Kidnapped at the Dollar Store: Exposing Indiana’s Most Violent Predator

Kruthersville, Indiana. Police investigating a missing person make a gruesome discovery. >> It was a body. We didn’t know the the cause of death at that time, but her hands are tied behind her back. >> Suddenly, the police have a murder on their hands and the killer is still at large. >> That kind of violent crime just wasn’t heard of around here.

We clearly had a murder in the community. >> Along with the police, there are those who chronicle the investigation up close, on film, on paper, and on tape. They are the public’s first witness. Through their eyes, they capture our darkest chapters of crime. >> [music] >> Kruthersville, Indiana is a quiet and peaceful community in the heart of the American Midwest.

 With a population of only 1,500, the town is made up of hardworking farmers and factory workers. [music] >> It’s a fairly small community like any other little town. Quiet. Everybody knew everybody. >> It’s Indiana farm country. There’s a lot of creeks [music] and uh small rivers running through the area. For many years, the entire area of Jackson County, Indiana, has enjoyed a low crime rate.

We used to like to say people would move here because this is peaceful and quiet and relatively crime-free. Uh in 2005, uh you know, an occasional theft to break in. Uh of course, drug [music] usage. murder hadn’t uh hadn’t happened here in probably 30 40 years. >> January [music] 2005 on the west side of town, John Nice and his wife Angie have two daughters, Jessica and 10-year-old Caitlyn, nicknamed Katie for short.

 The baby of the family, Katie is known in the neighborhood for her outgoing nature, her wide smile, and her love of her dog. She loved coloring, playing, riding bicycle, playing with her dog. Um, friends. Katie was like a normal 10-year-old child. Um, she loved playing. Um, um, respectful, um, happy child. She was a 10-year-old, joyful, very outgoing, gregarious individual.

 Never met a stranger she didn’t like. January 25th, 2005. Katie starts her day by getting a ride to school from her father, John. >> Dropped her off and told her that I loved her and I’d see her that evening. >> The afternoon [music] passes quietly and without incident. The only sound is the voices of children’s laughter as the local school lets out its students for the day.

Uh when school was over, she returned home. Her mother asked her to run an errand at a nearby store, no more than, I would say, 250 yards from where she lived. The store owner recognizes Katie from the neighborhood and helps her with her purchase. At 4:00, when Katie doesn’t come home from running the errand, John and Angie niece start to worry.

 And I had went into work at 3:00 that day and later that evening my wife had called me and said that Katie was gone. I said, “What do you mean she’s gone?” She then she told me that she went to the dollar store and didn’t never come back. I immediately called the sheriff’s department. The initial information that was received was uh that she was last seen walking away from the store heading towards what was called Covenor Street in Crittersville, Indiana.

 And that was around 4:00 in the afternoon and nobody had seen her since. >> Immediately, police send out search parties to look for Katie Coleman. Their response was to go out, canvas the neighborhood, see if they could locate her. Consequently, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department became involved. The Indiana State Police Department became involved.

News of Katie’s disappearance spreads quickly to the towns folk of Kruthersville. Their reaction was much like what you would expect for a missing child. They were upset. They organized at first [music] local efforts to find Katie. >> You know, everyone was involved and and worried about her and and interested in finding Katie again.

>> As different leads would come in, I a lot of times would talk mostly with John over at his house and giving me some information, some possibilities of where she might be or who she would be with. My first thought was that uh she was probably a runaway. >> Police speak with John and Angie niece. They insist their youngest daughter would never run away from home.

>> She had a loving parents. She had a family that cared very much about her. >> As the night wears on, fear about Katie’s disappearance grips the entire community. At the niece home, John and Angie are facing every parent’s worst nightmare. >> I told my wife stay by the phone cuz Katie knew the phone number.

 And um if she was at a friend’s house, maybe uh she went to sleep and fell asleep and she would show up at school the next morning. I said, “Just in case I stay by the phone.” I mean, I was very uh very shook up because it’s my daughter, you know, and I didn’t know where she was at. Angie waits anxiously at home while the search parties continue their hunt for signs of Katie.

>> The community rallied around uh the search for Katie and around Katie and her family uh tremendously. Fire station was used as the headquarters for the investigation and people from the community brought in all kinds of food for the searchers. For the next 48 hours, search teams work around the clock looking for Katie Coleman.

