MICHIANA SHORES, Ind. — Court documents reveal that in the last hour of his life, Denis Earley called his wife and told her that his own nephew was trying to stab and kill him. A frantic struggle occurred and Denis lost control of his cellphone. For the next 48 minutes, his wife listened helplessly on the open line as 42-year-old Kyle Earley chased his father and uncle around the residence with a knife, leaving rooms splattered with blood.
On Sept. 1, at 9:21 a.m., Long Beach police and La Porte County Sheriff’s Department deputies were dispatched to the 300 block of Groveland Trail in Michiana Shores. There, inside a house sat upon a quiet, wooded street in a neighborhood near the shores of Lake Michigan, deputies and officers found a gruesome, grisly scene.
Despite the peaceful exterior, the inside of the home was in disarray, court documents said. Blood was saturated throughout several rooms inside the home, including both bathrooms. Brothers Denis Earley, 64, and John Earley, 73, were found to have been stabbed and slashed numerous times throughout the house by the suspect — John’s 42-year-old son Kyle K. Earley.
Denis was declared dead on scene by the La Porte County Coroner, court documents reveal, while John was rushed by ambulance to a Michigan City hospital where he was then flown to South Bend Memorial Hospital.
Long Beach Marshall Mark Swistek was the first to respond to the scene, according to the court documents. When Swistek arrived, Kyle had been trying to leave the residence with a backpack in hand. Kyle’s clothing was said to be saturated with blood and a knife was found on his person.
After being taken to the Michigan City Police Department, blood was swabbed from Kyle, collected from his hands, legs and even his ears.
Denis’s wife had been out of state when her husband called her. She made arrangements to quickly return and told police about her horrific phone call and the 48 minutes in which she could do nothing but listen to the awful attack.
Court documents reveal that detectives attempted to speak to Kyle at the Michigan City Police Department but he refused to speak without an attorney. Officers noted a visible cut on Kyle’s right hand, scratches upon his face and dried blood clinging to various parts of his body.
Detectives learned that Kyle had made multiple threats in the past to harm both his uncle and father. According to the documents, detectives were told that Kyle was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and that he was schizophrenic.
Kyle is being held in the La Porte County Jail on a $1 million bond and is officially charged with one count of murder and another count of attempted murder.
