Fatally stabbed elderly man found with his heart cut out; victim's daughter charged with murder



An Indiana woman is accused of fatally stabbing her elderly father, who was found late last month with his heart cut out, authorities said.

According to Porter County court records cited by USA Today, 32-year-old Serena Dolnics was charged with murder July 28 in the death of her father.

'Recently my father was murdered by my sister.'

USA Today obtained a probable cause affidavit noting that deputies with the Porter County Sheriff's Office conducted a welfare check at a Valparaiso home July 26 and found 69-year-old Gregory Dolnics dead.

The affidavit stated that law enforcement responded to the property after a relative calling 911 was unable to make contact with Dolnics.

Citing court documents, WTHR-TV reported that a family member informed a police dispatcher that the deceased man's daughter, Serena Dolnics, was living with her father.

When a family member asked the daughter to speak to Gregory Dolnics, the daughter made "odd statements," according to court documents.

WTHR added that while a family member was on the phone with 911, Serena's boyfriend allegedly sent text messages and made phone calls to the family, saying he was at Gregory Dolnics' home and that Serena was "covered in blood."

Court docs also indicate that the boyfriend sent text messages saying he believed Serena stabbed her father and that she was suicidal.

The boyfriend told police that Serena had locked him out of the house and told him that she was "covered in blood," according to court records.

Court documents said an officer peered through the windows of the home and noticed blood drops on the floor and a body on the floor covered in dried blood.

The affidavit said police forced entry into the home and discovered a body on the floor with multiple stab wounds to the head, neck, hands, and arms.

The body also had an open chest wound that "appeared to be empty, as if something was removed," according to court documents.

Police noted that what appeared to be his heart was "laying on his stomach."

Officers found Serena in a bedroom with blood on her feet and legs, and she was wearing a tank top that "contained a large amount of blood," court documents stated.

Serena was transported to a local hospital because she had multiple injuries on both of her hands that were "consistent with being from a knife slipping through a hand," according to court docs.

Police found three bloody knives in the home, the affidavit said.

WTHR reported that three bloody footprints that apparently were made by a barefoot person were found near Gregory Dolnics' body.

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Court documents said Serena told police that her dad "wasn't feeling too good" and he "laid around" while she was watching the "Game of Thrones" TV show.

Charging documents indicate that Serena told investigators she and her father got along, that she didn't see him hurt, and that her hand injuriesn were while she was gardening with a weed whacker or a small saw, the Times of Northwest Indiana reported.

Police noted, "There was no garden, no bloody shears, or small saw located on the property."

An autopsy ruled Gregory's death a homicide caused by multiple sharp-force injuries, according to the Times.

Serena was booked at the Porter County Jail and is being held without bond, according to Porter County Sheriff's Office arrest records.

The New York Post reported that Serena pleaded not guilty Thursday.

Citing court records, the Times reported that Serena has previous convictions involving methamphetamine possession, operating while intoxicated, and public intoxication.

Serena's sister, Jennifer Naccarato, launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for her father's funeral expenses.

"Recently my father was murdered by my sister," the campaign said. "This incident came and took a complete toll on me and my family."

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Substitute teacher who authorities say sent nude photos of herself to 14-year-old middle school student learns her fate



A former Indiana substitute teacher has learned her fate after authorities said she sent nude photos of herself to a 14-year-old middle school student.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by WXIX-TV, the investigation began Dec. 1, 2023, when a 14-year-old student reported to a school resource officer that a middle school substitute teacher had sent him nude photographs of herself.

'The fact that they felt comfortable enough to tell an adult to bring this forward was an important part of this investigation.'

The school resource officer then informed the principal, court records stated.

Court documents identified the suspect as Cassidy Carter, who was 21 at the time of the incident.

WXIX reported that Carter was employed as a substitute teacher at South Dearborn Community School Corporation when the child sex misconduct accusations surfaced.

The victim told authorities that he and Carter became friends on the Snapchat social media and messaging app around the beginning of November, according to the court documents.

Citing authorities, Fox News reported that Carter sent the teen nude photos of herself every time she took a shower, often late at night.

The teen also informed investigators that Carter told him she was in love with him, according to court records.

Investigators analyzed the teen's phone and found several messages and nude pictures of Carter on it, WXIX reported.

Dearborn County Sheriff Shane McHenry spoke with WXIX about the allegations in February 2024, saying of the case: "Shocking, no. Alarming, yes."

McHenry applauded the victim for coming forward: "But the fact that they felt comfortable enough to tell an adult to bring this forward was an important part of this investigation."

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Carter was arrested in February 2024 and initially charged with one count of child solicitation.

However, Dearborn County Prosecutor Lynn Deddens amended the charge after the victim moved out of the area and no longer wanted anything to do with the case, WXIX reported.

Carter pleaded guilty to one count of battery resulting in moderate bodily injury, according to WXIX.

This week Carter was sentenced to two years in jail; a judge gave Carter two days of credit.

The South Dearborn Community School Corporation did not immediately respond to Blaze News' request for comment.

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18-year-old thug allegedly guns down 40-year-old mom as she protects her son amid Facebook Marketplace purchase gone wrong



An 18-year-old male allegedly gunned down a 40-year-old mother as she protected her son amid a Facebook Marketplace watch transaction last week in Indiana.

John Harrison Ford is now charged with murder, felony murder, attempted murder, and attempted armed robbery after Jean Gragg died from her injuries Saturday, WNDU-TV reported, citing amended charging documents. Ford also faces a felony firearm enhancement, the station said.

'2 words....DEATH PENALTY!'

The shooting occurred Wednesday, June 10, in the 2600 block of MacArthur Avenue on South Bend’s east side, WNDU reported.

Police said Gragg's son was trying to sell a watch to Ford as part of a transaction he arranged through Facebook Marketplace, the station said.

