Moments after she was shot, Tara Thornburg provided a jury with the most compelling evidence against the men who killed her and her boyfriend. A 911 call from Thornburg, as well as a vest cam video in which she tells police who shot her, turned out to be key evidence for a jury that found Brandon Woody, 24, and Kyle Dehart, 24, guilty of two counts each of murder on Thursday night. The 12-member jury returned a verdict after 7-1/2 hours of deliberation Thursday in the shooting deaths of Thornburg, 23, and Joshua Knisley, 19, who died in February 2015 in?Syracuse. Dehart also was convicted of obstruction of justice, Kosciusko County Prosecutor Dan Hampton concluded his closing statement by once again playing a 911 tape of Thornburg, who he referred to as “someone more qualified than me” to speak on the circumstances. “Please help me ...?Brandon Woody shot my boyfriend, and knocked me out ...” she said on the call. After the verdicts, friends and family of the victims hugged detectives and Hampton, thanking them for their work in the case. Rhonda Bickel, Knisley’s mother, through tears, exclaimed, “We got them,?we got them.” Defense attorney for Dehart, Larry Hansen, said, “We’re disappointed in the result but we respect the jury’s efforts. They worked for a long time,” after the verdict, Hansen said he has not discussed whether or to appeal the case, Earlier in the trial,?Hampton showed body cam footage of Syracuse Police Department officer Joe Denton asking Thornburg who shot her after arriving at the scene. Thornburg told Denton the shooter was Brandon?Woody and added, “They’re gone”? when Denton asked where the shooter was. “I think anytime you have video it’s important,” said Syracuse Police Chief Jim?Layne after the verdict.?He said the department began using the cameras about two years ago, which would be approximately six months before the shootings. “We lost, in our community, two caring young adults who lost their two lives in the ruthless action of these three, Thomas Hursey, Brandon Woody and Kyle Dehart,” Hampton told the jury. Prosecutors say Knisley and Thornburg were shot when Woody, Dehart and Hursey sought to steal her marijuana. Hursey testified that Woody pulled out his gun after an argument with Thornburg over payment for an ounce of marijuana. Woody shot Thornburg and then Knisley, police said. Knisley was killed instantly. Thornburg died the next day in a Fort Wayne hospital, according to coroner Michael Wilson. Hampton argued Dehart participating in the robbery led to deaths “created a dangerous situation,” which made him guilty of murder. During closing arguments, Woody’s attorney, Scott Lennox, attacked Hursey’s credibility. Lennox pointed to Hursey’s criminal history and status as a criminal informant. “Whenever Hursey gets in trouble, he makes up a story to get out of trouble,” Lennox said. Lennox pointed out?that Hursey had asked police for a “clean slate” and to put the mother of his child in jail. Police said no promises were made, but Hursey did ask for those things. Hampton countered by saying police had listed Hursey as a “reliable” informant, meaning his information could be trusted. Hampton also said many details, such as the misfired bullets on the ground, a Bud Light can at Dehart’s residence and Thornburg’s marijuana sale log, were too specific for Hursey to make up. Hursey is also charged with two counts of murder in connection with the killings, and his case is still pending. Hansen, accused Hursey of setting Dehart up. “Why do you think Hursey hasn’t been tried yet? Because they’re making deals,” he said during his closing remarks. Hansen implied that Hursey was the real culprit. “Every piece of the state’s evidence still works if you substitute Hursey for Dehart,” Hansen said. Hursey testified Hampton has not offered him any deal or promised to go easy on him in exchange for his testimony. Both?Lennox and Hansen pointed to the state’s lack of physical evidence in the case. “There are no fibers, no hair samples, no fingerprints,” Lennox argued. Hursey said after the men fled the scene, Dehart tossed shoes out of the car and then encouraged Woody to burn other items at Dehart’s home. Police would later find the shoes close to the Dehart residence. Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department Detective Joshua Spangle testified the shoes were similar in size, shape and tread to a shoe print found at the scene. Spangle testified that evidence from the burn pile at the Dehart residence was similar to clothing Woody was wearing that was captured in a video the day before the shooting. He testified the police found a lighter fluid bootle with a hole poked in it at the Dehart residence. Ashlyn Shepard, the mother of Dehart’s child, testified that she was “85 percent sure she had seen the shoes in the Dehart residence.” Shepard faces an obstruction of justice charge in connection with the shooting. The only witness called for the defense,?Dehart’s adoptive father Scott, testified that he had never seen the shoes and Kyle Dehart was home at the time of the shooting. Hampton challenged his recollection, pointing out that Dehart’s cell phone puts Dehart in Warsaw at 6:30 a.m. the morning of the shooting, a time Scott Dehart said Kyle was home. Dehart’s mother, Joan, is also charged in connection with the slayings. Joan?Dehart is charged with one count of assisting a criminal. Police say she told the men she would act as thier alibi and drove Woody to Mishawaka. Woody was found hiding in her car when he was arrested. Afterward, Hampton declined to comment on the case, pending sentencing. Judge Michael Reed set sentencing for both men on Oct. 26. Both men face 45 to 65 years on both murder counts. Under Indiana law, no part of the 45 years may be suspended in a murder case, Hampton said.
