(La Porte County, IN) - A Michigan City man charged with killing his roommate in 2017 and dismembering his body has been returned to face charges.
John Hallett, who’s now 54, is currently being held in the La Porte County Jail without bond on charges of Murder and Abuse of a Corpse.
He was previously held in a Cambridge, Massachusetts jail after being apprehended last week at his home in that community.
Hallett called Michigan City Police last year and claimed he killed an “old roommate” in late November of 2017 in a home they shared in the 1000 block of West 9th Street.
He and the victim, Paul Gonzales, 64, were homeless until they were placed into a shared residence by Housing Opportunities, a group with more than 200 low-income housing units in LaPorte and Porter counties. During an argument, he told police, he struck the victim from behind with a crutch before choking him to death and allowing his body to law on the basement floor for more than 50 days.
According to court documents, he then dismembered the decomposing body with a hacksaw before placing the body parts in plastic bags and disposing of them in municipal trash cans.
Hallett told police he killed Gonzales because he thought the victim was stealing his mail and trying to get him evicted from their home.
Authorities spent about one year investigating his claims, and eventually obtained a warrant for his arrest based on evidence that has allegedly substantiated his story.
