Murder of Ruth Pelke
| Murder of Ruth Pelke | |
|---|---|
| Location | Gary, Indiana, U.S. |
| Date | May 14, 1985 |
Attack type | Robbery, homicide by stabbing, torture |
| Victim | Ruth Pelke, aged 78 |
| Perpetrator | Paula R. Cooper, 15 Karen Corder, 16 Denise Thomas, 14 (accomplice) April Beverly, 15 (accomplice) |
| Convictions | Murder Robbery |
| Sentence | Cooper Death; commuted to 60 years imprisonment Corder 60 years imprisonment Thomas 35 years imprisonment Beverly 25 years imprisonment |
Ruth Pelke was a 78-year-old American living in Gary, Indiana, who was stabbed to death by Paula R. Cooper (August 25, 1969 – May 26, 2015), then aged 15, on May 14, 1985. Cooper stabbed Pelke 33 times with a butcher knife before stealing ten dollars and her car. A year later, Cooper was sentenced to death on July 11, 1986.
Cooper's age and sentence attracted an international uproar, including a condemnation from Pope John Paul II. In 1989, her sentence was commuted to 60 years in prison. On June 17, 2013, slightly less than 27 years after her initial sentencing, Cooper was released from Rockville Correctional Facility. She died on May 26, 2015, at the age of 45, following an apparent suicide.