Indiana Supreme Court hears Fort Wayne man’s appeal in 2021 murder, dismemberment case
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - Indiana Supreme Court justices heard arguments Thursday in an appeal of the life without parole sentence handed down to a man convicted of killing and dismembering a 55-year-old man in 2021.
BACKGROUND: Fort Wayne man sentenced to life without parole in dismemberment case
Mathew Cramer II is asking the state’s highest court to reduce his sentence for killing Shane Nguyen to a sum of 70 years in prison. His attorney, Victoria Cassanova, says his history of intellectual disabilities makes the sentence too harsh.
Cramer has been diagnosed with conduct disorder, persistent depressive disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to court documents. Additionally, as a child he was diagnosed with a rare chromosome disorder, microdeletion syndrome, that creates a predisposition to cognitive impairment, hyperactivity attention problems and aggressive and antisocial behavior.
The defendant was evaluated and found fit to stand trial despite doctors finding he had an IQ score of 81, poor judgment and limited “intellectual reservoirs.”
“Guys like him are smart enough to get things done, but not smart enough to look at the consequences of it,” a doctor’s report read.
“Even though the trial court found Mr. Cramer did not prove he was intellectually disabled, the fact remains that he suffers from significant cognitive and behavioral impairments, likely because of the genetic disorder he was born with,” Casanova wrote in her written appeal.
Deputy Attorney General Courtney Staton argued Cramer’s history did not mean he was intellectually disabled. She pointed to parts of the defendant’s evaluation that showed average intellectual functioning.
“While Cramer undoubtedly has 15q13.3 microdeletion syndrome, that diagnosis did not result in Cramer having significantly subaverage intellectual functioning,” Staton wrote. “And, consequently, does nothing to mitigate Cramer’s legal or moral culpability for the horrific crimes he committed.”
Cramer was living in a storage unit at the U-STOR Self Storage facility on North Coliseum Boulevard for about six months leading up to Nguyen’s death, court records show. During that time, the two met and began a sexual relationship.
In exchange for sexual favors, Nguyen would buy Cramer food, court records said. But one day while the two men drove back to the storage unit after a meet-up, Cramer said he decided he was going to kill Nguyen.
RELATED: Detective in Nguyen dismemberment case: ‘He would’ve done it again’
“Ultimately, Cramer exploited Nguyen’s kindness and used it to lead him to his death,” Staton wrote in a brief.
Nguyen was strangled and suffered blunt-force injuries, an autopsy found. His head, arms and legs were removed from his torso.
Full arguments can be watched here.
To be the first to get the latest breaking news alerts, download the 21Alive News App.
Download for both iPhone and Android devices can be found here.
Copyright 2024 WPTA. All rights reserved.
