Indiana
An Indiana Man Murders His Wife and Their Three Young Daughters, But Somehow It Gets Worse…
What began as a simple welfare check turned into a nightmare when police officers arrived at an Indiana home to find a husband, wife and their three children dead. Upon their investigation, they discovered the killer was among the deceased but family members revealed the disturbing motive behind the killing.
Lake Station police responded to a home on the 6700 block of 9th Avenue the afternoon of Feb. 21. Authorities say they received a request for a welfare check. Upon arrival, they obtained a search warrant for the home. Inside, officers discovered a disturbing sight.
Briana Payne, 27, along with her children, 7-year-old Aurorah, 6-year-old Ava and 4-year-old Alayna were found dead. A fifth person, 31-year-old Robert Payne was also found dead. The Lake County Coroner ruled their deaths as homicides by means of gunshots wounds. However, Mr. Payne’s death was the only one ruled as a suicide, per authorities.
The neighborhood was left shaken at the news that the seemingly perfect family was gone in an instant. However, neighbor Sandy Goodman tells WSAZ she knew something was off.
“They were arguing a lot for the last few days,” Goodman told reporters. “I knew there was something weird because the cars weren’t moved, and they go [out] every day.”
Briana’s family had their own theories as to what happened. Her mother, Lili Owens, tells ABC 7 Chicago there were concerns surrounding the state of her daughter’s marriage. For instance, one of Briana’s employers said she parted ways with the woman because of her husband’s red flags and claimed he wanted to isolate her, per the report. Owens also told reporters Briana told her husband she planned on filing for a divorce just weeks before the incident.
Based on this information, the family’s death was suspected to be a murder-suicide by the hands of Mr. Payne. Now, Briana’s family and the peers of her young daughters are left grieving the bright light they once were in their lives.
“Losing Briana and her daughters feels like losing a piece of our hearts. There’s an emptiness now in our community where their light and energy used to be. It’s hard to imagine moving forward without them. They deserved so much more time, so many more days to laugh and grow,” the family wrote via GoFundMe.
Saturday, May 30, 2026 12:14AM
HIGHLAND, Ind. (WLS) — Police are searching for a missing man with autism who was last seen riding a bicycle near his home in Northwest Indiana.
Brody Shelton, 21, was last seen around noon Thursday near Laporte Street and Johnston Street in Highland, Indiana, officials said.
Indiana State Police have issued a Silver Alert as the the search for Shelton continues.
He is 5 feet 2 inches tall, 155 pounds, brown hair with brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a beige and green sweatshirt, and riding a blue/green Huffy mountain bike, police said.
Anyone with information has been asked to contact the Highland Police Department at 219-838-3184 or 911.
Copyright © 2026 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.
(The REPORTER) — The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, June 10, regarding a proposed corridor improvement project on State Road 32 in Hamilton County.
The hearing will provide an opportunity for the public to interact with the project team, review the features of the proposed roundabout project, and provide official public comment. Project documents are available for review at improvetomove32.com.
The project area is between East Street in Westfield and River Road in Noblesville. The proposed project includes adding lanes to accommodate two lanes in each direction, removing all traffic signals within the project limits, and constructing roundabouts at the following intersections with SR 32:
- Carey Road/Grassy Branch Road
- Gunther Boulevard
- Shady Nook Road
- Moontown Road/Gray Road
- Pebble Brook Boulevard
- Hazel Dell Road/Little Chicago Road
- Mill Creek Road
The hearing will take place at Prairie Waters Event Center, 4180 Westfield Road, Westfield. Doors will open at 5 p.m. to allow the public to view displays and talk with the project team. A presentation will be given at 5:30 p.m., with a public comment session held directly after. INDOT is offering livestreams of all public meetings and hearings. You must register here in order to participate in the livestream. Livestream audience comments will only be accepted in written electronic form, not verbally. A recording of the livestream presentation will be posted on the project webpage and INDOT YouTube page after the hearing and will be available for at least 90 days.
All verbal statements recorded during the public hearing and all written comments submitted prior to, during and for a period of two weeks following the hearing date, will be evaluated, considered, and addressed in subsequent environmental documentation.
Written comments may be submitted within the comment period to Nick Batta, CMT, 8790 Purdue Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268; or sent via email to SR32HamiltonCounty@cmtengr.com.
INDOT respectfully requests comments be submitted by June 26.
-
Los Angeles, Ca4 minutes agoMan arrested for multiple Los Angeles freeway shootings: CHP
-
Detroit, MI24 minutes agoArchdiocese of Detroit’s list of parishes chosen for halted Masses grows
-
San Francisco, CA34 minutes agoGiants reassign 3B coach Borg; Wotus named interim replacement
-
Dallas, TX39 minutes agoVigil honors victims of Dallas apartment explosion that killed three and injured five
-
Miami, FL46 minutes ago
Miami kosher, Mutra, restaurant earns Michelin star | The Jerusalem Post
-
Boston, MA48 minutes agoRed Sox outfielder Roman Anthony suffers another injury setback
-
Denver, CO54 minutes agoDenver weather: Warm weather to end May
-
Seattle, WA1 hour agoSeattle City Council proposal would use street closures to curb gun violence
