One year after James Blum was found in his pickup truck with a gunshot wound to the chest, in the company of his deceased son—also shot in the chest—Blum has been charged with murder.

Blum, 68, of 152E 50S in Morgan Township, was charged with murder on Thursday, Porter County Prosecuting Attorney Brian Gensel said.

A warrant was issued for Blum’s arrest but subsequently stayed after it was learned that he has a medical procedure scheduled for Monday.

At 10:22 a.m. Aug. 3—a day after Blum’s wife reported her husband missing—Blum and his son Aaron, 32, were found in Blum’s pickup truck parked on C.R. 575E, north of U.S. Highway 30, in Washington Township. Aaron was deceased with a gunshot wound to his chest and Blum himself wounded, similarly shot in the chest. A red and black handgun—which investigators said that Blum purchased at Blythe’s Sport Shop on Aug. 1, one day before he was reported missing—was recovered inside the driver’s side door compartment.

On Aug. 4 an autopsy was performed on Aaron by Dr. Joseph Prahlow, who ruled his death a homicide and found that the “bullet’s pathway was front to back, left to right, and at a downward angle,” Cpl. Tim Manteuffel of the Porter County Sheriff’s Police stated in his probable cause affidavit.

On March 9, 2010, Blum agreed to be interviewed with his attorney present and gave this account of the incident, Manteuffel stated: that Aaron had come to live with his parents after being released from jail on a DUI charge and could live there “until he got his life back together”; that he had “talked to Aaron a couple of times and things weren’t progressing very well, so he decided that he needed to talk to him again”; that on Aug. 2 they took a ride in the truck, things “started getting out of hand fast,” and when Blum pulled to the side of the road to exit the truck “Aaron tossed his coffee on him”; that “he realized he shouldn’t leave Aaron in the truck alone,” “got back into the truck,” and the “next thing he knew, the gun was out, there was a struggle, and the gun misfired.”

“I asked Blum how Aaron got the gun and he stated that he was not sure if Aaron reached across him, because it all happened so fast,” Manteuffel stated. “He stated all he could see was the gun was out and the rag was in Aaron’s hand. He said he wrestled around and fought to get control of the gun when it went off. When asked to describe the struggle, Blum stated they were sitting in the truck when the gun fell in his own lap. He grabbed for it and Aaron grabbed for it and then it went off. He was unsure who pulled the trigger when the gun went off. Blum stated that the didn’t know how Aaron knew there was a gun in the truck as he had never told him about it. He further indicated that the gun was in the driver’s side door compartment and was covered by a rag.”

At this point, Blum advised, he drove “straight to the emergency room” but on his arrival there—around 2 p.m. Aug. 2—“realized Aaron was ‘already gone’ and he just couldn’t go in, so he left the hospital and drove around,” Manteuffel stated. “I asked Blum how he knew Aaron was deceased and he replied that ‘I looked at him and by the look of him.’”

When asked whether he called 911 at the scene, Blum advised that he had tried “but his cell phone indicated that he couldn’t call that number from that phone,” Manteuffel stated. “I had previously dialed 911 from Mr. Blum’s cell phone from the location on C.R. 575E and the call went through.”

“Blum further indicated that he had gone to an ATM for cash and then stopped for gas at the station on U.S. Highway 30 by the airport after Aaron had been shot,” Manteuffel stated. “He stated that Aaron was still in the passenger seat of the truck deceased and that he made no attempts to cover him up.”

“Upon further questioning, Blum stated that he didn’t know how he was going to tell his wife and son and that is why he drove around all night,” Manteuffel stated.

When asked how he had received his own gunshot wound, Blum replied, “When I decided it was time to come in and I was heading this way, for some reason, I just picked up the gun and shot myself.” But “Blum was not sure where or when he shot himself and stated he was not sure because he had ‘drove around all night’ and then shot himself the next day,” Manteuffel stated.

Posted 8/13/2010