the 
case. 
 
     "We are not satisfied with the verdict," a spokesperson said in a 
telephone interview. "We don't feel it brings closure and accountability 
for the killing of the pastor and his wife. A minority of jurors had a 
problem with a simple aspect of Indiana law. . . . We fully expect that we 
will not have this problem on retrial and we will get a guilty verdict." 
 
    The Rev. Ron Smith, the interim pastor at Northminster, said the church 
will not be pushing prosecutors to take any specific action in the case, 
but will work with them. He said daily reports of the trial were available 
to Northminster members by phone and an "information time" will be held 
between morning worship services on March 7. 
 
    "There is recognition," Smith said, "that we need to bring closure to 
this in a public service. But it is not scheduled. We're waiting to see 
what develops over the next two to three weeks." 

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