Homeless man pleads guilty in manhole slayings
Criminal Law
A homeless man accused of killing four other homeless men and placing their bodies in manholes in a dispute over scrap metal pleaded guilty Wednesday to four counts of murder.
Daniel J. Sharp entered the plea as part of an agreement with prosecutors that will have him serve his sentences concurrently instead of consecutively.
Sharp, 55, faces 45 to 65 years when he is sentenced Sept. 4 by St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Jane Woodward Miller.
Sharp pleaded guilty to killing Michael S. Nolen Jr., Michael W. Lawson, Brian Talboom and Jason Coates between Dec. 18 and 21 and dumping their bodies in manholes 75 yards apart just south of downtown South Bend.
Autopsies showed the four men died of blunt force trauma to the head. Sharp said he hit two of the men with "blunt objects" and helped another man kill the two others.
Randy Lee Reeder, 51, South Bend, also is charged with four counts of murder. According to the plea agreement, Sharp has agreed to testify against Reeder. Reeder's trial is scheduled for July 12.
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