WTHR |State rep speaks out about attack

State rep speaks out about attack

Rep. Ed DeLaney, 66, suffered five broken bones and a broken eye socket. He was back home this week after a hospitalization, and learned Tuesday he will not require further surgery on his eye socket.

Augustus Mendenhall, 38, admitted to beating DeLaney. He was arrested on attempted murder charges. The attack apparently stems from a 26-year-old family feud.

Prosecutors say Mendenhall told DeLaney he was a representative for a Russian client interested in buying real estate. What DeLaney didn't know is that Mendenhall's family was involved in a 1983 court case where the city of Indianapolis was cracking down on adult bookstores, including one on property owned by Mendenhall's father. The bitter case wound up in the US Supreme court with the elder Mendenhall losing the battle. Ed DeLaney was an attorney in the case.

"He did not give me a clue what lawsuit in my 35-year career upset him but that his conduct told me he was there to kill me," DeLaney said.

DeLaney told police that Mendenhall pulled out a gun, but the gun jammed and a struggle ensued.

A couple familiar with DeLaney happened by and noticed something was wrong when DeLaney flashed an obscene gesture.

"I always was respectful, didn't talk. I gave them the bird, thinking, she's going to have to notice this isn't the usual Ed," he said.

"There are things that made this survivable - the gun problem, the Palmers showing up, the fact that I had worked for years to be in good condition so that I could hit him with some success and that I could take the blows better and deal well with the medical part. Yeah, it took a lot of things. I should have been gone," he said.

Mendenhall told Eyewitness News that he intended to scare, not harm, DeLaney for what he believes DeLaney did to his family, but that things got out of hand.

"Things went very wrong. I tried to frighten him as close as I possibly could to let him feel he could lose everything," said Mendenhall.

"It was his intention to kill me. That's the short story," DeLaney said.