NW Indiana man gets 150 years in killings of woman, teen

GARY, Ind. - A northwest Indiana man has been sentenced to 150 years in prison for the slayings of a Gary woman and her 13-year-old son, who were fatally shot in their home during a 2019 robbery.

Darren "Duke" Taylor was sentenced Friday, about a month after a Lake County jury convicted him of two counts each of murder, murder in perpetration of a robbery and robbery.

Jurors could not reach a verdict on one misdemeanor theft count the Hammond man had faced.

Police said Taylor, 41, shot Temia Haywood, 35, and her son, Lavell Edmond, in the head at close range in their Gary home in March 2019.

In sentencing Taylor on Friday, Lake Criminal Court Judge Diane Boswell said that he had showed "a disregard for the law, for social norms and for human life," The (Northwest Indiana) Times reported.

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Boswell said Taylor once called Temia Haywood his step-mother because for years she had dated his father, who was married.

Despite being familiar with Haywood and her children, Taylor showed no emotion Friday when Lake County Deputy Prosecutor Patrick Grindlay displayed grisly crime scene photos.

Grindlay said Taylor’s criminal history began at age 11, and he had seven felony convictions before the murders.

"The defendant is the quintessential definition of a recidivist, and he has demonstrated that he cannot live a law-abiding life," the deputy prosecutor said.