>> A lot of the community spent sleepless hours, too, um, searching for Katie. Pretty much looked everywhere we could think of. >> I initially went and checked a few areas, some areas, you know, that hadn’t been checked yet. Uh, got a picture of her and was showing around to a few of the communities a little bit away from there and just asking people or just looking for any possible lead anybody might have seen her.

 January 27th, with no luck and very few leads, the FBI is brought in. Leading the investigation is special agent Tony Cidle. We we established a tip line and an Amber Alert went out after uh we became actively involved in the investigation. So, there’s a lot of information that was coming in from the public that had to be assessed.

Agent Cidle compiles the information to help piece together Katie’s movements on the afternoon of her disappearance. >> Along the way, uh, we had determined she stopped at a an apartment building that was, uh, along the route that she would have traveled. She went to the Dollar General store.

 She returned by [music] the same route, returning to the same apartment complex. Police discover Katie went to the nearby apartment to visit school friends just after 400 p.m. Officials believe this is the last anyone saw of Katie. Tips from the public continue to pour in. But one of the things that comes along with every Amber Alert is that people call if they have any inkling that they might be in possession of useful information.

 So yes, there were a lot of tips that came in from the public. Every single one of those tips was investigated. Every single one. >> January 28th, an eyewitness comes forward with the startling information that she had seen Katie in a white pickup truck with a man. The woman recognized Katie, but did not recognize the driver of white pickup truck.

 And that struck her as a little odd. And thank goodness she was a very observant woman. and she was able to give the police an excellent description of the man. >> We followed that lead. A composite sketch was prepared of the driver of that vehicle. We had some physical characteristics we were looking for in both the truck and the driver of the vehicle.

Where the initial composite was put out was that, you know, even to the description of a white Ford F-150 gave a description of a skinny white male, you know, possibly wearing glasses and was smoking a cigarette. Armed with this eyewitness account, police focused their investigation on locating the truck. >> Well, the first thing they did was run through the State Bureau of Motor Vehicle Records to find every uh white pickup truck and then hunted those people down and talked to them about what happened.

>> Police released the composite sketch of the driver to the media and the image of the slender white male appears on television reports and newspapers [music] across the state. Investigators interview several men fitting the description, but none of them can be connected to the crime. With each passing day, police hope for the best, but begin to suspect the worst.

 You just kind of get that feeling that this is not not looking good. And and then two or three days pass, then you kind of shift gears into a different mode. My initial reaction was, well, she’s probably with a friend or maybe she’s mad and ran away and, you know, is hiding out someplace there in town and she’ll turn up in a day or two.

 But when that didn’t happen, it was obvious that something bad had happened to her. The investigation grows in size and scope. Several police departments are now actively involved in the search for Katie Coleman across the state. she was missing. So, they were looking all over the place here in town and then eventually expanded that to some of the more rural areas.

>> January 30th, while patrolling an area 20 m north of Ksville, state trooper Martin me spots something in Cypress Lake. >> We got the call at about 10:00 on Saturday morning at our command post. he had spotted something that he believed might be um a body that was in a spillway um on the south side of Cypress Lake.

 And Cypress Lake is an area where they have found bodies in the past. >> What begins as a routine inspection of the area results in the discovery of the most shocking murder the people of Kthersville have witnessed in over 40 years. January 30th, 2005, Kruthersville, Indiana. 10-year-old Katie Coleman has been missing for 5 days.

 The FBI has issued an Amber Alert for Katie while local police continue to work around the clock chasing leads and processing tips from the public. While patrolling an area 20 m north of Kruthersville, state trooper Martin me has spotted something in Cypress Lake. Officials waste no time arriving on the scene. I went up and spoke with uh Marty and he pointed out what he was looking at and it was very difficult to see what he was seeing.

It was a body dressed similarly to how Katie was approximately the same size as Katie’s size. of her last known description of her wearing a light blue coat, like a down coat. You could see that in the water when the state police divers came in and they got into the water and and pulled Katie’s body out and u it was confirmed that it was Katie and it was just sad.

A lot of people standing around had tears in their eyes, me included. >> The tragic discovery of Katie’s body closes one chapter to the heinous crime and forces the police to shift the focus of their investigation. >> We have to completely change gears to a homicide investigation to find out who did this to this girl.

