CRIME-FILES The Night Before Christmas by- tomevans

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The Night Before Christmas December 24th, l979- Lake Englewood, Indiana: 9:30 p.m.

The small town of Englewood had all but shut down. It was Christmas eve and there must have been a foot of snow on the ground. Downtown Englewood was lit up with Christmas lights and decorations, snow swirled down main street as the cold december wind whistled loudly. The Quik-Stop convenience store was the only place in town that was open and Glenda Lewis (35) was making preparations to close down at l0:00. She was excited about going home and finishing up some last minute gift wrapping, as well as baking up some cookies for the Christmas day festivities............

Lake Englewood is a tiny resort town located in northern Indiana, about an hour's drive from South Bend. There's a small contigent of people who live here all year round, but in the summer it fills up with out-of-towners who get away from the big city and spend some time in their cottages or camping. Glenda Lewis had lived in Englewood her entire life and was raising her two children, Shawn and Amber, on her own. She particularly loved Christmas when the lake was covered with snow and everything had that wintery feel to it, it made it feel like Christmas should feel........

Glenda's boyfriend of l0-years, Tim Floyd(37), made sure that Shawn (ll) and Amber (9) were sound asleep before he made the trek to the Quik-Stop to pick up Glenda. They would go back to the house, wrap some gifts, and before they'd head to bed- they would set out the big gifts that "Santa" would bring for the children. This had been the same routine for the past five years, ever since they purchased the little convenient store that sold gasoline and grocery items, as well as deli sandwiches and pizza. In all actuality the Quik-Stop was a goldmine......

When he pulled into the parking lot of the Quik-Stop, Tim could feel that something wasn't right. Something was amiss. The store was dark and a feeling of dread overcome him. He opened the front door and flipped on the light switch and immediately he confronted terror as he saw Glenda sprawled out on the floor-lying in a pool of blood. Thinking she might have fell and hit her head- he knelt down beside her. Her throat had been slashed almost to the point of decapitation but she was clinging to life. He went to the phone and dialed 9ll. By the time the ambulance arrived- she had expired. Tim was sitting there beside her holding her and stroking her hair, tears streaming down his face. "Who could do this? Why?", he asked as the paramedics checked her over- only to come to the same conclusion- she was dead. Tim asked one of the paramedics to call his sister, Louise, and have her go the house and sit with the children, who were asleep. They gently pulled him away from Glenda's body and tried to calm him down.........

Sheriff Larry Elder walked in. His appearance said it all. He was at home, enjoying a quiet Christmas eve when he recieved the call that something terrible had taken place at the Quik-Stop. Larry Elder knew both Tim Floyd and Glenda Lewis. Glenda always greeted the Sheriff with a smile and she was an extremely pretty young woman that didn't and couldn't have had an enemy in the world. "Tell me Tim, what you know"?, the sheriff asked. "She was closing down the store, I talked to her at about 9:30 and she said give her about a half an hour and she'd be ready to go. I made sure the kids were asleep and I drove over here to pick her up. She hates driving in the snow."

The Sheriff had nothing to go on. There was no prints because the snow had already covered any prints that would have been left by the perpetrator. Inside the store- there were no weapons, no sign of forced entry, no video camera's, no sign of sexual assault. Nothing. Someone had simply walked in and with no mercy- slashed the throat of Glenda Lewis and then made a fast getaway. But why? Why a random, senseless murder on Christmas eve? The answer would shock everyone in the small community of Englewood.........

Glenda and David Lewis were married in May of l968. They had two children, but by the time Shawn was 4-years-old and Amber was two, the marriage had soured. David was becoming violent and their arguments were escalating into loud shouting matches and his temper was intensifying. She left David in the summer of l972, but he wasn't easy to get rid of. At lst she tried to let him see the children, but that would always lead to David begging and pleading for another chance at a reunion of sorts. Then she tried a restraining order, but that wouldn't keep David from coming around. When he saw that he wasn't getting anywhere with his loveletters, cards, flowers, or phone calls- he become angry and the phone calls went from "please give me another chance" to "I could kill you". She wasn't ever really fearful of David, just tired of playing his games. She liked the independence and freedom that she was experiencing since their split. She just wanted him to go away. He did. In l973 David Lewis was sentenced to 20-years in prison for vehicular manslaughter. He was driving a car while being under the influence- and hit a car head-on in a crash that claimed the life of an l8-year-old senior at Pioneer High School. It was his third alchohol related arrest in a two year period of time so the judge threw the book at him and gave him a 20-year sentence. While in prison however, he grew even more bitter. Glenda wouldn't accept his phone calls from prison. He wasn't allowed to talk to the children. Apparently this ate at him over the next 6-years. He was finally released from the Indiana State Reformatory on December 20th, l979. He wasted no time getting to Glenda........

In l974 Glenda Lewis met a man named Tim Floyd, they immediately hit it off. Tim worked for General Motors and together they were able to buy the Quik-Stop. She had never been so happy and the children adored Tim. Thinking that David Lewis was in prison for 20-years made her feel safe and secure........

David Lewis entered the Quik-Stop at approximately 9:40 on that Christmas Eve. He walked up to Glenda, pulled out a large hunting knife, and viciously attacked the beautiful and kind 35-year-old mother of his children. She fell to the floor and he turned and casually walked out, got into his Ford pick-up truck and drove off into the night. When Tim Floyd arrived, Glenda was barely alive- but within minutes she bled to death and he sat next to her as the last breath exited her mouth...............

David Lewis accomplished his goal. He blamed Glenda for all the troubles and bad luck that had occured in his life. He didn't blame his drug addictions or his alchoholism. He didn't blame the fact that he hit on Glenda during their brief marriage or the bad choices he had made over the course of his life- it was all Glenda's fault and she had to pay. She paid with her life. He committed suicide on December 27th, l979- in a rundown hotel room. The police found a suicide note that said it all: "I killed the only person I have ever loved, the only person who ever really tried to love and understand me. She was a great person and an excellent mom. She should've given me the chance to show her how much I truly did love her- if she would've just given me that chance, we would both be alive. Please tell Shawn and Amber that her mommy and daddy both love them very much. Sincerely, David Lewis. l2/27/79"..............................

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