After over two and a half years and four days of testimony, the State of Indiana has finally rested its case against Mitchell Page, who is charged with the 2021 murders of Jessica Sizemore, Jessiah Hall, and Sizemore’s 4-year-old daughter Rae’Lynn Sizemore. During the jury trial, detectives, investigators, eyewitnesses, and experts testified, bringing new information to light about a crime that left three dead in a Peru mobile home park.

Investigators believe the three were killed around 2 p.m. on May 16, 2021, and suffered from gunshot wounds to the head. A 2-year-old child and the family’s two dogs were left alone in the home until five days later, when the officers responded to a welfare check on Jessica Sizemore and discovered the scene.

On Tuesday around 3 p.m., the jury reached a verdict and convicted Page on all three counts of murder. Miami County Prosecutor Jeff Sinkovics told the Peru Tribune he was proud of the work done by everyone on the case.

“I’d just like to thank the Miami County Sheriff’s Department and the Indiana State Police. They did a hell of an investigation, gathered the evidence, solved the crime quickly. And then I’d like to thank my staff here at the prosecutor’s office,” he said. “…I cannot say how proud I am of the case we put together. Peter Diedrichs, Courtney Alwine, and Jennifer Kiefer; they did some amazing work on this case and they deserve the credit — the police and the deputy prosecutors.”

Setting the scene

In the first two days of the trial, responding officers from the Miami County Sheriff’s Department and crime scene investigators from the Indiana State Police detailed the scene of the crime exactly as they found it the night of May 21.

Deputy James Bean was the first witness called by prosecutors, and responded to the dispatch for a welfare check on Jessica Sizemore. Bean said he approached a window at the residence with a flashlight, shining it into the living room. Once the room was illuminated, Bean saw the bodies of Jessica Sizemore, Jessiah Hall, and Sizemore’s daughter, Rae’Lynn.

As he scanned the room with his flashlight, a young child popped up from the corner of the room. Bean told jury members that he immediately kicked the door in, grabbed the child and put him over his right shoulder, and performed a protective sweep of the residence using a pistol in his left hand.

After Bean had discovered the bodies of the three deceased, he called for additional units who arrived on scene shortly after. Chet Sites, another deputy with the Miami County Sheriff’s Office, continued the protective sweep while Bean assessed the two-year-old child for injuries. Deputy Creighton Howell accompanied the child to Dukes Memorial Hospital and told jury members that the child appeared to be dehydrated and smelled strongly of urine.

Over 3,000 photos were taken of the crime scene, according to Indiana State Police Sgt. Jason Page. Page testified for over two hours, presenting photos of the crime scene, including photos of the deceased.

Page said the trailer was dirty and had many items misplaced, with boxes of spaghetti ripped open and spilled on the floor, torn pizza boxes in different rooms, and a coffee maker that was tipped over. He noted several areas of the home had small red stains, which presumptively tested positive as blood.

Page also noted that he recovered clumps of hair from around the home, and that several of the bodies were missing hair in areas which did not appear to be shaved. A 9mm cartridge case was also recovered from the residence and was sent to an Indiana State Police Lab for testing, according to Page.

The bodies of the deceased were photographed in the positions they were found. Page said the bodies were heavily discolored, which he took as a sign they had been deceased for some time.

Indiana State Police Crime Scene Investigator Brian Olehy was assigned to attend and collect evidence during the autopsies of the three deceased and told the jury that one projectile was recovered from the body of Jessica Sizemore, two from Jessiah Hall, and one projectile was found later from the body of Rae’Lynn Sizemore.

Eyewitnesses and neighbors

A contractor, Matthew Wilson, told jurors that he was working on a wooden deck at another mobile home near the scene of the crime on May 16, 2021, when he thought he heard gunshots.

Wilson told jurors he believed he heard gunshots around 2 p.m., but was unsure since nobody in the surrounding area seemed to react to the sound. He also said he saw a man enter the home of Jessica Sizemore and Jessica Hall, leaving a child in the black truck.

Jennifer and Michael Abair, who lived near Sizemore and Hall, also testified Thursday. Michael said he was laying down after unpacking belongings in their home, when he believed he heard three gunshots. According to Jennifer, the two went outside the home and observed nothing out of the ordinary in the neighborhood – kids playing outside and riding bikes, as well as a contractor working on a wooden deck as he had been earlier that day.

Another witness, Sandra Jones, said she heard Sizemore and Page arguing in the late morning of May 16 about a trip to Florida, which investigators say was supposed to occur May 23. According to phone evidence, Page was planning to take he and Jessica’s daughter, Harley, on a trip to Florida.