Battling the cold January weather, police work quickly and efficiently to secure the area, documenting every element of the crime scene exactly as it is found. >> I had a little small camera just trying to take some uh pictures of how the scene was laid out. We had an evidence technician that came and took photographs there.

>> Crime scene investigator Chris Lewis is one of the first to arrive on the scene. Part of the job of crime scene investigator is documentation of that scene which in still photography a video keeping of the scene. So you can uh basically recreate this scene at other places for other other people. You want to be able to document where exactly the body was, the position of the body, condition of the body.

She was still completely clothed and I don’t remember seeing any external injuries, you know, where you could see any knife wounds or, you know, bullet holes or anything [music] else. >> Special Agent Tony Cidle leads a team of experts to collect physical evidence. >> The Indiana State Police evidence technicians recovered a large amount of debris from along the route that led to Cypress Lake.

 Uh they spent hours combing those areas, searching for anything that might have been discarded that might link Katie to the scene or to the individuals that were responsible for Katie being deposited there. Being a public area with 24-hour access to the public, uh there was a lot of potential evidence there.

 what a normal person may consider trash. Soda cans, beer cans, straws, cigarette butts, documents, ATM receipts, and it was all collected, cataloged, photographed, noted where it was found. A very professional and thorough job on everything that was picked up was done there because, as it turned out, they were going to do DNA testing on all of the objects that seemed appropriate for that.

The brutal nature of Katie’s murder shakes even the most experienced police officials. >> Uh the circumstances of the recovery of her body in a body of water with her hands bound behind her back was was very overwhelming for the investigators, [music] I think, and perhaps for the the evidence technicians.

 I know they see a lot of really bad things, but I was seeing a lot of grief uh in the the investigators. I don’t know that you’re ever ready to see a little girl being pulled out of water. I think that initially as you’re doing this, you know, you you’re holding on to some type of hope that, you know, she might be alive and, you know, you can get a return to appearance, but then to [music] see as as they’re bringing her body across the water, you can see her hands behind her back.

News of the discovery of Katie’s body spreads quickly through the town. Now faced with a child killer in their community. The people of Kruthersville react with shock, fear, and anger. Everybody was outraged. Her classmates from school were upset. Uh the [music] parents of other children were upset. Uh when you live in a small town like that, you have a certain sense of security that while children may be abducted and and murdered somewhere else, it doesn’t happen in Kthersville, Indiana.

I’m not sure how you deal with the loss of a child, let alone uh the murder of a child. The FBI came to the house along with the chief of police here in town and they informed us that they had found a body and my my heart fell fling out my body. Um quite honestly I wanted to die and then I wanted to find out who ever done it.

News media from across the country descend on Kruthersville to capture the story of the murdered school girl. The town is overwhelmed by the sudden attention. The coverage here was was unheard of. This is a small community and we may on occasion get a regional news coverage here.

 But we had every TV station from Kentucky to Indianapolis here shooting footage with their trucks and all. uh word leaked out to the media. We always talked about what was going to be released. There was a formal press conference later that same day. The release was limited to the body had been recovered, where had been recovered, and the fact that the investigation was continuing.

>> At the Kentucky State Medical Examiner’s Office, forensic scientists performed the lengthy autopsy on Katie’s body. The results provide some crucial clues to the mystery surrounding her murder. >> We have the cause of death is drowning. That means we have a murder scene right there at Cypress Lake instead of somewhere else.

>> The autopsy [music] contains further key details, helping investigators piece together the puzzle. Her body was evaluated for trace evidence u in the forms of hair’s fibers. We collected red fibers from Katie Coleman’s torso at the autopsy. >> Every piece of microscopic evidence is collected and cataloged, but the most important discovery from the autopsy’s report is both troubling and telling.

There were samples and stuff taken from the autopsy that that there was the presence of semen that was found that we knew that she had been sexually assaulted. At the state police lab, forensic scientist Paulita Maguire develops a DNA profile from the evidence. >> It was consistent with an unknown male individual at that time.

 [music] So, we did have um some of material present. We did have a DNA profile from that, but at the time we did not know whose DNA that was. >> Police begin to build a profile for the unknown murderer using both the evidence from the crime scene and psychological profiling. >> There are not many people who will kidnap, sexually assault, and murder a 10-year-old child who has not in in [music] some meaningful way interacted with them previously.

