New Carlisle murder trial now up to judge after court hears teen's statements to police

SOUTH BEND — When Anthony Hutchens first started talking to detectives on the night Grace Ross was found dead in New Carlisle, he told them the 6-year-old girl had followed him into the woods, but then he lost track of where she went after a while.

By the end of the interrogation, nearly 90 minutes later, Anthony — who was 14 years old at the time — maintained a shadowy man in the woods had taken control of him and "used my hands to strangle her to death."

While friends and family of Grace uneasily watched the video in its entirety in a St. Joseph County courtroom on Tuesday, Anthony — now 16 — looked down and plugged his ears with his fingers.

The first day of the trial:'It stopped being a regular day': Murder trial tells of when 6-year-old went missing

The video of Anthony's statement was the main focus of Tuesday's proceedings and marked the final evidence prosecutors submitted in the murder trial. Anthony's statement to police, combined with the physical evidence collected, point to the teenager's guilt, Chief Deputy Prosecutor Chris Fronk argued in his closing statements.

"This is an important decision, but not a difficult one from the state's perspective. The defendant is obviously guilty," Fronk said.

Attorneys representing Anthony did not call any witnesses on the teenager's behalf and asked only a few questions of state witnesses.

Now, it is up to St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Sanford to decide whether Anthony is convicted or acquitted of murder and child molesting in connection Grace's death in March 2021. Stanford is expected to announce his verdict Thursday afternoon.

'I still feel like he's in my head'

Most of the proceedings Tuesday focused around what Anthony told investigators with the St. Joseph County Metro Homicide Unit in the hours after Grace’s body was found on the night of March 12, 2021.

In the video, Anthony at first told officers he was walking in the woods with his headphones in when he noticed Grace following him. Anthony didn’t indicate that he knew Grace well or know why she was following him that day, although they both lived in the same apartment complex. The boy then said he lost track of Grace and got lost in the woods before eventually making his way back to the apartment complex.

Immediately after detectives told Anthony they would test Grace’s body for DNA evidence, the boy said there was another person in the woods — a shadowy man standing behind the trees who took control of him. After initially bringing up the figure, Anthony said he was afraid to say more because then the man would “come after me.”

Over the next hour of the video, detectives, and Anthony’s mother, who was present and repeatedly urged her son to tell the truth, pressed the boy to tell them what happened to Grace and why she was undressed

Anthony then said the man “used my hands to strangle her to death” while repeatedly saying the man, or figure, was in control of his actions and that “it still feels like he’s in my head.”

Fronk characterized Anthony's statement as a teenager making up a story "in real-time."

"We have a 14-year-old who knew he was responsible for something vile, by all accounts something awful, and him not wanting to take responsibility," Fronk said during closing arguments.

Other testimony

Prosecutors also called a technician from the Indiana State Police's evidence laboratory who testified about DNA evidence collected from Anthony and Grace's clothing. The lab worker said samples from various parts of the clothing and Grace's body showed "very strong support" for Anthony's DNA.

On Monday, the court heard from witnesses at the apartment complex that day who said they saw Grace, Anthony and other children playing on a playground in the area. Police officers involved in the search for Grace also talked about how they found her body a good ways into the wooded area thanks to an infrared drone.

Jeff Kimmell, a public defender representing Anthony, asked a few questions about the methodology for the DNA testing, but otherwise did not cross examine any witnesses called by the state. In his closing remarks, Kimmell said he still feels the case should be tried in juvenile, not adult, court. Anthony did not testify.

Since Anthony's case was moved to adult court in March of last year, his lawyers have filed motions to have the case moved back to juvenile court, though Sanford declined to entertain that request. Anthony also has undergone a series of psychological evaluations to determine whether he is competent to stand trial, though he has been ruled competent in both juvenile and adult jurisdictions.

If Anthony is convicted on counts of both murder and child molesting, there is a wide range of sentencing outcomes possible. The 16-year-old faces more than 80 years in prison if sentenced to the maximum amount of time possible on both counts. However, because Anthony is under 18, Sanford could pursue alterative options, such as placing Anthony in a secure juvenile facility.

Email Marek Mazurek at mmazurek@sbtinfo.com. Follow him on Twitter: @marek_mazurek

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: New Carlisle murder trial now up to judge; defense calls no witnesses