Suspects Nabbed in Brutal Barn Slayings

L A K E V I L L E, Ind., Sept. 17 -- Police on Saturday arrested four people inthe execution-style killings of three construction workers inside abarn where they were installing a loft.

Robert Lee Washington Jr., 20, and Phillip A. Stroud, 21, ofSouth Bend, each face preliminary charges of murder in thekillings, which have shaken this rural community in northeasternIndiana. They are being held without bail in the St. Joseph Countyjail, authorities said.

The bodies of Wayne A. Shumaker, 59, of Plymouth; Corby Myers,30, and Lynn Ganger, 54, both of Bremen, were found Thursdayafternoon by a co-worker inside a barn.

The victims worked for Arndt Construction of Bremen.

A co-worker who had been at the site earlier in the day foundthe bodies when he returned about 4 p.m. Thursday after he hadn’theard from the crew.

Victims Shot in the Head

Each of the victims was found shot in the head with his handstied behind his back, said Mike Swanson, commander of the St.Joseph County Special Crimes Unit. He said the three may havestumbled upon a burglary attempt. “It appears they were caught bysurprise,” Swanson said.

Also arrested were Curtiss F. Smith, 24, of South Bend andCharity Lynn Payne, 18, of North Liberty. Smith was arrested on acharge of assisting a criminal, while Payne was to be charged withburglary, investigators said.

“There were different levels of participation” in Thursday’skillings, Swanson said of the various charges filed. He said morearrests are possible.

Stunned Relatives

Relatives of the three men expressed shock at the killings.

Lois Perry of Bremen said she couldn’t imagine a scenario inwhich her brother, Wayne Shumaker, would have been killed.

“They think maybe someone was breaking into the house and theywere witnesses, so they shot them,” Perry said. “They tied theirhands behind their back, taped them with duct tape, and shot themin the head.”

Officers with the St. Joseph County Special Crimes Unit have notsaid how the victims were killed.