Court upholds conviction in 2014 killing, dismemberment

CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) - An appeals court has upheld the conviction of a northwest Indiana mechanic in the 2014 killing and dismemberment of a business associate.

The (Northwest Indiana) Times reports the Indiana Court of Appeals on Monday rejected an appeal from 67-year-old Thomas R. Smith of Hobart. Smith was sentenced earlier this year in Lake Superior Court to 60 years in prison in the death of 48-year-old David Krawczenia at an automotive shop in Gary.

Smith has said he didn't commit the crime.

Krawczenia was a Portage automotive wholesaler. He disappeared in November 2014 and his body was found two weeks later without a head and arms in the trunk of his vehicle in Griffith. Family told police that Krawczenia was at the automotive shop to a collect a $16,000 debt from Smith.

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Information from: The Times, http://www.nwitimes.com