Collin Merrill, the Indiana man convicted of murdering his 15-year-old ex-girlfriend Peggy Carothers in 1997, is scheduled for a parole review by the Indiana Parole Board in May 2026. He is serving a 55-year sentence and is currently held at the Correctional Industrial Facility in Pendleton, Indiana.1Indiana Department of Correction. May 2026 Parole Reviews2Indiana Department of Correction. Correctional Industrial Facility
How Parole Works for an Indiana Murder Sentence
Release on parole for people sentenced under Indiana’s murder statute is governed by IC 35-50-6.3Justia. Indiana Code Section 11-13-3-2 Under that statute, an offender is released once the fixed term is served minus any credit time earned. For a murder conviction, release is followed by parole for the rest of the person’s life, and revocation at any point sends the individual back to prison to serve all or part of what remains.4Justia. Indiana Code Section 35-50-6-1
Merrill was sentenced on May 1, 1998, to 55 years. That number sat at the advisory level under the version of Indiana’s murder statute in force at the time, which set a range of 45 to 65 years.5Justia. Indiana Code Section 35-50-2-36Indiana Department of Correction. May 2025 Parole Reviews
The 2025 and 2026 Parole Reviews
Merrill appeared on the Indiana Department of Correction’s May 2025 parole review agenda, listed at Westville Correctional Center under DOC number 984421.6Indiana Department of Correction. May 2025 Parole Reviews1Indiana Department of Correction. May 2026 Parole Reviews2Indiana Department of Correction. Correctional Industrial Facility No outcome from either review has appeared in the publicly available records.
Rights of the Victim’s Family at Parole
Indiana’s victims’ rights statutes let the family of a deceased victim take part in parole proceedings. A designated family representative may submit an oral or written statement to the parole board, and the board is required to consider the safety of the victim’s family when deciding whether to release the offender.7Lewis & Clark Law School. Indiana Victims’ Rights Laws
The 1997 Killing of Peggy Carothers
Merrill and Carothers were students at Morton High School in Hammond, Indiana, and dated from the fall of 1996 until February 1997. After the breakup, Carothers told Merrill she was pregnant, a claim police later concluded was false and an attempt to keep the relationship going. An autopsy confirmed she was not pregnant.8Chicago Tribune. Hammond Teen Charged in Ex-Girlfriend’s Slaying
Two days before the killing, according to the Indiana Supreme Court’s later opinion, Merrill discussed methods of murder with classmates and settled on a plan to “lure the victim to the woods, deliver a blow to the head, and bury the body.”9FindLaw. Merrill v. State Police alleged he had already dug a six-foot pit in Scott Woods, across from the school, by April 29.8Chicago Tribune. Hammond Teen Charged in Ex-Girlfriend’s Slaying On April 30, 1997, Carothers left school with Merrill after lunch and did not return. Her body was recovered from the woods weeks later after two students who had noticed the disturbed site returned and dug it up. The Lake County coroner determined the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and asphyxiation.
Merrill was 16 at the time of the killing but was charged as an adult. He was charged on July 1, 1997, pleaded not guilty, and was held in the Lake County Jail until his conviction.8Chicago Tribune. Hammond Teen Charged in Ex-Girlfriend’s Slaying At sentencing, the trial court cited two aggravating factors: the nature and manner of the offense, and Merrill’s lengthy history of juvenile delinquency.9FindLaw. Merrill v. State
The Conviction Was Affirmed on Appeal
The Supreme Court of Indiana affirmed Merrill’s conviction and sentence in full on September 29, 1999. He had argued that the trial court improperly treated the nature and manner of the crime as separate aggravating circumstances and that the 55-year sentence was “manifestly unreasonable,” and separately that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to request an alibi jury instruction. The court rejected both claims, finding the aggravators valid, the sentence reasonable, and counsel’s decision on the alibi instruction a reasonable tactical choice, particularly given that Merrill’s own alibi witness had denied being with him at the time of the killing.9FindLaw. Merrill v. State