Gragg's son told police that Ford pulled a gun while looking at the watch, said he needed it, and tried snatching it from the son, WNDU reported.

But police said Gragg got in between Ford and her son and chased Ford away from the property, the station said.

Surveillance video shows Ford shooting toward Gragg multiple times after she turned around and ran back toward the home, WNDU reported, citing investigators. Police said Gragg was shot in the head, the station said.

Ford during an interview with detectives reportedly admitted that he shot Gragg, WNDU reported.

He remained Tuesday in St. Joseph County Jail, records indicate. No bail is listed.

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More than 150 comments hit the sheriff's office Facebook post about the upgraded charges. The following are but a few of them:

  • "Life in prison," one commenter wrote.
  • "If you're gonna sell stuff on Marketplace, go to the South Bend police station, 701 W. Sample onto East End," another user said. "They have a designated area with cameras. It's a safe zone. I use it all the time."
  • "Condolences to her family," another commenter reacted.
  • "2 words....DEATH PENALTY!" another user suggested.
  • "Public hanging," another commenter offered.
  • "Does he look sorry?" another user wondered.

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They're stealing survivor benefits from ORPHANS in 29 states — and Alex Adams just exposed it



America’s foster care system is facing a serious crisis, and the government has not only been making it worse — but stealing from orphans who need help the most.

It’s called the “orphan tax,” and Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Alex Adams has been dedicated to exposing it.

“Essentially, a child's parents died, that child's parents had worked, so they were entitled to some social security through earned benefits through work,” Adams tells Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck.

“Traditionally the child would be eligible for the survivor's benefit, but in 29 states, when that child entered foster care, the state was saying ‘we are now the parent of that child. We’re going to take that survivor’s benefit from them,'” he explains.


“These states were essentially stealing from orphans and using it to cover government bureaucratic overhead. So we sent a letter to 29 states asking them to end that practice, which I find morally objectionable, and luckily 10 states changed the laws this year,” he adds.

Of those 10 states, the governors of Nebraska, Louisiana, and Indiana signed executive orders immediately ending the practice.

“We still have a long way to go, and we’re going to continue pushing on states to try to end the orphan taxation,” Adams says.

Glenn worries that this can be reversed under new leadership, so the thing to do is “encourage our houses of worship to get more involved.”

“One of my big phrases that I use at my charity is if we want the government to do less then we have to do more. If we want our government to not be involved on all of these levels because they usually will screw things up, we need to have our churches do more,” Glenn tells Adams.

“I agree with you wholeheartedly,” Adams says. “The message that we send to the faith-based community will make or break our success in child welfare long-term.”

“And families of faith are the most likely to raise their hands and volunteer and run towards the foster care system, get licensed as foster families, provide preventative services that will prevent kids from entering into foster care in the first place,” he adds.

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Ranked-choice voting’s losing streak gets longer



It has been a dismal year for ranked-choice voting.

RCV allows voters to rank candidates instead of choosing one. It then runs multiple rounds of counting, adjusts rankings, and discards “exhausted” ballots to determine a winner.

Lawmakers, courts, cities, and voters are increasingly rejecting a system that makes elections harder to understand and easier to distrust.

Two states have already banned it. One state’s pilot program was phased out. A statewide ballot proposal failed to qualify. Several city councils rejected it. A state supreme court struck down an expansion bill. And the year still has months to go.

The states that banned RCV this year were Indiana and Ohio. The Ohio legislature first introduced a ban in 2023. It passed the Senate but not the House. This year, lawmakers passed it through both chambers on the second attempt, with Sens. Theresa Gavarone (R) and Bill DeMora (D) leading the effort. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed the bipartisan bill into law in February.

Indiana acted even faster. Lawmakers introduced a similar ban and enacted it two months later. The legislation reflected growing concern that RCV makes elections less transparent and harder for voters to trust.

“It is important to ensure Indiana’s voting system is secure and accurate for Hoosier voters. Having to rank each candidate could end up being a vote against the voter’s intended candidate, creating confusion and frustration, which is why we need this law in place,” said state Sen. Blake Doriot (R), the bill’s sponsor.

RCV supporters also suffered a setback in Utah, where the pilot program ended this year. Before the program closed, more than 20 cities tried it, but supporters never moved the state toward broader adoption. Multiple cities dropped out before the program ended.

In Michigan, Rank MI Vote’s RCV ballot proposal fell 200,000 signatures short of qualifying. RCV donors can find one consolation: At least they will not have to spend millions on another failed ballot measure, as they did in six states in 2024.

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KC McGinnis/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Albuquerque, New Mexico, also rejected RCV. The city council voted it down 6-3. The bill’s sponsor claimed switching from the current runoff system would save money, but the proposal failed because of concerns over system upgrades, staff training, and a long public education campaign. Similar proposals also failed in Vista, California, and Appleton, Wisconsin.

The District of Columbia offers another warning. Voters approved RCV, but the city has struggled to prepare for implementation. District residents will use the system for the first time in June, and a recent Opportunity D.C. survey found that 43% of voters remain unaware of the change. To address the confusion, the Board of Elections is spending $50,000 to educate voters.

D.C. Councilmember Wendell Felder introduced emergency legislation to delay implementation until 2027. The bill failed, so voters and election workers will have little time to prepare.

Finally, an effort to expand RCV in Maine was struck down in March when the state Supreme Judicial Court ruled the bill unconstitutional. Because the Maine Constitution requires a plurality for state elections, RCV remains limited to federal elections.

Every year, ranked-choice voting’s backers promise simplicity, fairness, and reform. This year showed the opposite. Lawmakers, courts, cities, and voters are increasingly rejecting a system that makes elections harder to understand and easier to distrust.