BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – A judge denied Daniel Messel’s request Monday to appear in-person during court hearings.
Messel, 51, is serving an 80-year sentence for the murder IU student Hannah Wilson. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison and another 20 years for being a habitual offender.
Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Marc Kellams said there is no reason why Messel would need to be present during hearings, unless a major issue was of discussion.
Wilson was a senior at IU when her body was found in a vacant lot in Brown County in 2015. Messel’s phone was found lying nearby, and investigators found her blood, hair and DNA in Messel’s 2012 Kia SUV.
A coroner later determined that Wilson had died from blunt force trauma to her head.
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