‘I wouldn’t do that to anybody’

The focal point of Thursday’s testimony was a two-hour video of Mitchell Page’s interview with Indiana State Police detectives, in which Page repeatedly denies his involvement in the killings.

The interview with Page occurred at the Flora Police Department, where Bob Burgess, first sergeant of investigations at the Indiana State Police, and Mike Rogers, detective sergeant at the Miami County Sheriff’s Department, had agreed to meet him. Page agreed to be interviewed by police and turned over his phone for examination.

During the interview, investigators began by questioning Page about his relationship with Jessica Sizemore, taking a special interest in the custody agreement between the two. According to Page, the two had dated for a total of seven months and split up two months before the birth of their child, Harley.

He told investigators they had a split custody agreement, and that he paid about $120 in child support each month. In the interview, investigators questioned Page about potential changes in his custody agreement due to a move planned by Sizemore and Hall.

Page also confirmed that he saw a contractor working on a deck across the street when he picked up his daughter, Harley – that contractor testified earlier that he had seen Page walk into the home and heard gunshots. Page also confirmed that he bought a handgun at Gander Mountain in Lafayette but told the detectives he had never fired it.

After about 45 minutes, investigators began pressing Page about his alleged involvement in the crime. Page told the investigators, “I have nothing to do with any of that,” and “I wouldn’t do that to anybody.” The detectives told Page they wanted to know why this happened, to which he responded, “There is no ‘why’ this happened.”

After the interview, detectives went to the residence of Page’s father, who he lived with, and served search warrants on the property, two vehicles, and Page’s DNA. A 9mm handgun was found in a trailer beside the property, which was recovered by investigators and tested for the presence of blood.

Following digital footprints

New details also emerged during the trial about the communication between Page and Sizemore, which was typically frequent. Digital forensic examiners presented evidence including text messages, location history, call logs, and more to the jury – all of which suddenly went dark after May 16.

Examiners who gained access to the phones of Jessica Sizemore, Jessiah Hall, and Mitchell Page attempted to put together a timeline of activity, which was frequent. Wendell Beachy, an investigator with the Indiana State Police, told jurors that Page and Sizemore typically exchanged about 14-15 messages each week.

However, Page had made no attempts to contact Sizemore after May 16 – the day which investigators believe she was killed. Beachy also said the call log stored on Page’s phone only contained history from May 20 forward, and that call logs from AT&T showed activity prior to that point.

According to Beachy, Page’s Google account was missing location information between May 3 and May 21. Beachy said the account contained information consistently as far back as 2018 without a noticeable gap until that time.

The last message from either Sizemore or Hall was sent around 1:33 p.m. on May 16, and was an outgoing text from Sizemore to her brother, Matthew Sizemore, which read, “I love you bub.” The message she received in return, “Good seeing both of you,” just minutes later, was never read.

Jessica also received a call from Mitchell Page, who was saved as “Harley’s Dad” on her phone, around noon that same day. According to phone records, Page made no other attempts to communicate with her after the call.

‘… it seemed like he had a lot on his mind”

Page’s brother-in-law, Colin Nichols, also testified in the trial. He told the jury that he took a day trip with Page to a living history festival near Gary on May 15, 2021. He said Page brought his pistol with him because Page “didn’t trust Gary,” and put it under one of the seats of Nichols’ vehicle.

After they returned from the festival and parted ways, Page text Nichols he had left his “Pepé Le Pew Pew” under the seat of his vehicle. Nichols told jurors the term is used to refer to guns on social media without risking censorship or demonetization. The two met that evening for Page to get the pistol from the vehicle.

The next day, May 16, Page went to Nichols’ residence to wake him up for a birthday party around 3 p.m. When Nichols was asked whether anything seemed odd with Page, he said he did seem different.

“At first I didn’t notice anything, but later on he seemed down, depressed. Just like he had a lot on his mind,” Nichols testified.

The state rests

The state’s presentation of evidence ended Tuesday morning around 9 a.m., beginning the process of drafting final instructions for the jury. Judge Timothy Spahr granted three of four requests from the defense for additional instructions, including an instruction for a lesser included offense – involuntary manslaughter. Spahr also granted a request for an instruction regarding mere presence, which states that a person being present during the time of a crime does not necessarily mean they committed the crime.

In closing arguments, the state rehashed the information given by each of the witnesses. The defense focused on questioning the timeline of events and the eyewitness accounts, saying there was a possibility that Page was not where they believed he was.

The jury was given instructions around noon Tuesday and deliberated for about three hours Tuesday, before finding Page guilty on all three counts of murder.