A former Hardin County resident has been indicted on a murder charge accusing him of beating his father to death and then setting his home on fire.
A Hardin County grand jury indicted 28 year-old Joseph Michael Blan on nine felony charges last week.
Officials found a man, later identified as 54 year-old Carlus Blan dead inside a charred mobile home on Salt River Road near Big Clifty. Hardin County Coroner Dr. Wil¬liam Lee said Carlus Blan was struck in the head and severely beaten prior to the fire.
The body of Carlus Blan, which took weeks to identify, was found inside the residence November 5 when the White Mills and West 84 fire departments responded to the fire.
Joseph Blan was found 3 days later in Indiana with his father’s red Ford truck that he had taken from Salt River Road the day of the fire.
He was arrested November 8 in New Albany, Indiana, along with a woman identified as his girlfriend, Portia Taylor. He has been held in the Floyd County Jail in Indiana since his arrest.
Joseph Blan is charged with Class A felonies of murder and first-degree arson, punishable by 20 to 50 years, or life in prison, if convicted. He also is charged with Class B felonies of first-degree robbery and three counts of kidnapping, including two counts involving two minor children of Taylor’s, according to Blan’s indictment. Class B felonies are punishable by 10 to 20 years in prison, if convicted.
He also faces three Class D felony charges of theft by unlawful taking of more than $500 but less than $10,000, tampering with physical evidence and persistent felony offender which carry a prison term of up to five years on each count, if convicted.
His bond will be set at $1 million cash when he is extradited and booked into the Hardin County Detention Center.
Source: NE
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