An Indiana appeals court has upheld the murder conviction of a Gary man found guilty of bludgeoning his roommate to death with a sledgehammer inside their shared apartment. The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that a jury was within its rights to convict Jeremy Worley based entirely on circumstantial evidence, in a case that stretched from the February 5, 2024, discovery of a body to a rapid conviction and a 70-year sentence.
Worley was convicted of murdering 60-year-old Deon Perry, his roommate. Perry's body was found at an apartment in the 400 block of Clark Road in Gary on February 5, 2024, according to the Lake County Prosecutor's Office. Autopsy results confirmed Perry died from blunt force trauma to the head, and prosecutors established at trial that Worley used a sledgehammer to kill him, as detailed in a post from White Crime Matters.
Surveillance video introduced at trial showed Worley leaving Perry's apartment carrying a suitcase and a garbage bag. Investigators later found a bloody bleach bottle, medical pads and Perry's pill bottle. That footage and forensic evidence became central to prosecutors' case, since no eyewitness saw the killing itself.
A Fast Verdict Despite No Direct Witness
Following a trial, a jury needed two hours to convict Worley of murder and to find him a habitual offender, as reported by The Times of Northwest Indiana on November 20, 2025. The swift deliberation came even though the case rested almost entirely on circumstantial evidence rather than a direct eyewitness account of the killing.
The case involved Detective James Nielsen, who testified, and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kasey Dafoe, who argued the case, according to the prosecutor's office.
A Sentence Near the Statutory Ceiling
On January 29, 2026, a Lake County judge sentenced Worley to 64 years for the murder conviction plus six additional years under the habitual offender enhancement, for a total of 70 years in the Indiana Department of Correction, according to the prosecutor's office. Under Indiana Code § 35-50-2-3, murder carries a fixed statutory range of 45 to 65 years with an advisory sentence of 55 years, meaning Worley's 64-year underlying term fell within that range, per Jerry L. Garner Law.
The six-year habitual offender add-on required prosecutors to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Worley had accumulated at least two prior unrelated felony convictions, a legal standard that can add six to 20 years to a murder sentence under Indiana Code § 35-50-2-8, according to IndyJustice. Combined with the underlying murder term, that enhancement pushed Worley's total prison exposure to 70 years.
Appeals Court Affirms the Verdict
The Indiana Court of Appeals reviewed Worley's conviction and affirmed his murder conviction, according to The Times, which reported on the ruling.
The ruling was based on circumstantial evidence, including the bleach, the cleaning supplies, and the surveillance footage of Worley leaving with Perry's belongings. The 70-year sentence was reported separately.
