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Police: 20-year-old strangled 52-year-old Greenfield woman in robbery

Posted at 1:11 PM, Oct 17, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-18 08:22:13-04

GREENFIELD, Ind. -- A 20-year-old Greenfield man strangled a woman who agreed to pay him money to do work around her house, according to court documents released Monday.

Police found 52-year-old Patricia Dresser's body in her home around 10 p.m. Thursday when one of her sons couldn't reach her.

Medical responders pronounced Dresser dead at the scene.

The following night, police found 20-year-old Spencer Spielman driving Dresser's car – which they believe he took from her home after killing her.

According to a probable cause affidavit released Monday, Dresser had given Spielman money to do work around her house. She also gave him the key pad to get into the garage to get into the house.

On Wednesday, one day prior to her death, Dresser told one of her sons that her home had been robbed and that she believed Spielman was responsible.

An autopsy determined that Dresser had died of smothering and ligature strangulation.

At approximately 8:45 p.m. Friday, Greenfield police found Spielman and another man driving around in Dresser's car.

Spielman initially told police he did work for Dresser, but denied any involvement in her death. Police say he later "confessed in detail to acts of strangulation" that caused Dresser's death.

He was also found to be driving on a suspended license and to have an active warrant for his arrest.

Spielman was booked into the Hancock County Jail on a $250,000 cash bond on charges of murder, robbery and driving with a suspended license.