The staggering triple murder of three Black men that sparked rumors of a serial killer on the loose has finally seen a resolution.
Caden Smith, 19, was ruled guilty by an Indianapolis jury on three counts of murder, two counts of felony murder, and multiple gun, robbery, and drug-related charges. Though Smith was 16 at the time of the killings, he was tried as an adult and is now awaiting sentencing.
In October 2021, Smith persuaded three men — Joseph Thomas, 18, Michael James, 22, and Abdulla Mubarak, 17 — to meet him in a grassy field off of Interstate 465 by employing the ruse that he was going to demonstrate a “Glock switch.” The switch allows a semi-automatic weapon to fire like a machine gun. Instead, he opened fire on all three men over the course of two nights, each one suffering multiple gunshot wounds.
Officers collected over fifty 9mm fired cartridge casings at the scene, as well as unfired 9mm bullets, court documents revealed. Smith then robbed his victims and left their lifeless bodies on a grassy path in the heavily wooded area, said prosecutors. An off-duty police officer first discovered the bodies of James and Mubarak on October 12. After an intensive search with all-terrain vehicles, police found a third victim, Joseph Thomas, reported ABC affiliate WRTV.
Because the killings took place on two different nights, the triple murder fueled suspicions of a serial killer in the city, but the police quickly debunked that theory when text messages led them to the perpetrator.
They arrested 16-year-old Smith and executed a search warrant on the home he reportedly shared with his grandmother, where they found the murder weapon, along with a bulletproof vest, bags of drugs, and several cellphones with internet searches including “Does freezing a gun remove DNA” and “How many deaths is considered a mass murder,” revealed court documents obtained by WRTV.
Smith pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Despite the quick work of authorities, the case was plagued with challenges. In October 2022, a judge threw out key evidence — including the alleged murder weapon — and ruled that detectives violated Smith’s Fourth Amendment rights during the search warrant.
Just before the trial was set to begin, Smith was released to his home with a GPS ankle bracelet with instructions not to leave the state. He was ordered to “have no firearms, deadly weapons or ammunition in his possession,” reported NBC affiliate WTHR.
The victims’ families were shocked by the new development.
“It is perplexing when you think there is some type of closure and the evidence, there was enough evidence of a judge to sign off on a warrant, then when that warrant is executed, you find the murder weapon, another gun, drugs, there’s just so much evidence,” James’ exasperated father Michael James Sr. told Fox59 at the time. “It’s even bewildering to think how someone would have a heart to do that to know that this overwhelming evidence was present to suppress it.”
With evidence tossed out and Smith no longer locked up, the case was stalling, but within less than two months, Smith had already violated the conditions set by the judge. He was back in jail on Nov. 23, his 18th birthday, after police found Snapchat photos of him brazenly holding a handgun with the GPS monitor around his ankle.
After police raided a house he was in and found guns and drugs, he was arrested once again. This time, he was held without bond on new charges of dealing marijuana, visiting a common nuisance, and invasion of privacy. He stayed in jail until his trial finally began on Aug. 19.
“It was a long and challenging road for these families, but thanks to the steadfast commitment of the investigators, deputy prosecutors, and the multitude of agencies, justice has been secured for Abdullah, Joseph, Michael, and their families,” Marion County prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a press release after the long-awaited verdict.
