'The family's soul was being ripped from me;' Elkhart arsonist given maximum sentence
ELKHART — Witnesses in an Elkhart County courtroom Monday spoke of the fear that permeated the farming community as the list of barn fires in Elkhart, Kosciusko and St. Joseph counties mounted in late 2021.
“This area has a long history of trust, and that keeps the community strong," Nelson Martin recalled. "That feeling of trust was severely tested when we kept hearing of this word: arson. That feeling of mistrust and fear was setting into the hearts of our community."
On Sept. 18, 2021, Martin's fears became reality as his family became one of eight in Elkhart County to see parts of their homestead engulfed in flames. Martin lost a full storage unit on his farm, including all the hay and other materials inside it, in addition to another being badly damaged.
In court Monday, Martin said he has forgiven the man responsible for the arsons — 42-year-old Joseph Hershberger — though others were less kind, saying Hershberger was a "dangerous, evil person" and "cowardly" for destroying the barns — which are viewed as the heart of any farm.
"Watching the barn burn in the middle of the night felt like my soul, heart and spirit, and the family's soul, was being ripped from me and us," said Garry Weybright, whose 120-year-old barn was destroyed in Oct. 2021.
Ultimately, Elkhart Superior Court judge Stephen Bowers cited the extreme financial and emotional damage inflicted, the repeated nature of the conduct and the age of some of the victims in giving Hershberger the maximum possible sentence of 96 years.
"In my time on the bench, which is approaching 16 years now, I very rarely have given the maximum sentence. I understand under Indiana law maximum sentences are reserved for the worst of the worst. Mr. Hershberger, that’s you," Bowers said.
Due to the terms of a plea agreement reached last month, Hershberger's prison term will only be 50 years after admitting to the crimes. Hershberger said he was sorry for his actions and that he has struggled with mental health issues for most of the past few years.
"My life hangs in the balance," Hershberger said. "I apologize deeply to everyone. To my family, to all the victims, I’m sorry. I wish I had never done it. I can’t go back and fix it. I can’t rewind it."
Arson spree
Farmers and police first were first alerted to the possibility of arson in the spring of 2021 after witnessing a series of fires at barns in the northern part of Kosciusko County and the southern part of Elkhart County.
In April, a nearly 100-year-old barn was destroyed near Milford in Kosciusko County. In May, officials investigated two fires within a couple of miles of each other just northwest of Wakarusa. Two barn fires in one night a few miles apart in June also drew the attention of law enforcement. On Sept. 18, fires at barns just a few miles apart near Goshen kept firefighters with the Harrison Township Fire Department working all night to fight the blazes.
“It’s pretty obvious, we suspect foul play,” Martin told reporters at the time when interviewed as he cleaned up from the fire damage.
Fire crews responded to two more fires in one night in early October and Elkhart county police announced they were investigating the eight barn fires in the county for arson in partnership with the Indiana State Fire Marshal.
Hershberger was arrested in December and charged with eight counts of arson in connection to the fires set in Elkhart County. Court documents in the case show that investigators were first pointed in Hershberger's direction by conducting a search for cell phones that were in the vicinity of the fires. The data allegedly showed one phone, belonging to Hershberger's partner, Sherry Thomas, was in the area of multiple fires before the blazes were seen and police questioned the pair.
When questioned by detectives, Hershberger admitted to starting several fires in Elkhart County, saying that he and Thomas would take turns pouring gasoline and setting the barns on fire, according to documents.
Additional cases
Though Hershberger was given a 50-year-sentence this week, he still has pending arson charges out of Marshall and Kosciusko counties for additional fires he allegedly set with Thomas there. The Kosciuszko County charges were filed last week, but are based on information gathered by Elkhart County detectives in the previous case.
Thomas has been charged with the same offenses as Hershberger in each case; however she appears to be nearing a plea deal with Elkhart County prosecutors that is more lenient. Thomas' plea deal, which has been filed in court but not yet accepted by a judge, would see her admit to one count of arson with the sentence being served through community corrections.
Email Marek Mazurek at mmazurek@sbtinfo.com. Follow him on Twitter: @marek_mazurek
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Elkhart barn arsonist given maximum sentence as victims recount loss
