INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — An Indiana pastor’s wife who died last week after being declared brain dead when she was shot in the head during a home invasion was raped and her bank cards were used after the attack, reports state.
WTHR-TV reports that not only did Amanda Blackburn fight her attacker last week, but she was sexually assaulted in the process. Blackburn’s bank card has also been traced as since being used at a local gas station, and surveillance footage shows a person using her card at an ATM.
As previously reported, Blackburn’s husband Davey founded Resonate Church three years ago to “see a contagious movement of God spread throughout Indianapolis.” The couple gave birth to a baby boy last year named Weston, and recently learned that they were expecting their second child.
But last Tuesday, when Davey Blackburn came home from the gym, he found his wife, 28, lying unconscious on the floor with a gunshot wound to the head. She was rushed to the hospital, but was declared brain dead. The following day, Blackburn was removed from life support, and both she and her 12-week-old baby Evie died.
On Monday, police released two surveillance photos that show a person of interest in connection with the attack. The man, believed to be between five foot four and five foot nine, was wearing light pants and a two-toned hoodie. The man’s back is only seen in the photographs; his face is not shown.
On Thursday, police interviewed several persons of interest in the crime, but no arrests have yet been made.
“To the individual who committed this crime, you are not as good as you think you are,” Assistant Commander Eric Hench said during a news conference last week. “Got away with it, but you left something behind and we will find you. We are coming to get you.”
Officials believe the home invasion was likely an attempted robbery. There have been recent burglaries in the area, including a break-in not far from the Blackburn’s home just that morning where electronics and other valuables were stolen.
Crimestoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of Blackburn’s killer. Prosecutors will not be seeking charges for baby Evie’s death as Indiana state law only considers the killing of “a fetus that has attained viability” to be murder, voluntary manslaughter or involuntary manslaughter.
“What was so great about Amanda is that she was so selfless that she didn’t want her life to be put on display ever, but she wanted Jesus to be put on display,” Davey Blackburn told ABC News this week.
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