As a prosecutor played a sobbing 911 call from Kyle Cornelius’ 14-year-old daughter, several family members started weeping in the audience.
It looks like he got shot “in the head,” she tearfully tells a dispatcher.
Following a 2022 surgery, Randall was short on money. Cornelius started giving Randall marijuana to sell to help him pay bills. Soon, Randall ran up a $2,200 debt he couldn’t repay.
When Michael Randall went to see him at home on Feb. 22, 2023, a confrontation happened where he shot Cornelius 11 times.
The girl found her father’s body.
Randall, 47, pleaded guilty in January to voluntary manslaughter. Judge Gina Jones sentenced him to 30 years Tuesday.
The fallout continued after his death.
In a letter to the court, a family member said the girl never recovered. Prosecutor Maureen Koonce said she died suddenly at 16 in 2024.
There was “no way that her father’s death did not play a role,” she said.
Koonce said Randall used a silencer – leaving doubts it was a spur-of-the-moment shooting.
The victim was shot three times in the left arm as he tried to defend himself and once in the right ring finger. He was shot twice in the back and five times in the face and head, according to court documents.
Defense lawyer Joe Roberts said his client wanted the plea deal, ultimately dropping a self-defense claim.
When he saw Cornelius had a gun, too, he “freaked the (expletive) out,” – citing his client’s words. It’s “nothing he’s proud of.”
Randall said in court he was “beyond sorry” and wanted to help people with their drug issues.
“Nobody will know exactly what happened in that house,” Judge Gina Jones said later. Randall said he would not appeal.
Afterward, Dawn Repko, Cornelius’ mother, said she had wanted the death penalty.
Her son was a sheet metal worker who started selling marijuana on the side before he got a well-paying job to help cover his bills. She estimated her son and Randall met through a mutual friend about a year earlier. She believed his gun would have been on a table.
He was “happy-go-lucky” and “loved kids.” He wore a Superman shirt in every high school picture.
Cornelius’ daughter was a daddy’s girl — “sweet,” “beautiful,” and the best big sister to her brother.
According to her obituary, she was a “very fierce protector of anyone whom she loved.”
The girl loved baking, cooking, often drove around with friends for hours. She was an “adventurous spirit,” who loved art and music.
“Stay wild, Moon Child,” it said.
Lake Station Police were called at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 22, 2023, to the 2300 block of Warren Street where they found Cornelius, 36, shot and lying face down inside a house.
The girl walked into the house and saw him lying down, but thought “he was sleeping.” She tried to wake him before seeing blood and called 911.
Police found two .22-caliber bullet casings, and three black tote bags with THC gummies, vape pens, and a vacuum seal roll. Detectives pulled a text exchange from Cornelius’ phone between him and Randall, charges state.
“I’ll be over to see you when I get home this evening,” Randall wrote, including a picture of a man holding a large amount of cash.
“I’ll be home after 2 today. I just want my money,” Cornelius responded.
An Indiana State Police crime scene investigator found a crumpled pair of tan camouflage pants with $7,400 in a plastic bag and a THC vape pen inside Randall’s vehicle after police got a search warrant, according to the affidavit.
Randall told investigators he parked at the Lake Station civic center, then walked to Cornelius’ house to repay $2,200. Cornelius gave him “weed” to sell while Randall was injured and off work, charges allege.
mcolias@post-trib.com