GOSHEN —
The man accused of killing a Goshen business owner last fall has admitted to the crime.
During a court hearing Monday in the Elkhart County jail, John T. Hawley, 54, pleaded guilty to murdering Kiran C. “Ken” Patel. Hawley faces 65 years in prison when he’s sentenced Feb. 23 in Elkhart Circuit Court.
Hawley murdered Patel, the owner of the former Goshen Inn and Conference Center, in October. Police said Hawley had been employed by Patel.
Officers responded to a call for a welfare check at the former Conference Center along Lincolnway East. There they found Patel unconscious and not breathing. He was later pronounced dead.
Elkhart County Coroner John White ruled the death a homicide and said the cause was multiple blunt force trauma to the head.
Hawley was later taken into custody in Kokomo. According to prosecutors, Hawley killed Patel during the course of a robbery.
Prosecutors recently filed an additional charge accusing Hawley of being a habitual criminal offender. That move potentially could have added 30 years to Hawley’s sentence. However, the new charge was dropped as part of Hawley’s plea deal.
Prosecutors had said that based on two prior felony convictions, Hawley was a habitual criminal offender when the murder took place.
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John Hawley
Man pleads guilty to murdering Goshen business owner
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