(Michigan City, IN) - A man is now on trial for killing a roommate and disposing of his dismembered body in municipal trash cans in Michigan City.
Opening arguments were given today in the La Porte Superior Court 1 trial of Mark Hallett who, according to court documents, called Michigan City Police in 2022 claiming he killed an “old roommate” in a home they shared in the 1000 block of West 9th Street in late November of 2017. Hallett said he and the victim, Paul Gonzales, were homeless until they were placed into the residence they shared 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 and choked him to death, before reportedly allowing the body to lay on the basement floor for more than 50 days. Hallett, 55, told investigators he then dismembered the body with a hacksaw and placed the body parts in plastic bags disposed of in municipal trash cans.
Hallett allegedly told police he killed the 64-year-old Gonzales because he thought the victim was stealing his mail and trying to get him evicted from their home.
