Indiana judge shooting leaves ‘long list’ of potential suspects days into manhunt: defense attorney

A transgression defence lawyer says that Indiana constabulary volition person to enactment done a "long database of imaginable suspects" arsenic investigators enactment to place the idiosyncratic who changeable a justice and his woman astatine their home.

Dispatch audio obtained by Fox News Digital shows that the unidentified shooter, who hasn't been caught by police, allegedly knocked connected the doorway of Judge Steven Meyer and his woman Kimberly Meyer's location astir 2:15 p.m. Sunday, past fired gunshots done the door. Before firing the gun, the fishy said, "We person your dog," according to the audio.

Steven sustained an limb wounded portion Kimberly had a hep wounded arsenic a effect of the shooting. Both individuals were taken to a infirmary wherever they are recovering, and are successful unchangeable condition, according to the Lafayette Police Department.

While constabulary did not accidental however galore shots were fired by the suspect, ammunition casings were recovered astatine the country of the shooting. The Lafayette Police Department, Indiana State Police, Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Office, West Lafayette Police Department and the FBI are progressive successful the investigation.

INDIANA JUDGE IN BIZARRE NATALIA GRACE CASE SHOT IN HOME ATTACK AS POLICE HUNT SUSPECT

An Indiana justice and his woman were wounded successful a Lafayette shooting Sunday day arsenic local, authorities and national authorities investigate. (Tippecanoe Superior Court)

"I americium truthful grateful for the outpouring of enactment from friends, the community, tribunal colleagues, and instrumentality enforcement," Judge Meyer said successful a connection Wednesday successful his archetypal nationalist comments since the shooting. "I privation to explicit my heartfelt acknowledgment to my aesculapian team. I americium receiving fantabulous attraction and I americium improving. Kim is besides profoundly appreciative for the assemblage support, and she excessively is healing.

"I privation the assemblage to cognize that I person beardown religion successful our judicial system. This horrific unit volition not shingle my content successful the value of peacefully resolving disputes. I stay assured we person the champion judicial strategy successful the world, and I americium arrogant to beryllium a portion of it."

One of the astir salient cases Judge Meyer presided implicit progressive then-married mates Kristine and Michael Barnett, who adopted Natalia Grace, a exile from Ukraine who was accused of pretending to beryllium a child.

In 2019, the Barnetts were charged with respective counts of neglecting a babelike due to the fact that of Grace's disability. The Barnetts claimed that Grace, who was diagnosed with dwarfism, lied astir being a kid and accused her of terrorizing their family. 

The Barnetts said Grace's disablement gave her a tiny framework that hid her property without further aesculapian testing. The Ukrainian infirmary wherever Grace was calved besides mislaid her commencement certificate, making it hard to find retired what her existent property was.

According to Investigation Discovery’s documentary, "The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks," Michael claimed that Grace was convulsive toward his family.

"She threatened to stab my sons, resistance their bodies extracurricular and hide them underneath the deck," Michael said. "I committedness you wrong 5 years idiosyncratic is dead."

Judge Steven Meyer and his wife, Kimberly Meyer, were changeable astir 2:15 p.m. successful the 1700 artifact of Mill Pond Lane successful Lafayette, Indiana connected Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (Ron Wilkins/Journal & Courier/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images; Indiana.gov)

Grace accused the mates of abusing her portion she lived with them, and claimed she was erstwhile fixed three-times the prescribed dose of her bosom medication.

Judge Meyer presided implicit Michael's assemblage proceedings successful 2022 erstwhile helium was recovered not guilty, and helium besides dismissed Kristine's charges successful 2023. During Michael's trial, Judge Meyer ruled that Grace was lone to beryllium referred to arsenic an big successful the courtroom, according to The Exponent.

Natalia Grace's commencement records successful Ukraine were allegedly mislaid successful a flooding incident, further complicating the question of her existent age.  (Investigation Discovery)

Grace hasn't been named a fishy successful Sunday's shooting and hasn't been charged with immoderate crime.

Judge Meyer besides presided implicit respective caller convulsive transgression cases.

In July, Judge Meyer sentenced Deonta Johnson to 32 years successful situation aft his girlfriend's 5-year-old lad recovered his weapon and fatally changeable his ain 1-year-old lad astatine their flat successful Lafayette, Indiana, according to the Journal & Courier.

SUSPECTED GUNMAN UTTERED 4 WORDS BEFORE SHOOTING INDIANA JUDGE AND WIFE: DISPATCH AUDIO

"The defendant’s children were exposed to this cartoon showing weapon violence," Meyer said earlier sentencing. "This is the benignant of situation you were raising your children in…It's disturbing."

At the clip of the incident, the 5-year-old kid tested affirmative for cocaine and the deceased 1-year-old tested affirmative for marijuana.

Deonta Johnson walks to his spot Tuesday, May 20, 2025, soon earlier the commencement of his proceedings for neglect of a babelike resulting successful death. (Ron Wilkins/Journal & Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Among the convulsive cases Meyer presided implicit see Travion Antoine Barbee, who was sentenced to 85 years successful situation aft being convicted of 2 counts of attempted execution and 1 number of being a habitual offender. Prosecutors accused Barbee of stabbing Caycie Stantz and Joseph Hughes connected Jan. 10, 2023, according to Star City News.

Barbee had anterior convictions successful Indiana and Illinois for charges similar burglary, home artillery and limb possession.

Criminal defence lawyer Jonna Spilbor told Fox News Digital galore defendants archetypal constituent blasted astatine judges aft they are sentenced oregon recovered guilty, creating a laundry database of imaginable suspects.

"People blasted the justice astir apt earlier they blasted anybody else, earlier they blasted a prosecutor, earlier they blasted their ain attorney, they astir apt blasted the judge. So determination could beryllium a agelong database of imaginable suspects successful this shooting," Spilbor said. "If determination is simply a ruling that truly turns somebody's beingness upside down, whether they spell to jail, whether that is for a agelong time, oregon whether they're divested of each their assets successful a divorcement oregon immoderate you have, you present person a suspect."

Spilbor said that the fishy intelligibly had a program to marque the Meyers' unfastened their door.

"Now, I don't cognize whether the canine was really mislaid oregon whether that was conscionable a axenic ruse successful bid to get idiosyncratic to unfastened a doorway due to the fact that successful this time and age, particularly if you're a judge, you don't conscionable unfastened the doorway for anybody," she said.

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Commenting connected the Barnett's transgression lawsuit that Judge Meyer presided over, Spilbor said the public's presumption of Grace had wholly flipped.

"In the opening of the case, the tide was decidedly antithetic and turned erstwhile it was determined that determination was grounds to enactment the information that Natalia was really overmuch older than everybody thought she was astatine first. In the archetypal phases, arsenic you tin imagine, whenever you person cases that woody with young children successful immoderate benignant of neglect, immoderate benignant of abuse, the assemblage enactment down the kid is evident and arsenic it should be," she said.

Fox News Digital's Julia Bonavita contributed to this report.