 And clearly the murder was done to cover up his guilt and for no other reason. >> Faced now with catching a child rapist and killer, special agent Tony Cidle doubles his efforts. >> From that point, I requested and received a list of all the registered sex offenders for bordering counties and within Jackson County.

 And then we cross reference that to individuals, registered sex offenders, who might have had access to or had white Ford F-150s. But on February 2nd, police get an unexpected break in the case. A startling confession to the murder of 10-year-old Katie Coleman. February 2nd, Jackson County, Indiana. Police are investigating the brutal rape and murder of a local school girl.

 Katie Coleman found dead in a lake 20 m from her home. After a week of following leads and tips from the public, investigators get a sudden [music] break in the case. 20-year-old Kruthersville resident Charles Hickman calls the police with a stunning confession. On February the second, he confessed to being responsible for Katie’s death.

details that he had uh that [music] fit with what we knew uh based upon our investigation relative to [music] her knowing that she had drowned. We hadn’t released that. Armed with a sudden confession, police get ready to make an arrest. Unemployed and a known drug user, Charles Hickman has a reputation for being less than credible.

 But the police cannot afford to take any tip lightly. They interrogate Hickman, careful not to reveal too much about the crime. >> What you try to do is hold back something that the public wouldn’t know. And in this case, it was the fact that Katie’s hands were tied behind her and the manner in which they were tied. He told us uh how she had drowned, where she drowned.

 Individuals involved identified the white Ford F-150 that was used to transport her to Cypress Lake. He had a home right there in the main drag, not far from where Katie lived. So, he would certainly have known Katie. We examined the information. We presented a probable cause uh hearing with uh several police officers in front of Judge Vance, who then issued an arrest warrant, and Chucky Hickman was charged.

In the first of several interviews, Charles Hickman tells police that on the afternoon of January 25th, Katie Coleman accidentally witnessed [music] his illegal drug use on her way home from the dollar store. the apartment building that Katie had visited um uh had an apartment, at least one apartment in there that was involved in the production or manufacturer of methamphetamine and also the use of methamphetamine that she had perhaps encountered individuals using or producing methampetamine. They panicked.

He came forward and confessed to the murder, claiming that Katie had been brought to his home. >> Hickman tells his interrogators that he and his friends tied Katie’s hands behind her back to intimidate her into not going to the police. He claimed that uh you know he had taken her to Cypress Lake to scare her and he couldn’t recall whether she had fallen into Cypress Lake or if he had accidentally bumped her into Cypress Lake.

Uh and that she died because of that. Hikman’s story was that she had accidentally fallen in and drowned um which was which was consistent with the way the body was recovered. Right away, police start to build their case against Charles Hickman by compiling the evidence. >> He frequented the apartment complex where we know she was last seen.

 Um, he was friends with the occupants there. He had a friend who had a white F-150 truck. >> But despite the strong evidence, investigators begin to question several inconsistencies in Hickman’s confession. some of the things that he was saying from the very beginning didn’t match up. Composite came out shortly after she was missing um didn’t match Chucky Hickman.

I think there was some disbelief just because uh everyone pretty much knew Chucky. He was a high school dropout. Uh didn’t work. Just hung out. Most significant, the DNA from Katie’s body doesn’t match the blood sample Hickman provides. This is final and undeniable proof of his innocence. Frustrated, police shift their investigation once again.

When Hickman was arrested, we thought at that moment that we had solved the case. However, uh that turned out that we didn’t have the case solved. [music] We weren’t even close. We were fooled for some reason that I certainly don’t understand. Maybe out of some misguided desire to have the case solved. Uh came in and gave a confession.

Chucky Hickman made the whole thing up. His confession was based upon what he had read in the newspapers and what he had seen on TV. That’s probably one of the other big questions of this whole tragedy. Why would you admit to a murder you didn’t commit? >> Eventually, Charles Chucky Hickman is cleared of all charges relating to the murder of Katie Coleman.

 The people of Kruthersville react in shock and anger. >> I was just beside myself. I just couldn’t believe that we had one person that had confessed to killing a 10-year-old child and then being told that no, he’s actually not the one that killed her. >> With a child [music] killer still at large, fear and terror continues to grip the small Indiana community.

