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WATCH: Elderly Franklin woman describes being duct taped, held at gunpoint by intruder

Posted at 9:02 PM, Jun 22, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-22 22:51:50-04

JOHNSON COUNTY, Ind. -- In a video deposition released by the Johnson County Prosecutor’s office, an elderly woman who was tied up along with her husband, during a violent home invasion last month, describes the terrifying events of that day and the impact it has had on her and her 90-year-old husband.

Investigators say after walking out of the hospital around 4 a.m. May 15, Reese Keith, 27, hid in the garage of an elderly couple’s home on Lancelot Drive to evade police.

When the couple left for errands later that morning, Keith broke into their home and was still inside when they returned.

“We opened the door and walked in, and instead of the dog being there, this man was there,” 87-year-old Ella Dixon told prosecutors at her deposition. “(He was) dressed in a toboggan hat with a mask and a gun pointed at us.”

Ella said the intruder, later identified by police as Keith, was wearing her husband’s clothes and a mask and had one of their guns.  She said she grabbed her phone and tried to call 911, but the call never went through.

When her husband, Clayton, came inside he tried to fight the intruder, but the man in the mask eventually won. Using duct from the couple’s kitchen, Ella said the man taped her to her walker and her husband’s hands and feet to a chair.

Ella told prosecutors that she tried to keep the man calm while he had a gun pointed at them and was duct-taping them to their seats.  

“I started talking to him. I talked and talked to try to distract him,” said Ella. “I talked some about being ready to die.”

Ella said the man told them he was “on drugs” and that someone was after him.

She said she then tried to appeal to the man, begging him to let them live to celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary.

“I said, ‘We’re having our 70th anniversary next month.  You sure wouldn’t kill an old man (that is) 90, at least let us have our anniversary,’” Ella told the prosecutor.

Ella said she could tell she was getting to the man by the way he reacted to what she was saying.

 

 

 

She told prosecutor her, and her husband then offered to give the intruder anything he wanted. She said he took $300, between the two of them, along with the keys to their car and three guns from their home.

Before he left, Ella said the intruder asked her which of the guns she wanted him to leave.

“I pointed out my son’s gun, because it’s a collector’s item, and he left that one,” said Ella.

He also promised the couple he would call their son to get them and return their car the next day.

After the man had left, Clayton was able to cut them both free using a pocket knife he carried with him at all times, although it took him nearly an hour.

Ella told the prosecutor that the situation has had a serious impact on her husband’s health and seemed to make his dementia worse.

Days after the incident, Ella said Clayton started talking hateful to her and her son and telling them he was “done” with them both.

The following Wednesday he even called the police and told them that their son had broken into their home with two guns and he wanted him arrested.

After they finally got him to a hospital so he could be treated, he told Ella he wanted a divorce.

“He said he wanted a divorce, after 70 years,” said Ella. “I knew it wasn’t him talking.”

Ella said Clayton’s treatment has been helping and although he’s not fully recovered, he is getting better.

“I’ve called every day, almost every evening to see how he’s doing,” said Ella.

Keith is charged with burglary with a deadly weapon, criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon, robbery and taking property by putting someone in fear while armed with a deadly weapon.

You can watch a portion of Ella Dixon's deposition in the video player above. 

READ MORE | Keith's rap sheet: More than 40 charges, two active warrants against him | Call 6: Suspect in robbery of elderly couple left unattended by police | Suspect in violent Franklin home invasion in custody