JACKSON COUNTY, Ind. (TCN) — A 63-year-old man will spend nearly two decades behind bars for killing a 24-year-old man on Halloween in 1982 and trying to hide evidence.
According to the Indiana State Police, on May 12, a judge sentenced Ronald Anderson to 18 years in prison after he pleaded guilty last month to voluntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Clifford Smith.
On Nov. 4, 1982, Smith’s wife reported him missing, per a news release from authorities. The following month, trappers reportedly located Smith’s body along the White River near Rockford. Police said he died from a gunshot wound to the head.
Despite investigators’ efforts, no arrests were made at the time. New officials assumed the case throughout the years with Sgt. Kip Main actively working on it since September 2015.
According to police, Main determined Anderson was at a home with Smith and others in the late hours on Oct. 30, 1982. Anderson reportedly grabbed a shotgun, loaded it, and left the residence with Smith. Police said Anderson later killed Smith on Oct. 31, 1982, in a rural area in Jackson County before returning the firearm to where he had retrieved it. Anderson reportedly went back to the crime scene to “hide potential evidence.”
Per state police, voluntary manslaughter is “murder committed while under the influence of sudden heat,” and the investigation revealed that “sudden heat existed at the time of the killing.”
In a statement, Deputy Prosecutor Mark Hollingsworth said, “I want to commend the Indiana State Police Investigators for their dedication to this case over the last forty plus years in an effort to bring justice and some sort of closure to Clifford Smith’s family. We are pleased that in this case, justice delayed was not justice denied.”