Everybody started keeping a closer eye on their children because they realized just how fragile the peace is and what a slim line there is between your child’s safety and a brutal and vicious death. >> Under pressure to make up for lost time, investigators [music] continue to pursue drivers of white pickup trucks and process evidence recovered from the crime scene.

I looked at over 300 items of evidence. The actual amount of evidence was overwhelming um because there were so many different leads in the case and we were going in so many different directions for a while. DNA evidence is very accurate because no two people have the exact same DNA except for identical twins.

>> Forensic scientists focus their efforts on the traces of DNA found on the cigarette butts close to where Katie’s body was discovered. There were 10 collected from the actual crime scene. It was brought up that maybe we should just test the ones that were closest to Katie’s body. Uh but the difference between two cigarette butts and 10 cigarette butts to a DNA analyst is is minimal.

 I’d rather just do all 10 of them. And one of those actually came back and matched the sum of the material u found in Katie’s body. And it actually ended up being one of the ones that was furthest away from her body that we got the match on the cigarette butt to. >> Well, that was very big for a few reasons. It placed whoever molested Katie at the scene where she was killed.

>> What we did not know was who had committed the crime. The cigarette with the matching DNA is a rare brand available only at specialty stores. >> It was a brand that I hadn’t heard of. I talked to other investigators. They had not heard of that brand. Um, so we contacted the manufacturer of the brand, determined that there were four local distributors of that particular brand and notified them, requested their assistance.

I met with the managers there and I requested that they call me if somebody came in here buying Roger cigarettes. It wasn’t very long after that I received a call and the message was that a white male they came into their store and purchased a carton of Roger Light 100s. Said didn’t get his name but he was driving in a white Ford F-150.

 And here’s the plate. State trooper Rob Simpson runs a check on the license plate through a dispatcher >> and the plate returned to Anthony Stockman and I knew he was a person of interest early on. So I called to the command center and talked to Tony and said, “Hey, you know, this is this is what it is and and this is who it’s come back to.

 I mean, you know, this could be something good.” Police now focus their investigation on Anthony Stocklman, a factory worker from the neighboring town of Seymour, Indiana. Since he had a white truck and matched the composite sketch, he was one of the many persons of interest questioned by police early in the investigation.

 At the time, the 39-year-old father of two had a solid alibi provided by his wife. With the license plate matching his white pickup truck, Anthony Stocklman is now the number one suspect in the murder of Katie Coleman. Police get ready to close in on their suspected killer. Kruthersville, Indiana. Police investigating the murder of Katie Coleman are one step closer to solving the brutal crime that has terrified this peaceful Indiana community for several weeks.

 Armed with DNA evidence that places the smoker of a rare brand of cigarettes at the scene of the crime, police close in on factory worker Anthony Stuckleman. Went to his residence and reconted him to determine if he would [music] consent to a sample of DNA. And I remember pulling up to his house. We went to go interview him [music] and soon as we drove in, I seen the white Ford F-150 and and again it was even described as an older white Ford truck, you know, and it was, you know, everything matched, you know, ju just completely the way that that was

initially described to us by this witness. I think he was shocked that we were back. He thought he was home free. Uh he knew one individual had been arrested, had confessed, uh and he thought he was off the hook. >> Police question Stockman at his house, insisting that he is innocent. Stocklman repeats his story from the first interview, telling police why he was in Kruthersville at the time of Katie’s disappearance.

>> What took him to this particular location at the time of Katie’s disappearance was he was moving uh furniture out of a family member’s residence. That’s the reason he had his truck at that particular location. He did not volunteer any information except uh that he hadn’t been to Cypress Lake in 8 to 10 years.

 [music] Um so that he couldn’t possibly be responsible for uh placing Katie’s body up at Cypress Lake. Stocklman willingly provides a sample of his DNA, proof of his innocence, or involvement in the crime. >> This is a homicide of a 10-year-old child. DNA results can be obtained in in just a couple days if that’s all you’re doing. That’s all you’re working on.

 Um, and on this particular case, I worked on it solid every day that I came in the laboratory. >> Police wait in anticipation for the results. The single DNA findings could potentially sum up months of tough police investigation. The mood is tense. >> You’re in the DNA room. People don’t just come in there.

