Once youngest person ever on Indiana's death row

Paula Cooper

Peer pressure exploded into bloodshed in Gary Indiana in the mid-1980s. We call her Nana was the affection name, that the family had for her. She took a real special lover for each one of us, grandkids and we were all special to her and she treated us all very fair and equal. Bill Pelke, remembers the kind warmth of his grandmother Ruth, her real love, her real passion was telling Bible source to young kids. We cut out pictures of Bible characters and she put them up on this board, tell the stories, neighborhood children gather in Mrs. Pelke home for her lessons. It is what she loved to do and so at the age of 70, 80 years old. One more chance for her to share her faith with young people. Not all her students have such good intentions in reaching out to help.

Mrs. Pelke has made herself a target when news for girls knock their door city will take live lessons, come on in I've been in this business for almost 35 years. As a prosecutor, a judge and a defense lawyer now, and I have never seen a crime like this, where young girls committed such a senseless heinous act. Indiana prosecutor Jack Crawford is marked forever by Ruth Pelke killing. That girl's, teenage girls, could decide on a school afternoon to go and murder someone is completely shocking. It's a case that has never left me, and I'll never forget Ruth Pelke. Fate is being shaped by a small gang of teenage girls. Karen Corder, Denis Thomas and April Beverly are all classmates, their leader is 15 year old Paula Cooper.

Paula Cooper is yet another young killer who came from a horrible background. Paula's short life so far is a horror story of drugs and violence. Her father was very abusive, he would do things like beat her with electrical cord. She was in and out of school. she watched her mother being sexually assaulted. All of these things led to a very disturbed young woman and I think that Paula learned one thing well by the age of 15, It was how to hate. Paula Cooper's hate is about to erupt Paula’s planet with three other young girls who were high school classmates of hers. They had a discussion among themselves about places where they thought they could get some money, and one of the girls, April Beverly came up with the idea that she knew a Bible studies teacher in the neighborhood, who she thought might have some cash on hand.

Mrs. Pelke is far from wealthy but the 78 year old is trusting and defenseless the perfect victim. Paula Cooper was on a path of destruction. She wanted to kill someone. They chose to kill someone who was helpless. Someone they knew they could talk their way into. Ruth pelke opens her door with love in her heart but she innocently lets in seething hate. I got a phone call from my brother-in-law. I just had gotten off work and he told me that Nana had died. Bill Pelke, Nana is 78 year old Ruth Pelke, a gentle grandmother living in a decaying blue-collar town. Her family had encouraged her to move out because it was a changing neighborhood but she was so committed to the young people there. She wanted to stay and offer her Bible studies classes to the teenagers in that area. Which she did of course for free.

In 1985 four girls knock on Mrs. Pelke’s door asking about Bible School. She already knows April Beverly from previous classes. The girls are welcomed in. Schoolgirls from the ninth grade are about to become a pack of killers led by Paula Cooper. Paula grabbed a vase and hit Mrs. Pelke over the head, knocking her to the floor. Paula had brought with her from April's house, a 12 inch butcher knife. Paulette jumped on her and started demanding to know where the money was, in fact the quote was where's the money. The pack mentality has taken over. The ringleader becomes empowered by the fact that she or he has followers. The mere fact that they are there, encourages the ringleader to do bigger bolder things than they normally would. Mrs. Pelke pleads that she does not have any money. Paula responds with torture. Paula started cutting Mrs. Pelke with the butcher knife.

She was cutting her back and forth across her chest. Paula stabbed Mrs. Pelke in the chest. The evidence was that at some point, she started reciting the Lord's Prayer. Obviously she knew, she was going to die and it's Paula Cooper who orders her death. Paula told Karen to push the knife through Mrs. Pelke’s body. Which she did and in fact the knife made an indentation in the floor. It was a horrendous murder. Money might have been the apparent motive but I believe the motive was to kill Ruth Pelke and the robbery was incidental. You do not stab someone 33 times because you want their watch. They went there to kill her. She was on the dining room floor, that's where her body was found. It is a dining room where our family gathered every year for Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, birthdays, happy joyous occasions and every time I would think about Nana, I would picture her butchered on that dining room floor.

It was just a terrible painful thing to even think about now Mrs. Pelke built a life on family and trust. Paula Cooper learned to trust no one, I think the attacks on Ruth Pelke were so vicious because that is what was in Paula's heart, a rage to destroy something because she had been destroyed so many times in her 15 years on this earth. The girls leave the house with just $10 and the keys to Mrs. Pelke’ car. Paula leaves her jacket behind, in the pocket a prescription for birth control pills with her name on it. Young killers are rarely hard to catch. Most young people think they are not going to get caught and anything shoplifting a candy bar, let alone murder, they tend to think they are the smarter than everyone else and also they tend to not cover up their crime. They are oftentimes surprised when they get caught.

Even more surprised are the residents of Gary, once the community realized, it was young people and then young girls. There was shock in the community. That four young teenage girls could commit a crime like this, people can believe it. Paula Cooper is found guilty of murder at age 16. She becomes the youngest person ever on Indiana's death row. Her three followers get lengthy prison terms. Bill Pelke felt justice had been done for his grandmother. I originally supported the distance for Paula Cooper but after much soul-searching, he finds forgiveness while Ruth pelke’s life was taken without mercy Bill Pelke campaigns to save her killer. I knew I no longer want her to die and I wanted to do whatever I could do, to try to help her and I learned the most important lesson of my life. The power forgiveness, because when my heart was touched with compassion, forgiveness took place and it brought a tremendous healing.

After intervention from the Pope and a petition of 2 million signatures, Paula's sentence is commuted to life. Paula Cooper was exactly the kind of child Ruth Pelke was trying to help, sparing her life would be Ruth's final gift. My grandmother did a lot of praying and she had a special love for young people. So people like Paula Cooper that my grandmother really had a concern for. I am convinced she would have forgave Paula Cooper