A Lake County jury deliberated for less than two hours on Wednesday before finding a Gary man guilty of fatally shooting a woman while her children were in the next room.
Samuel Carlos Edwards, 38, of Riverdale, Illinois, was charged with murder, five counts of neglect of a dependent, and one count of misdemeanor domestic battery, in addition to a firearms enhancement. He had put the five children — ranging in age from 6 to 1 — in a neighboring bedroom before closing the door and killing Ieisha Jefferson on Dec. 27, 2022 at a residence in the 3800 block of Adams Street in Gary.
A witness told investigators Edwards and Jefferson had dated on-and-off for six years and had five children. They moved to Gary the year before. He was “very abusive.”
Edwards is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24.
The trial featured heart-wrenching testimony from Johnson’s oldest daughter, who said she heard a “gunshot,” then later saw her mom “asleep.”
Defense lawyer Michael Lambert asked the girl how she knew what the sound was.
“My brother told me,” the girl said, holding a stuffed unicorn on the stand.
Edwards was not there when they opened the door, she testified. She was 5 at the time of the shooting.
“I thought my mom was asleep,” she told jurors.
On Monday, Gary Police Sgt. Silas Simpson told the court that the girl told him, “Sam shot Ieisha.”
Authorities allege Edwards called 911 afterward, claiming he wasn’t there, but heard shots.
“I don’t know what happened,” he said. “I just heard a couple shots,” he said before he hung up.
Police traced the call to Edwards’ cell phone number.
In testimony Tuesday, the children’s maternal aunt identified Edwards as the man on the 911 call.
Jefferson had her right arm over her face, as if trying to defend herself. Three live, .38-caliber bullets were found nearby.
Detectives subpoenaed the cell phone of the 911 caller, which pinged at the Adams Street address at the time of the shooting. Jefferson’s friends and family shunned Edwards for how he treated her, court records allege.
Deputy Prosecutors Lindsey Lanham and Arturo Balcazar are assigned.