 They’re waiting outside for the results. Everyone kind [music] of wanted to know if we had actually finally solved the case after we tested 73 male individuals. And 2 days later, I called them back and said, “We have a match.” You know, I had cold chills when when that just that we finally got this guy. You could just tell but from his manner that this was him.

Special Agent Cidle contacts local prosecutor Steven Pearson and arranges for an affidavit for the arrest of Anthony Stocklman. As final proof of Stockman’s role in the murder, Cidle conducts a test using the rare brand of cigarette found at the crime scene. In an effort to disprove what amounts to some kind of an alibi by Stockleman, Tony Cidle set up an experiment where he put cigarette butts out and exposed them in the same area at the same time of year.

 I had already determined from the manufacturer that it was only available in the area for approximately the last 5 years. I also determined that it was not possible for his cigarette to have survived out there for 8 to 10 years. uh that cigarette would have degraded to the point that it wouldn’t have been recoverable. >> With the arrest warrant in hand, police prepare to close in on Anthony Stuckleman.

 Together, trooper Rob Simpson and FBI special agent Tony Cidle drive to Stockleman’s house to make the arrest. >> Upon our arrival, nobody was home at that time. We was kind of sitting there watching the place and and I called him on his cell phone. Detective Simpson asked him where he was at uh because we needed to speak further with him about his DNA.

>> He said, “Well, you know, he was down at the Karate studio with his son.” He agreed that yeah, come by and um you know, we can talk again. So Tony and I are the only ones that went over there to meet him again. We don’t want to do anything to spook him too bad. Plus, he’s in a karate studio with other kids.

Don’t know what his mindset is. And obviously, our belief is that he killed Katie Coleman. Stocklman is waiting for the officers in the parking lot of the karate studio. After he agrees to get inside the car, Detective Rob Simpson begins to drive to another isolated parking lot. Tony was in the front seat passenger side and uh Anthony Sman is sitting right behind Tony and Agent Cidle reached around and um said, you know, shake my hand or and so he did that and grabbed a hold of his right hands and and we have an arrest warrant

for you and you’re under arrest for you know the molestation of Kitty Coleman. April 7th, 2005. Anthony Stocklman is arrested without incident and put in jail where he is held without bail. Throughout the interrogations, Stocklman maintains his innocence. >> Tony Stockman was not informed that his DMNA was on the cigarette that was recovered at that particular time.

[music] He was informed that his DNA had been recovered from the body of Katie Coleman. His his response was incredulous. He didn’t understand how it could be on Katie Coleman. He did not even know her. He’d never spoken to her. >> A press conference is held to release the news of Stockleman’s arrest and charge to the media.

 Once again, the small town is besieged by reporters from across the country. >> We were inundated with network news, large city daily papers. Uh at times it was a media circus. The large trucks with uh TV, antennas, cameras uh were a regular feature here in Kthersville for a while. It was something totally different than we’d ever ever had before.

>> With accused rapist and murderer Anthony Stocklman safely behind bars, authorities plan for what will be a difficult and controversial trial. With Charles Hickman [music] having confessed to the crime, will the prosecution’s case stand up in court? Charged with the sexual assault and murder of 10-year-old Katie Coleman, factory worker Anthony Stocklman is behind bars awaiting trial.

I had my suspect and I started working on the trial immediately because we did ask for the death penalty initially and that takes an incredible amount of work. Prosecutors set to work building their case and sifting through the evidence. Uh we had a witness who said that uh they saw Katie uh in a white Ford F-150 [music] truck.

 Within approximately half an hour of her disappearance, the composite sketch was Tony Stuckleman, uh a tall, thin white man, short [music] hair, smoking. Furthermore, Stocklman’s alibi that he was helping [music] his mother move out of her house now provides police with further proof of his guild. He was at the residence 137 ft from where Katie was [music] last seen.

at least have class characteristics on several of the fibers collected from Katie Coleman’s clothing and her body that matched back to the glass characteristics to the red fibers and the carpeting of uh Anthony Stockman’s mother’s home. >> In my mind, that sealed the the fate of Tony Stockman.

