Boone County Coroner identifies Zionsville woman found dead in her yard

Maria Flora, The Lebanon Reporter, Ind.
·1 min read

Apr. 25—DNA analysis conducted by the Indiana State Police laboratory confirmed the identity of Kristin Bixler, 59, whose body was found in her Zionsville yard earlier this month.

Graham M. Bixler, 30, is being held in the Boone County Jail indefinitely on a charge of murder in his mother's death.

Boone County Coroner Justin Sparks released her identify this week after receiving test results from the state lab. Kristin's injuries prevented positive identification earlier, according to court records.

A preliminary autopsy revealed her cause of death as a combination of blunt force trauma and sharp force injuries and that the manner of death was homicide, according to court records.

Police found Kristin's body April 8 near a wheelbarrow in her own yard after her mother, Susan Smith, asked police to check on her.

Smith said she hadn't heard from her daughter since April 2 and that Kristin was afraid of Graham, according to court records.

Graham beat and threatened to kill his father in June, when he lived with him, according to court records. And his father, Gregory Bixler, warned his ex-wife that Graham was dangerous, police reported.

Kristin told a friend that Graham tried to kill her last year, and a few weeks before her death, she told the same friend, while clearly frightened, that Graham was going to kill her, police reported.

Graham, a Zionsville High School graduate, ran track and played golf for his school. His brother told police that Graham used illegal drugs, according to court records.

Murder suspects are ineligible for bond in Indiana. Boone Circuit Court Judge Lori Schein set a tentative trial date of Aug. 12 during Bixler's initial hearing April 12.