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Just how lengthy ‘“‘the long arm of the law” really is was aptly demonstrated last week with the apprehension in Arkansas of the two young people charged with the senseless slaying of a quiet couple in a rather remote area southwest of Westport in northern Jennings County. It had been over three months since the bodies of E. J. and Faye Shasteen were found shot to death in their home for no apparent reason. There were no witnesses, few clues to work with and the trail had definitely grown cold. Although authorities refused to admit it, and were still working on the perplexing case, it looked as though the cold-blooded killers might get away with their crime. Then came the long-awaited break. Lyndale Ivy, a 22-year-old ex-convict who formerly resided at Columbus, made the mistake of trying to make a deal for himself on a burglary conviction at Wynne, Ark., by telling a deputy sheriff who had gained his con fidence that he knew about a gun connected with a double homicide in Indiana. Relating this to information about the Shasteen murders distributed nationwide through the police communications net work, they alert Arkansas authorities called the _ Bar tholomew County Sheriff’s Department, which in_ turn contacted the Indiana State Police and the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department. Under thorough and effective interrogation, Ivy soon broke down and admitted his par ticipation in the double murder, also implicating his 17-year-old girlfriend, Teresa West of Vann dale, Ark. According to the pair’s signed statements, they experienced car trouble while driving along a rural road in the Scipio com munity, went into the Shasteen residence and were surprised there by the middle-age couple when they returned home from work at Columbus, after which an argument ensued that ended in the two tragic deaths. All of this serves to show that a lack of leads and a lapse of time do not necessarily mean even such a difficult case as this one cannot be solved. Most criminals are not too smart, as demonstrated by Ivy’s incriminating admission about the gun, and they definitely are no match for the combined efforts of all law enforcement agencies when they work together cooperatively. As the chief investigator in the case, Indiana State Police Detective Sgt. Jon Oldham of Decatur County, put it, ‘It was an excellent example of solid police work and cooperation.” All who had a hand in the ap prehension of the confessed killers of E.J. and Faye Shasteen are to be congratulated for a job well done. Have a dissenting or supporting opinion on this editorial? If so, we'd like to hear from you. Mail your comments to the ‘‘Letters”’ column in care of the Daily News.
Newspaper Details
Greensburg Daily News
Greensburg, Indiana, US
Wed, May 10, 1978
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Crystal H.
USA 16 Jul 2026
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