 Uh what that told us was the sexual assault occurred in the back bedrooms on that red carpet. But the defendant evidence was the DNA evidence. There were three sources of the same DNA. They had taken a swab from Stockholmland himself. They had a DNA from the cigarette butt and they had DNA from the semen found on Katie’s body. Despite the evidence against Anthony Stocklman, there are several challenges facing the prosecution.

 When police first questioned Stocklman, his wife had provided a solid alibi. >> Initially, she backed him. In fact, I think it was her quote, you know, I back him 100%. She stood beside him and said, you know, that I know he didn’t do this. And [music] but that wasn’t real long that she was convinced that uh I think just from the fact, not by us, you know, we didn’t go trying to convince him.

 I think just from knowing and of the facts that we had against him that you know he was lying. >> But the biggest challenge is the confession from Chucky Hickman. >> I fully expected that the defense would try to point the finger at Chucky Hickman and say he confessed. He’s the one that did this.

 Pay no attention to the DNA evidence. Chucky Hickman is the murderer. Why are they picking on my client? Prosecutor Steven Pearson has an enormous task ahead of him. Not only must he prove beyond a reasonable doubt Stockman’s guilt of the crime, he must also convince the jury of Hickman’s innocence. But after months of negotiations, the case never makes it to trial.

 On the advice of his lawyers, Anthony Stocklman accepts a plea bargain. >> But he agreed to plead guilty again. I think it was in exchange for, you know, life without parole instead of the death penalty. April 20th, 2006, the day of the hearing and sentencing for Anthony Stocklman. The mood in the packed courtroom is tense and highly charged as those in attendance wait for the proceedings to start.

The courtroom was filled with family, friends, [music] community members, and investigators that had a vested interest in this investigation. Uh it was very emotional for for all of the individuals who were sitting in the gallery in the courtroom. [music] um and for all the individuals that testified because it was uh the culmination of all of months worth of work.

>> Anthony Stocklman is brought into the packed courtroom. The crowd hushes and leans in for a better look at the accused child killer. >> Everybody maintained a level of being calm throughout that which I think couldn’t imagine how difficult that would be, you know, sitting there right across the room from someone who took your child away from you.

Uh he was very stoic. He was very unemotional. Seemed disinterested. Uh seemed bored. >> When he was brought in to to the courtroom, I remember hearing someone yelling out, “Why’d you do it, Tony?” Uh it was his wife. But he never answered why. And I I think to this day, everyone is still wanting to know. >> After a thorough presentation of the facts of the case, presiding judge Vance listens to a victim impact statement from Katie’s father, John Nice.

>> I just told the judge, you know, they want to say that Anony’s kids are the biggest losers in this whole ordeal. Um, I beg the differ. They’re actually the biggest winners. because they don’t have to live their life wondering if that their father’s going to mistreat them. Um Katie is ultimately the biggest loser.

She paid the ultimate price with her life. After listening to all of the evidence and the testimonies, Judge Vance delivers his sentence. >> The sentence that Stockman received was life without parole for the murder of Katie Coleman. and I believe he received 30 years for the child molesting as well. >> The community reacts quickly to the sentencing.

>> There are some folks in this and other communities [music] that think because of the crime he committed against a 10-year-old girl that uh he ought to be put to death. My view though is sometimes there are things worse than death and being in a prison as an admitted child molester. There is such a thing as jailhouse justice.

It’s swift. It’s frequent. And there’s no court of appeals. The public is safe. Mr. Stocklman is not going to get out and the Nice family is at peace. >> His life in the free world will never be again. He can’t get out here and hurt any more kids. Uh he he’s just done. >> Anthony Stocklman is behind bars for the rest of his life with no possibility of parole.

For many, life in this peaceful Indiana town will never be the same. I mean, we’ve had murders, but they’re so infrequent and they were adults then. This happened to 10-year-old [music] little girl, and it meant something different. It meant something more profound. It’s just stripped away another layer of innocence that uh perhaps we could claim.

The case of Katie Coleman, the joyous little girl with the wide smile and generous spirit, has left a lasting impression on those involved. Every time I drive by that lake, it all comes back and I go by that lake all the time. Just a [music] tough case. What stands out most uh that I take with me on a daily basis in this case is the strength of community.

 The family is still an important part of of the community down there and I I [music] think it made that that community stronger. She’s still here. I mean, she may not be here in body, but she’s here in spirit. Every moment, she’s right here with us.