Trooper William Rayner was shot and killed after he and a Decatur County deputy sheriff stopped a vehicle on Interstate 74 east of Greensburg.

   They were unaware the car was stolen and its occupants were parolees away without leave from a state detention home in Louisville, Kentucky, when they questioned them.

   As they asked the men to exit the vehicle, the passenger grabbed Trooper Rayner and opened fire, striking him. The deputy was able to return fire and kill a 29-year-old suspect.

   Trooper Rayner was transported to Robert W. Long Hospital in Indianapolis where he died the following day.

   An 18-year-old suspect was captured after a 13-hour manhunt after he held an elderly couple at gunpoint in their farmhouse a mile from the scene. He was sentenced to life in prison in a change of venue to Dearborn County and died in prison in 1973.

   Trooper Rayner, from Greensburg, was assigned to the Versailles post. He was survived by his wife, three sons, one of whom was born after his death and parents.