Verdict returned in 1979 murder trial

MARION, IND. (WANE) - After deliberating for five hours, a jury in Marion has returned a verdict of guilty in a 1979 murder. Alfred Lee Solomon was convicted on one count of murder and another count of robbery resulting in seriously bodily injury, a Class A felony.

Alfred Lee Solomon was arrested in March of 2009 at his home in Kentucky for that murder.

The Grant County Prosecutor said several factors led to Solomon's arrest some 30 years later. His trial played out for a week-and-a-half inside the Grant County Courthouse in downtown Marion.  It's a story you only saw on NewsChannel 15.

Grant County Prosecutor James Luttrull, Jr. says those factors that led to an arrest warrant for Solomon includes sophisticated retesting of evidence with technology and DNA testing that simply wasn’t available in 1979. Additional evidence was also collected through the years.

The week-and-a-half trial was full of testimony from some three-dozen witnesses that both the prosecution and defense had called. They ranged from former friends of both Headley and Solomon, to former police officers on the Marion Police Department.

Attacks were carried out on three main characters in this case: Solomon himself, the late Terry Headley, and Debbie Solomon – Alfred’s ex wife. Solomon’s defense attorney tried to paint a picture of Headley as being a drug dealer, and had various people testify that they bought marijuana from Headley. The defense countered, calling Headley only a small-time drug dealer at best.

Debbie Solomon took the stand to testify against her ex-husband, and offered detailed accounts of what happened the night of March 2, 1979 when Headley was murdered. She described in detail how she was forced to cut up an extension cord which was reportedly used to tie up Headley.

The defense countered, saying that Mrs. Solomon offered several differing stories over the years, and went as far as to call her a “crack-cocaine addicted prostitute”.

Finally, Mr. Solomon himself volunteered to take the stand to testify, but the prosecution continued to attack his past, citing his previous criminal convictions of both robbery and rape.

At times the hearing appeared a bit disorderly. Time was spent Wednesday determining if an audio cassette tape from 1979 could be played for jurors to hear. A defense attorney also later called one of his witnesses a “loose cannon” and asked for her testimony to be struck from the jury’s memory.

The case was additionally complicated by time itself. That’s because many people being questioned say they simply can’t remember what they said in police reports from 1979. A grandmother was forced to share her personal stories of trying to allegedly buy marijuana from Headley.

Court documents claim Solomon shot Headley twice, slit his throat, and then hog-tied him in Marion in 1979.

"I didn't do this crime," Solomon told NewsChannel 15’s Matt McCutcheon on his way back to his jail cell Wednesday afternoon.

That's what Solomon tried to get 13 jurors to believe through his own stories of that night in 1979.

"The night of March 2, 1979,” Solomon asked on his way to his jail cell, after NewsChannel 15 asked him where he was that night. “I was going to Anderson," he said.

In the end, jurors didn't buy that story. They instead believe the 68-year-old was in Marion and murdered Headley, as they returned guilty verdicts on one count of murder and another count of robbery resulting in seriously bodily injury, a Class A felony.

"I've waited 31 years for this," Mary Headley – the victim’s mother – said Wednesday on her way to her car after the verdict came down.

That's been the case for the victim's family, including his mom. Terry Headley was found hog-tied, his throat was slit, and he'd been shot twice.

It's those details, pictures, and statements from some three dozen witnesses that Headley's family heard during the trial.

"It's pretty hectic and emotional," Joe Headley said.

Headley's son Joe was just five years old when his father was murdered, and after hearing the evidence, he firmly believes Solomon was the murderer.

"I will sleep tonight just fine knowing that he won't be out on the streets harming anybody else anymore, because even though his age was old and his stature might not have been what it used to be, people are still capable of many things," Joe Headley said.

Solomon has previous convictions of rape and burglary.  Headley's family says they are just happy to feel closure they say for the first time in 30 years.

"I don't have to worry about it anymore. I don't have about just not knowing. It's definitely a weight off my shoulders," Joe Headley said.

Solomon will be formally sentenced on April 15. All told, Solomon could face a maximum sentence of 115 years behind bars; 65 years would be for the murder charge, with 50 years for the robbery charge. The death penalty was not sought in this case.

The prosecution expects Solomon's attorneys to push for a second trial.  That motion can't be made until after the sentencing