NOBLE COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) – One of two men accused of killing a North Webster teenager in 1975 received an 8-year prison sentence Friday for his role in the girl’s death.
John Wayne Lehman, 68, appeared via video from the Miami Correctional Facility for his sentencing hearing after previously pleading guilty to a count of conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the death of Laurel Jean Mitchell.
Lehman’s guilty plea came as part of a deal with Noble County prosecutors, who agreed to drop a murder charge levied against Lehman and recommend to a judge he serve eight years in prison on the conspiracy count.
Fred Bandy, Jr., also 68, was found guilty of murder in connection to the killing after a bench trial earlier this week and is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.
On Aug. 6, 1975, Laurel Jean Mitchell disappeared after leaving her job at the Epworth Forest church camp snack bar around 10 a.m. She was supposed to meet friends at an amusement park about a half-mile away.