Police: Indiana man killed wife’s lover, kidnapped wife and children

Published 2:00 pm Thursday, June 25, 2015

An Indiana man accused of kidnapping his estranged wife and three children, fatally stabbing a man and then fleeing to Minnesota waived his extradition rights and will return to face murder and kidnapping charges, the Anderson, Indiana Herald Bulletin reports.

Mark A. Emerson, 26, was arrested Monday at a Wal-Mart in Hermantown, Minnesota, near Duluth. He reportedly has confessed to police that he fatally stabbed Cody J. Gay, 25, of Indianapolis with a pocket knife after he found the man having sex with his estranged wife, Lara Emerson.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed by the Anderson Police Department, the Emersons had been separated for about three months prior to the incident. “He believed that Lara and Cody were having a sexual relationship,” the affidavit states.

Police in Anderson found Gay’s body Monday wrapped in a quilt in the basement of a home rented by the Emersons.

According to the affidavit, Mark Emerson went to his former home over the weekend and hid a machete and ax in Lara Emerson’s sleeping area of the basement. He then went to a local Wal-Mart, where he the affidavit states he bought a black BB gun with which to confront Gay.

Mark Emerson told police that when he returned to the house, he found the couple having sex. He pointed the BB gun at Gay and grabbed the machete.

“Mark stated that Cody knocked the machete out of his hand and Mark then grabbed the small handheld axe that he also placed down in the basement prior to this confrontation and swung toward Cody,” the affidavit said. “Mark stated that Cody caught the axe, at which point Mark then pulled a pocket knife out and stabbed him twice in the chest area. Cody collapsed and died.”

Mark Emerson then fled with his wife and three children, driving to Minnesota before being apprehended in a Wal-Mart parking lot outside Duluth, Minnesota.

The three children — 3-year-old twins and a 1-year-old — were all reportedly unharmed during the incident.

Anderson police said Emerson was arrested and charged in April with felony criminal confinement, intimidation, strangulation and domestic battery in which Lara Emerson was the victim. Based on that incident, there was an order of protection against Mark Emerson that required him to stay away from his estranged wife.

Emerson is expected to be returned to Anderson within two weeks.

The Anderson (Ind.) Herald Bulletin contributed to this story.