Kit Roberts
A man was sentenced to 85 years in prison after killing his mom's partner and accidentally leaving her a voicemail.
Cody Allen Wade from Indiana, US, stabbed his mom's partner, Carl Haviland, to death in June 2020 before kicking and taunting him, a court order says.
He was convicted of murder on 3 August, according to the sentencing document seen by People, and sentenced for a total of 85 years in prison.
At the time of the attack, he had been out on parole for arson, the document also said.
Advert
A key piece of evidence in the trial was a voicemail that Wade had left on his mother's phone as he had called her prior to attacking Haviland. However, he did not hang up the phone.
This meant that the entire incident was recorded in the voicemail, which was played to the jury as evidence, FOX 59 reports.
Clay County Superior Court Judge, Robert A. Pell, wrote that Wade had stabbed Haviland multiple times in front of his mother.
Prior to the attack, Wade had left a cookout and walked to his mother's house and, on the way there, he stopped at another man's house and told him that he was going to kill someone.
Judge Pell wrote: “The defendant repeatedly stabbed Carl Haviland not only in front of the defendant's own mother but did so in spite of her efforts to physically prevent him from committing the crime."
A sentencing order for Wade states that after stabbing Haviland, Wade then proceeded to kick him and taunt him.
He had been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, the document also reads.
Wade was sentenced for a number of different offences - which included 60 years for murder.
He was also given an additional 15 years since he was found by the court to be a habitual offender and was then sentenced to an additional ten years for two separate counts of felony battery on a public safety office.
He was given concurrent sentences for three other charges, meaning they would be served at the same time.
These were felony battery against a public safety official and misdemeanour resisting law enforcement.
Wade also received credit for time already spent in custody.
Clay county prosecutor, Emily Clarke, said: “All murders are gruesome, but this one is especially callous. The defendant was yelling at the victim while dying."
According to The Brazil Times, Wade also gave a statement to the court, saying he has three years to think about what he has done, adding: "My remorse is real. I lost my friend that night, too."
After his sentencing, he was remanded into Clay County Jail's custody for formal processing.