Trooper Robert Lietzan was shot and killed after responding to a call of a mentally deranged subject shooting around a camping area three miles west of Metamora.

   About an hour earlier, two young boys had told their parents that a man had chased them away from the area. When their parent's returned and approached him near his vehicle, he shot over their heads, causing them to flee and alert law enforcement.

   As Trooper Lietzan and sheriff's deputies arrived they found a man in a barricaded position in a wooded area. While attempting to get the suspect to surrender, he opened fire with a rifle, fatally striking Trooper Lietzan in the head before being taken into custody.

   He was taken to Rush Memorial Hospital in Rushville where he was dead on arrival.

   The 24-year-old suspect, a former patient at two state mental hospitals, was charged with first-degree murder in a death penalty case. He was later convicted of second-degree murder by a jury, sentenced to life in prison and released in 1993.

   Trooper Lietzan, from Westville, was assigned to the Connersville post. He was survived by his wife, 4-year-old daughter, mother and two brothers.