Roxanne Kerner wants her Jeep back.
Kerner, the mother of Connor Kerner, 18, charged earlier this year with two counts of murder in the deaths of two Lake County teenagers, filed a motion in court earlier this month asking for the return of her gray 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which according to the filing “was seized and searched on or about March 2, 2019.”
That was the day her son, then 17, was arrested in connection with the deaths of Molley Lanham, 19, of St. John, and Thomas Grill, 18, of Cedar Lake, both 2018 graduates of Hanover Central High School.
Their bodies, according to court documents, were found in a burned-out black 2012 Honda Civic in a wooded area not far from the home of Connor Kerner’s grandparents outside of Hebron. The car belonged to Lanham’s stepfather, and court documents state that Kerner shot Grill and then Lanham at his grandparents’ home before putting their bodies in the car in the woods and setting it on fire.
Connor Kerner, of the 100 block of Kinsale Avenue, Valparaiso, has pleaded not guilty to those charges, as well as subsequent felony charges of arson and intimidation. He remains in Porter County Jail.
Roxanne Kerner, of Valparaiso, who has retained attorney Russell Brown in the matter, said in the motion that pursuant to conversations with the state, the Jeep was searched and processed.
“Ms. Kerner has requested that said vehicle be returned; however, as of (Sept. 10) said request has been denied,” the motion states, adding, “The State has had possession of said vehicle for over six months, which is more than sufficient for the vehicle to be processed for forensic examination.”
The motion goes on to note that Roxanne Kerner has been and continues to suffer damages as a result of the state’s possession of the vehicle “as she continues to pay on the lease and insure the vehicle that she does not currently possess.”
The motion requests that the Porter County Sheriff’s Department return the Jeep.
A status hearing on her son’s felony charges is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday before Porter Superior Court Judge Roger Bradford.
Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
