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February 5, 2010

Edward Fair loses appeal in sword murder case

By Scott Weisser

GOSHEN, Ind — A man who used a homemade sword in a 2007 murder has lost a legal appeal.

The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the 64-year prison term for Edward Fair, 28, 901 W. Beardsley Ave., Elkhart. Fair was sentenced last May in Elkhart County Circuit Court for the murder of Raul Martinez.

“Ultimately, Fair has not persuaded us that his sentence is inappropriate based on the character of the offender or the nature of the offense,” the three-judge panel stated.

Fair had been about $20,000 in debt to Martinez, 58, 3501 S. Main St., Elkhart, due to drug deals between the two. Fair used a sword to bludgeon Martinez, who died of blunt-force trauma to the head.

“This was (Fair’s) way of not having to pay the money he owed,” Chief Deputy Prosecutor Vicki Becker said during Fair’s Circuit Court sentencing.

Fair dumped Martinez’s body in field along C.R. 44, east of C.R. 13, near Foraker. According to appellate court documents, “ ... in an effort to elude and mislead police, Fair purposely attempted to avoid getting caught by scattering pieces of Martinez’s skull throughout the county.”

Six jurors had been seated for Fair’s March 2009 Circuit Court trial before the defendant apparently changed his mind and agreed to enter a guilty plea.

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