A twist in an Illinois homicide case revealed that the accused had requested documents to file a $1 million life insurance claim on the deceased.
Steven Lindsey of Valparaiso, Illinois is accused of shooting his wife, Melinda Lindsey, in the head and killing her.
During the third week of his trial, a representative of
MetLife Insurance revealed in court that Lindsey intended to file a $1.1 million claim on his wife. The claim packet was mailed to Lindsey, though he never completed it and the claim was later denied due to a misrepresentation of a medical issue and Lindsey’s failure to secure life insurance coverage of at least equal value for himself,
NWI Times reported.
Greg Mirabelli, an investigator with MetLife, testified that the $1 million life insurance policy was issued March 26, 2014. Melinda Lindsey took out the policy herself, along with an additional $100,000 in case of an accidential death.
The December 26, 2014 monthly payment was not made shortly before Melinda Lindsey’s death, but the policy was in a grace period and still valid.
An attorney for Lindsey then called January 22, 2015 to ask for a copy of the policy, Mirabelli said. Lindsey called the same day, asking about filing a claim, and called back again the next day to request a claim packet.
Lindsey called again on February 10, 2015 to ask about the status of the claim, despite never actually filing the claim.
Prosecutors have latched onto the insurance policy as a potential motive for the January 16 murder. The Lindseys were apparently falling behind in their bills and were arguing, in part over Melinda Lindsey’s desire to return to her former job as an exotic dancer.
Deputy Prosecutor Cheryl Polarek intended to play four recorded calls made to MetLife, including call in which Melinda Lindsey is applying for the policy and her husband can be heard in the background asking her to make him the beneficiary.
One phone call was played, but Porter County Judge William Alexa decided the remainder were not needed in the interest of time.
