Snapped is examining the murder of David Michael Fouts, whose remains were dumped by the side of the road in a rural area of Hamilton County, Indiana, to the east of Indianapolis. His wife, Katrina Fouts, was convicted of conspiracy to murder.
Family friend Terry Hopkins was also charged in connection with the murder, but he passed away before his trial, so he was never convicted.
On April 24, 2020, the body of David, a resident of Pendleton, IN, was found in a ditch near Noblesville.
It was not immediately clear how he died, but there was evidence that his hands and feet had been bound.
David’s bare feet were clean, and he had suffered a number of cuts, which all implied his body had been moved after death. The evidence suggested he had been dragged into the ditch.
An autopsy revealed the presence of poisonous mushrooms in David’s stomach. A coroner was unable to determine if he had died from the mushrooms or from asphyxiation, but they were confident it was homicide.
Hamilton County cops collected evidence against Katrina Fouts and Terry Hopkins in David Fouts murder case
The cops noted that his wife, Katrina, had not reported David missing or had even tried to contact him after he vanished. Detectives did learn that Katrina had contacted Hopkins 734 times between March 27 and April 27.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelHopkins was a carer to Katrina’s elderly father, and she described him as a “good friend” and “second father” to her. She also admitted that he did not get along with David.
The cops alleged that Hopkins purchased a hydraulic lift the day before the murder. Katrina claimed it was to lift things into the house, but the cops found David’s DNA on the device and concluded it was used to lift his body.
Investigators also found a variety of other tools, including a box cutter knife, cable tiles, and cleaning products, all bought by Hopkins and all suspected of being used in the murder.
Katrina Fouts convicted for conspiring in David Fouts murder
The police arrested Hopkins and Katrina for murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and failure to report a corpse. Hopkins died before he got his day in court, but Katrina was put in front of a jury.
The jury was not convinced that Katrina had committed murder, but they did convict her of conspiracy to murder and failure to report a corpse.
She was sentenced to a total of 35 years and is currently incarcerated at Indiana Women’s Prison in Indianapolis.
Snapped airs Sundays at 6/5c on Oxygen.