Teen suspected of killing boy and stepmom was in prosecutors’ sights for years — until new law let them strike

Indiana prosecutors have charged Michael Jerome James in the 2006 killings of 10-year-old Blake Dickus and his 26-year-old stepmother, Chynna, after years without a clear legal route to bring the case. Prosecutors say the killings happened during a burglary or attempted burglary; the case matters because it tests whether a new state law can allow adult prosecution for serious crimes allegedly committed by someone who was a child.

James was 14 at the time and is now 35. A 2023 law intended to address cases involving alleged juvenile offenders did not apply after Indiana’s Supreme Court rejected its use in another case, so lawmakers passed a revised statute in 2025. James faces four murder counts and told the court he planned to hire a lawyer; a defence lawyer has questioned whether he can be prosecuted as an adult under the changed law.