Ind. Woman Allegedly Conspired with Daughter to Kill Her Ex by Poisoning His Oatmeal with Fentanyl
An Indiana woman allegedly killed her ex-boyfriend by lacing his oatmeal with fentanyl and then strangled him with his favorite tie, authorities say.
Heidi Marie Littlefield, 41, was charged Thursday with murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Francis Kelley, 46, who was found dead Jan. 18 in his home in Carmel.
Kelley and Littlefield were in the middle of a custody battle for their two-year-old daughter, police said.
Also accused in Kelley's death are Littlefield's 22-year-old daughter Logan Marie Runyon and Runyon's 29-year-old boyfriend Robert James Walker. Runyon is charged with one count of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. Walker is charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit murder.
The case came to light on Jan. 17 when Kelley's ex-girlfriend Courtney told police that Kelley had not picked up their nine-year-old daughter on the day of his birthday. She had last heard from him two days earlier.
Carmel police officers knocked on the door but nobody answered. But they returned after Courtney found Kelley's body on his couch.
A Jan. 20 autopsy found that Kelley's death was a homicide, and that he died from asphyxia due to manual strangulation. He also suffered from blunt force trauma to the head, left hand, elbow and knees. A toxicology report on Feb. 7 concluded that he had fentanyl in his system.
Police searched Kelley's phone and came across texts where Kelley allegedly accused Littlefield of tampering with his oatmeal when she was at his home on Jan. 14.
"Did you do something to the oatmeal that was in my fridge," he texted her. "You were in my fridge last night and it tasted funny after a couple of bites and now I am light headed."
Littlefield responded: "Who tf puts oatmeal in a fridge? I don't know anything you do or want to! Your life and the stuff you say/do is beyond me."
Police said the former couple had a court hearing scheduled for Jan 27 "due to Fran's allegation that Heidi was violating the parenting time order. The main concern was Heidi not allowing Fran to pick up his child and that she would stay in his house during his parenting time."
According to the arrest affidavit, Littlefield's ex-husband contacted police on Jan. 23 and told them that Logan told him months earlier that "Heidi paid Logan's boyfriend, Robert Walker, $2,500 dollars to find someone to kill Fran."
The following day, on Jan. 24, a relative of Littlefield's told police that Littlefield allegedly had made a number of statements after the murder.
"'He's better off dead,' 'I didn't mean to kill him last time,' and 'I might as well say I did it and just say I'm crazy and pregnant," the relative quoted Littlefield as saying, according to the affidavit.
The relative said Runyon was with her mother on Jan. 14 and that both were "in and out of Fran's residence on the evening of Thursday (January 14th) through the afternoon of Friday (January 15th)," the affidavit states.
Another ex-boyfriend of Littlefield's told police on Jan. 28 that "Heidi told him that Logan put fentanyl in Fran's oatmeal sometime on January 14th," the affidavit alleges.
The ex-boyfriend told police that after Kelley accused Littlefield of poisoning his oatmeal, Littlefield told him that she and Runyon went to Kelley's home the following day and climbed through a window when he didn't answer the door.
"Heidi advised [ex-boyfriend] that Heidi and Logan found Fran 'aspirating' on the kitchen floor," states the affidavit. "[Ex-boyfriend] advised that Heidi also mentioned a lanyard around Fran's neck, and it being involved in the incident."
He also told police that Littlefield "asked him over the past several months about how much fentanyl it would take to overdose someone versus kill someone," the affidavit alleges.
Walker was arrested on a separate incident March 23 and later told Carmel detectives that Littlefield allegedly reached out to him in October "about looking for someone to take care of 'her problem,'" the affidavit alleges.
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Walker alleged that Littleton gave him $2,500 to hire someone to kill Kelley but "he spent it on drugs and had no intention of doing what Heidi asked," states the affidavit. "Walker advised he was going to get another $2,500 once Fran was killed."
He then allegdly told police that allegedly Runyon told him that when they found Kelley still breathing in his home, "Heidi grabbed Fran's 'favorite tie' and tried to strangle him and smash his head into the 'pavement,'" the affidavit alleges. "Walker stated 'Heidi bludgeoned his head against the floor.'"
Walker alleged that Littlefield told him that "Fran was abusive to her, their baby, and that 'she would be failing her daughter if the dude didn't end up dead," the statement alleges.
He also alleged to police that Littlefield had put fentanyl in Kelley's miso soup in October.
It is unclear if Littlefield, Walker or Runyon has entered a plea. Littlefield's attorney could not be reached for comment.
A pretrial hearing is scheduled for June 15 for Littlefield.
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