Indianapolis, IN – The Indiana Parole Board concluded public hearings Monday on a clemency request from Jeffrey Weisheit, who is scheduled for execution on November 5. Lisa Lynch, the mother of his two murdered children, urged the five-member board to reject his plea for mercy, stating her children deserved the futures he took from them.
Weisheit was sentenced to death in 2013 for the murders of 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch and her 5-year-old brother, Caleb, in a fire at his home near Evansville. Their mother, Lisa Lynch, had left the children in his care while working an overnight shift.
Speaking remotely, Lisa Lynch began her testimony through tears, asking the board to remember the children and not solely the case against their killer. Lynch’s video was visible only to board members due to privacy concerns. She asserted, “Every single day without them is a struggle,” and that her children are not merely names in a case file. She described Alyssa as creative and loving drawing, while Caleb loved hugs and playing with trucks and trains. Lynch said their deaths robbed her of watching them grow, build careers, and have families, noting that the weight of losing them never fades.
Earlier Monday, Weisheit’s family and attorneys asked the board to recommend sparing his life. They cited his history of mental illness and head injuries, his religious conversion, and a written request from the murdered children’s father, Steven Lynch, for forgiveness and a sentence of life without parole. Steven Lynch did not attend Monday’s hearing.
First responders and investigators also testified about the killings and their lasting impact. David Bretz, then assistant chief of the German Township Fire Department, recalled arriving to find flames pushing through every opening. Firefighters found Caleb’s body on a mattress, with his hands and feet bound, and later located Alyssa’s hand amid debris in her bedroom closet. Bretz said the events have remained with him, weakening and terrifying him regularly, and he urged the board to carry out the sentence. Chad Ferguson, an on-duty patrol supervisor, recounted deputies frantically searching for the children before Caleb was found. Dr. Crunchy Wells, a forensic dentist, described identifying the children using dental records and recent Easter photographs, calling it the hardest report she ever made.
Retired investigators Randy Chapman and Kerri Blessinger challenged the defense’s account of Weisheit’s mental condition and remorse. Blessinger characterized the killings as domestic violence intended to devastate the children’s mother, stating that forgiveness does not erase punishment. Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Diana Moers closed by recalling the children’s personalities and urging officials to uphold the sentence, saying the death penalty was the jury’s recommended sentence, reviewed by courts, and represents justice.
Tyler Banks, chief of capital and habeas litigation for the Indiana attorney general’s office, argued that Weisheit’s sentence had survived extensive court review and that his clemency presentation offered no reason to overturn it. Banks recounted evidence that Weisheit bound and gagged Caleb, placed railroad flares near his body and in his clothing, and left both children in the burning house before fleeing the state. He disputed Weisheit’s Friday account that he started the fire by placing a phone book on a stove burner, citing evidence of an accelerant and the flares. Defense attorney Joseph Perkovich, however, attributed discrepancies in Weisheit’s account to memory gaps, not guile, stating Weisheit has zero recollection of the flares.
In a related development, the Indiana Department of Correction released a $275,000 invoice Monday in response to requests for execution drug purchasing records. The September 25 invoice does not specify the drug or number of doses, nor does it confirm if or when pentobarbital arrived.
Board Chair Gwen Horth indicated that a recommendation would not be issued for several days following the conclusion of public hearings. Governor Mike Braun will make the final decision.
