Vigo County homicide, arson case headed to jury
Sep. 1—Closing arguments and jury deliberations will begin Thursday in the Vigo County homicide trial of Samuel E. Haney Jr., a Terre Haute man charged with arson and murder in the April 2020 death of his brother.
Haney did not testify in his own defense on Wednesday, but the jury did hear from the only defense witness — psychologist Jeff Huttinger — that Haney has a mild intellectual deficit.
Huttinger testified he evaluated Haney and found that he sometimes agrees with statements he does not understand, such as questions from police about the fire and the death of his brother Terry.
Defense attorney Matt Daley also challenged the interview techniques used by police when they talked to Haney in the hours after the fire on April 28, 2020, in the 1800 block of North 10th Street.
Daley suggested Haney might have been tricked into admitting he set a fire in the home of his ex-girlfriend, leading to the death of his brother.
Haney became emotional when photos of his injured brother were displayed to the jury. He sobbed and laid his head on his arms at the defense table.
Terry Haney sustained severe burns to about 60 to 70 percent of his body in the fire. He died in an Indianapolis hospital. His son Terry Haney Jr. also testified about his father's injuries, saying he made the decision to remove his father from a ventilator after his father suffered a heart attack and seemed unable to recover from his injuries.
Witnesses said Tuesday that Terry Haney, 52, rushed into the burning apartment house in an attempt to help anyone inside, but was apparently overcome by smoke and heat. He was pulled from the residence by firefighters.
Residents of the building had already escaped.
Samuel Haney was identified by witnesses as a person who had been at the house prior to the fire, and Haney told police he set the fire by breaking a window, reaching inside and setting a curtain on fire.
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Rob Roberts told the jury Haney was angry because his brother Terry had been staying with Haney's former girlfriend at her home on North 10th Street. Roberts said Haney was intoxicated when he went to that apartment house, broke a window and set the fire.
The fire also endangered the occupants of another apartment in the building. A woman and her small child were able to escape after they noticed smoke entering their apartment.
Haney has a lengthy criminal history in Vigo County. He pleaded guilty to arson as a Level 4 felony in connection with a July 2019 fire, and he received a seven-year sentence that was suspended to probation.
Closing arguments are to begin after the jury assembles at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, with deliberations to follow.
Lisa Trigg can be reached at 812-231-4254 or at lisa.trigg@tribstar.com. Follow her on Twitter at TribStarLisa.
