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Woman To Testify Against Mother, Boyfriend Charged With Poisoning Man's Oatmeal And Strangling Him To Death
Logan Runyon has agreed to testify against her mother Heidi Littlefield, and boyfriend, Robert Walker, in the death of Francis Kelley, her mother's ex with whom she was in a heated custody battle.
An Indiana woman is reportedly cutting a deal with prosecutors and will testify against her two codefendants in the poisoning death of her mother’s ex.
Logan Marie Runyon, 22, intends to enter a plea of guilty for the 2021 murder of Francis Kelley, 46, according to the Indianapolis Star. Court records show Runyon will testify against her mother, Heidi Littlefield, 42, and boyfriend, Robert James Walker, 29, as part of the plea agreement, which has yet to be signed by the Hamilton Superior Court in Indiana.
Littlefield stands accused of lacing Kelley’s oatmeal with fentanyl before strangling him with his own tie. Investigators say Littlefield enlisted the help of her daughter and her daughters' boyfriend to help her kill Kelley, who Littlefield had previously dated.
Littlefield and Kelley were in the thick of a heated custody battle over the couple’s 2-year-old daughter, as previously reported. Littlefield allegedly paid Walker – her daughter’s boyfriend -– $2,500 in October 2020 to “take care of her problem.” But Walker later admitted he didn’t go through with the murder-for-hire and instead spent the money on drugs.
Littlefield claimed Kelley was abusive toward her and her 2-year-old daughter.
On Jan. 15, 2021, Littlefield and Kelley exchanged text messages regarding the custody of their child, according to a probable cause affidavit cited by the Star. The subject matter had shifted by 1:36 p.m. when Kelley texted, “Did you do something to the oatmeal that was in my fridge?”
“What the actual f*** are you talking about???” Littlefield responded.
“You were in my fridge last night and it tasted funny after a couple bites and now I am light headed,” Kelley texted.
Littlefield would go on to send more messages to the dying man, but they were never opened.
On Jan. 18, 2021, officers with the Carmel Police Department followed up on a welfare check at Kelley’s home when they found the victim dead on his couch. As previously reported, a postmortem examination revealed Kelley died of manual strangulation/neck compression and sustained blunt force trauma to the head. Kelley also had injuries to his elbows and knees and had high levels of fentanyl in his blood.
Kelley was murdered one week before he and Littlefield were due back in court to continue their custody battle.
Walker later allegedly told police that Littlefield and Runyon admitted they spiked the victim’s oatmeal on Jan. 14, 2021. Littlefield also allegedly told another ex-boyfriend that she and her daughter went to the victim’s home the following day and crawled through a window when he didn’t answer the door. Francis Kelly was still alive, as previously reported.
“Heidi advised [ex-boyfriend] that Heidi and Logan found Fran ‘aspirating’ on the kitchen floor,” an affidavit stated. “[Ex-boyfriend] advised that Heidi also mentioned a lanyard around Fran’s neck, and it being involved in the incident.”
Walker told investigators that Runyon said Littlefield “grabbed Fran’s ‘favorite tie’ and tried to strangle him and smash his head into the ‘pavement,’” according to the affidavit. “Walker stated, ‘Heidi bludgeoned his head against the floor.’”
Walker also allegedly said Kelley’s death was Littlefield's third murder attempt and that she’d previously tried poisoning his miso soup back in 2020 while Runyon waited outside, according to the Star.
Hamilton Superior Court records filed last month show Runyon plans to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit murder, the Star reported. The plea agreement would take murder charges off the table in exchange for her testimony against her mother and boyfriend. Runyon would agree to 26 years in prison with six years suspended.
The plea deal also calls for four years of probation, community service, and the completion of a drug and alcohol treatment program.
Littlefield still faces one count of murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder. Meanwhile, Walker is charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit murder.
The three defendants remain at the Hamilton County Jail, records show. The women are being held without bond, while Walker is being held on $750,000 bond.
A formal sentencing hearing for Runyon is scheduled for April 21.
