Mommy’s Little Helpers

Paul Witte, 43, was a volunteer firefighter in Beverly Shores, Indiana. On September 1, 1981, his 15-year-old son, Eric, shot him in the head as he slept. The family said the gun had gone off by accident, and investigators accepted that explanation. In reality, Paul’s wife, Hilma Marie Witte, had spent years pushing Eric toward the killing, after earlier attempts to poison her husband.

The family later moved in with Paul’s elderly stepmother, Elaine Witte, in Trail Creek, Indiana. With Eric away in the Navy, Hilma turned to her younger son, John, known as Butch. On January 8, 1984, at her direction, the teenager shot Elaine with a crossbow. Over the following months the family cut up and disposed of her body while Hilma kept collecting Elaine’s Social Security payments. The scheme fell apart after Hilma and John fled to California, where Eric was stationed. She was arrested in Chula Vista in November 1984 over the checks, and her sons described both killings.

Eric and John pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and were released in 1996. Hilma was convicted of Paul’s murder and received 50 years. She was then convicted of murder and conspiracy in Elaine’s death and sentenced to 90 years. Indiana’s Supreme Court upheld both convictions.