Former South Bend woman found guilty of dismembering husband

LAPORTE — It took a jury Thursday less than 30 minutes to find a LaPorte woman guilty on all counts related to the fatal shooting of her husband and dismemberment of his body.

In addition to murder, 36-year-old Thessalonica Allen was convicted of abuse of a corpse and altering a crime scene, both level 6 felonies, along with two level 5 felony counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and two level 6 felony counts of neglect of a dependent.

Allen, formerly of South Bend, faces anywhere from 45 to 65 years in prison for murder. Anywhere from six months to six years on each of the remaining counts could be added to her sentence.

LaPorte Circuit Court Judge Tom Alevizos did not set a sentencing date.

She was found guilty in the fatal shooting of Randy Allen during an argument inside the bedroom of the couple’s home at Maple Tree Apartments at 1405 W. 18th St. in July of 2021.

Allen claimed self-defense. During closing arguments, one of her defense attorneys, Kurt Earnst, portrayed her as a battered wife who moved to LaPorte to get away from her abusive husband, Randy Allen. Earnst said Mr. Allen followed her and her four children to their new home, though, and continued living with them against her wishes.

The fatal shooting occurred two months after Randy Allen moved into the 18th Street apartment.

Her 16-year old son, Deshawn, testified his mother and stepfather got into argument over a social media post from her that he discovered on her computer. Randy Allen accused her of cheating and they argued for about 20 minutes before winding up in their bedroom.

Earnst said he was lunging toward her when she shot him in the arm. The bullet ricocheted into his rib cage and came to rest in his spinal cord.

LaPorte County Deputy Prosecutor Julianne Havens disputed the claims of abuse and Mr. Allen forcing himself upon his family in their new residence. Havens said the woman obtained a protective order against her husband prior to the shooting but lied to get it, judging from her retracting her story later.

Havens also said notes recovered from the home written by Mrs. Allen revealed she planned to kill him.

Havens said she acted on her plans after finding herself alone with him in the bedroom with nobody there to witness what she was about to do.

“They made the decision to be together," Havens said. "Later when she decided she did not want to be with him anymore is when she began writing the notes.”

Earnst, though, disputed claims the killing was premeditated. He said his client acted on her fears of being physically abused again. Earnst also said where Randy Allen was shot doesn’t make sense if her plan was for him to die.

“If you plan on killing somebody, you shoot them in the head," the defense attorney said.

But, Havens said, Mrs. Allen did not make any effort to seek help and even told her children after they rushed over not to call 911 despite their stepfather bleeding to death on the floor asking them to.

Havens said the evidence shows Mr. Allen was leaving the bedroom, instead, when he was shot. Havens said the children also heard Mrs. Allen say “you’re not leaving” just prior to the gunshot.

After the shooting, Havens said, Allen had her children help her drag the body outside where they tried placing it into her vehicle to dispose of it.

The body was too heavy, though, so she purchased an ax the next day and used it to remove his legs. Havens said they dragged the body outside again but it was still too heavy for them to lift.

Mrs. Allen later asked the biological father of her children for help in removing the body from the home, but he immediately left and called police.

Havens said Mrs. Allen also went out and purchased cleaning supplies and had the children help her remove blood left from the shooting.

“These are the actions of someone who committed a crime and now I have to hide it,” Havens said.

In the end, the jury agreed with that assessment.