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Man Sentenced In Brutal Slayings In Front Of Children

Curtis Dance Laughed, Slept Through Trial

POSTED: 5:30 pm EDT June 24, 2009
UPDATED: 8:09 pm EDT June 24, 2009

Curtis Dance was sentenced Wednesday to two consecutive 65-year prison terms for killing two people six years ago.

After calling Dance a cold-blooded killer, Judge Kurt Eisgruber handed down the maximum possible sentence, 6News' Jack Rinehart reported.

The sentence provides only a little solace to the families of the victims, Lee Driver and his wife, LeShelle.

Eisgruber said Dance's actions at the crime scene were deplorable, and he laughed and slept through the trial, aiming silent taunts at the loved ones of his victims.

At his sentencing, Dance refused to acknowledge the presence of the victims' families in court.

"He destroyed us," said Lisa Wooden, LeShelle's aunt. "I want him to pay for what he did. He didn't look up at all."

Wooden found the bodies of her niece and Driver on June 21, 2003, in the 2600 block of Beach Avenue.

LeShelle had been gagged, hogtied and shot twice in the head. Driver was shot six times in the head and neck.

Dance forced the couple's children, ages 3 and 5, to witness the executions.

"This crime was especially heinous. It was done in front of the two young kids. The judge gave him the maximum … and he deserved every day of that," said Marion County Deputy Prosecutor Michelle Sharp.

Dance's name came up early in the investigation, but he wasn't arrested until four years later, when a crime lab linked a piece of duct tape to the victim's DNA and Dance's fingerprint.

Investigators think two other people were involved.

"The case isn't closed, and until we get ... last of the suspects, we're on the case," said Indianapolis police Sgt. Mark Albert.

Eisgruber reiterated at Dance's sentencing that the children witnessed something they should never have seen and something they can never forget.

"I feel like he should have got the death penalty," Wooden said. "They're not going to be able to walk the streets anymore and I don't think they should either."

With good behavior, Dance wouldn't be eligible for parole until 2074, when he turns age 92, but it's possible he could get out earlier if he strikes a deal with the state and gives up the names of the accomplices.

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