28-year-old murderer of 2 women outside Frankfort factory sentenced to 110 years
FRANKFORT, Ind. (WISH) — A 28-year-old murderer will spend more than 100 years in prison after admitting to killing a grandmother and her granddaughter outside a Clinton County factory, court documents show.
The afternoon shooting happened Aug. 18, 2021, at the NHK Seating of America plant west of Frankfort. The plant, one of two NHK facilities in the county, had opened only a couple of months earlier near the I-65 interchange for State Road 28. The facility designs and makes seating for vehicles, and operates production facilities serving the Subaru plant in Lafayette.
Pamela Sledd, 62, and Promise Mays, 21, both of Rossville, drove to the plant together and were about to start their shift when a fellow employee opened fire. Gary Ferrell II, of Frankfort, then fled the scene in a blue Ford Focus.
After the Aug. 18, 2021, shooting, the sheriff said Ferrell reached speeds from 90-100 mph before crashing in a construction zone in the Clinton County city of Frankfort. He was taken into custody without incident following the crash.
Ferrell on Thursday was sentenced in Clinton Superior Court to 110 years in prison.
The judge wrote in the sentencing document that he found the murders “brutal and heinous” and premeditated. Judge Justin H. Hunter also noted that the two women “watched the other being shot.”
Ferrell “acted out an entitlement to control and possess Promise Mays, whether in life or in death, even though she had demonstrated only kindness for the many people whom she encountered in her short and precious life,” the judge added.
The judge also revealed that Ferrell had intended to kill himself after shooting Mays.
Clinton County has 32,800 residents. It’s about an hour drive northwest of downtown Indianapolis.
Help is available for victims of domestic violence. Below is a list of suggested resources on the Domestic Violence Network website:
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 or text START to 88788
- National Domestic Violence Hotline en español: 800-799-7233 o texto “START” al 88788
- Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence: 24-hour hotline available at 800-332-7385
- Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking
- La Plaza Indy
- The Julian Center
- Indiana Child Abuse Hotline: 800-800-5556
- National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-4673
Mental health resources
- Be Well Indiana
- Indiana Suicide Prevention
- Indiana Department of Child Services’ Children’s Mental Health Initiative
- National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988 or 800-273-8255
- More resources