Andrew Conley, 17, charged with strangling to death his younger brother Conner, 10, claimed he felt like "Dexter" after murdering his brother. Dexter is the title character of the Showtime pay cable series about a serial killer who murders criminals.
As is par for the course in cases such as this, the reality is much more complex.
What little is known is that Andrew Conley allegedly strangled his brother Conner Conley on Saturday, November 28, after wrestling with him in their family home in tiny Rising Sun, Indiana. Andrew supposedly knocked Conner unconscious with a headlock, then dragged his limp body to the kitchen, put on a pair of gloves and proceeded to choke him for nearly 20 minutes, until blood ran from his nose, to make sure he was dead.
According to court documents, the boys' parents, Shawn and Bridget Conley, were both at work that night and the boys were home alone.
Andrew then allegedly wrapped his little brother's (still attached) head in a plastic bag and sealed it with electrical tape. He claimed he did so to prevent any blood seepage. He then tossed Conner's body into the trunk of his car and drove to his girlfriend's home.
While there, the young couple watched the movie "The Green Mile," based on a story by Stephen King about a man on death row accused of murdering a child. Conley's girlfriend stated that he gave her a "sweetheart ring" and that "he was happy. More happy than he'd been in a while."
Afterward, Andrew allegedly drove his brother's corpse to nearby Rising Sun City Park where he dumped the body in an adjacent field next to a recycling center. The location was also approximately 100 yards behind Conner's school. He covered his little brother's dead body with vegetation and drove home.
When Andrew's parents returned home they asked the whereabouts of Conner. Andrew told them he had taken his brother to their grandmother's home and that he was spending the night there. The parents thought nothing of it as it was not unusual for their boys to stay over at their grandmother's home.
The following morning, Andrew claimed he walked into his parents' bedroom with a knife. He had allegedly had every intention of killing his father, Shawn, as he stood over him with the weapon. For some unknown reason, Andrew Conley did not murder his father.
Later that day, Andrew knew the jig was up. His parents told him to pick up his brother from his grandmother's home. That's when he told them what he had done. He also told two friends about the murder. Police were contacted, the body of Conner Conley was discovered, and Andrew Conley was arrested for murder.
Once in custody, the sketchy reasons as to why Andrew killed Conley were doled out. Andrew claimed he felt compelled to strangle his little brother. "Like I had to... like when people have something like they are hungry and there is a hamburger sitting there and they knew they had to have it and I was sitting there and it just happened."
Andrew also claimed he had wanted to kill another human being since he was in the eighth grade. He said he "thought about doing different things to people... taking a knife to someone's throat or beating them to death with my hands."
Andrew also claimed he watched "Dexter" and said he felt like the title character.
Dearborn-Ohio County prosecutor Aaron Negangard feels that Andrew Conley is a bad seed. "People always want to know a 'why.' They assume there's a 'why.' Sometimes people are evil... and this child is evil."
According to family friends, Andrew was a good student who made As and Bs in school and could easily hold an adult conversation. He was seemingly well-liked and raised in a loving home. He also usually stayed out of trouble.
Recent reports, however, indicate Andrew may had been experiencing some sort of inner turmoil. He was taken out of Rising Sun High School on November 16 for "destructive behavior." One official also stated that the 17-year-old had cut his arms in an "attempted suicide" recently.
As for the "Dexter" influence, child psychologist Dr. Lisa Boesky believes "It's rarely something that happens overnight," she said. "This is not caused by a television show or a fight with their parents. This is typically indicative of a serious disturbance. And clearly in cases like this, it indicates that something is seriously wrong."
Prosecutor Negangard stated that Andrew Conley will be charged as an adult for the murder, however, he will not be eligible for the death penalty due to his young age.
***Be sure to follow my coverage on the Alyssa Bustamante/Elizabeth Olten murder case that also features an alleged teenage killer who killed because she wanted to know what it would feel like.
Corey Mitchell is a critically acclaimed Los Angeles Times best-selling author of several true crime books including Dead and Buried, Pure Murder and Hollywood Death Scenes. He is also the founder of the premiere true crime website, In Cold Blog, executive producer for a new true crime television series, and a former Hollywood crime expert and blogger for the Discovery Channel. He can be reached at truecrimewriter@aol.com.
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Comments
I suspect there's more to this story--we don't just one day decide to strangle our little brother. I will be curious to see what comes out in the wash.
Houston Legal Issues Examiner
I believe that the way he describes his motivation is how it really felt for him; just wanting to do it. But given that he's been full of suicidal and murderous thoughts for a while, I would think some thing(s) happened in his young life that made him incredibly angry and he could not express those feelings for whatever reason and that got transformed into this rage. ---for example maybe somebody molested him when he was his brother's age and his father made him stay quiet about it. ---- its just a guess among many possible things, but some part of his anger was aimed towards his father and he could not act on it -- I think is telling. weather his father ever really hurt him or not -- there was some event that was repressed and transformed into this rage in the boy -- even if he is no longer in touch with what that was himself.
jerk
In regards to Dexter, as it says in the article, it's not because of a TV show, he identified with the show because he already felt those urges and had a morbide curiosity. He obviously felt this way before Dexter was even on the air. HOwever, with shows like this it's a slippery slope, he identifies and is comforted by shows and movies which make it seem like he's not the only one with this problem and maybe it's not so horrible to kill someone, it happens all the time on the show. It reassures him that he is normal in these delusions and that can be dangerous.
In no way does Dexter show that being like he is is normal. The show portrays Dexter and all his urges in a very negative way, especially with the new season where his life is literally falling apart because of his serial killer habits. If anyone looks at the show and thinks that because they are like Dexter, and his life is normal and being a killer is working out great for him, then they are obviously not even watching the show at all.
wow, i dont belive that this can be possible. how horrible!
nika is right. i live in the next town over from where andrew lived. his home was no where near loving, his "father" was a drunk. and put andrew threw hell his whole life, andrew didnt want coner (rip) to have to live in that envirerment any longer, in a sick,,, very sick twisted way andrew was thinking of his brother! but this still never should of happened. Rip Coner Conley, You will forever be missed
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