INDIANAPOLIS -- An 18-year-old and 17-year-old now charged in the murder of Dallis Coleman earlier this month ransacked his house before murdering him, police say.
D’Andrae Robinson, 18, and Christopher Taliefer, 17, were arrested last week on charges of murder, robbery and burglary in connection with the death of Coleman, 64, on Oct. 16.
Taliefer was initially arrested as a juvenile, and is being identified now because he has been waived to adult court.
On Monday, prosecutors filed formal charges against Robinson and Taliefer, accusing them of a plot to rob Coleman that ended in the older man’s murder.
MORE | Two suspects, one a juvenile, arrested in 64-year-old man’s murder
Coleman’s son didn’t find his father’s body until approximately 1 a.m. on Oct. 17. According to an affidavit filed in the case, police believe Robinson and Taliefer had killed Coleman hours earlier.
In the affidavit, investigators say they found evidence of Coleman’s debit card being used at multiple locations following his death, including for the purchase of a pair of Nikes at a shoe store at Washington Square Mall.
Police eventually linked Robinson and Taliefer to the shooting. According to the affidavit, when investigators arrived at Robinson’s house last Wednesday, they found him lying face down on the floor with multiple handguns visible in plain view.
One of those guns, which Robinson was reportedly lying on at the time, was found to have “possible blood and possible hair” on it.
Taliefer was taken into custody two days later by the U.S. Marshal’s Service.
An autopsy found Coleman suffered facial lacerations, abrasions and wounds from blunt force trauma, in addition to a gunshot wound to the head.
Both Robinson and Taliefer were being held at the Marion County Jail without bond. An initial hearing was scheduled in the case for Tuesday afternoon in Marion County Criminal Court 4.
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