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December 6, 2012

Jeffersonville murder suspects appear in court

A jury trial is set for May

By BRADEN LAMMERS braden.lammers@newsandtribune.com

JEFFERSONVILLE — The two suspects who police said admitted to killing 55-year-old Robert Eader appeared in Clark County Circuit Court No. 1 on Thursday.

James L. Washington, 35, and Dana R. Eisenback, 25, made their initial appearance in court for what Jeffersonville Police Department officials described as a drug deal that went wrong.

According to police, Washington and Eisenback went to Eader’s apartment on the 300 block of Spring Street early Monday morning to deal him cocaine. When the transaction occurred, Washington attempted to steal the money Eader was holding and they got into a physical confrontation. Eader was stabbed at least three times during the struggle, with wounds to his chest and throat.

Immediately after the murder, the pair fled the city and went to Poplar Bluff, Mo., but returned to the area to turn themselves in. Police caught the two at Thorton’s gas station at 10th Street and Allison Lane at about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.

When Eisenback faced the charges Thursday, she started crying and said she couldn’t breathe as the judge read out the charges against her, according to a report from newsgathering partner WLKY-TV

According to Clark County Court records, Eisenback faces charges of murder [aiding, inducing, or causing an offense] and robbery resulting in bodily injury, a class B felony.

Washington faces charges of murder and robbery resulting in bodily injury, a class B felony.

Their next appearance in court is scheduled for Feb. 7, when they will have a pretrial conference. A jury trial is tentatively scheduled for May.

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