Evansville woman sentenced to 11 years in connection to fatal stabbing of Henderson man

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — An Evansville woman accused of stabbing a Henderson man to death earlier this year was sentenced to 11 years in prison Tuesday after a judge denied her last-ditch attempt to withdraw a plea agreement. 

Rayven Crook, 24, was charged with murder in connection to the death of then 40-year-old Mark Lynn II.

Crook reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, which was filed Sept. 24, a week before her scheduled jury trial, after several months of negotiations. 

As part of the deal, she agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter in connection to Lynn's death. She also agreed to plead guilty in two unrelated cases, one to theft and the other to fraud and forgery.

The agreed-upon sentence was 11 years in prison.

But at the start of the sentencing hearing, Crook's attorney said her client had given her a letter, asking for the plea agreement to be withdrawn and her case be taken to trial.

Prosecutors objected to the request, which Vanderburgh County Circuit Judge Gary Schutte denied.

Crook then told the judge she agreed to the plea deal because her co-defendant, 20-year-old Ebonee Gross, begged her to. Crook said she believed Gross wanted her to agree to the deal to protect herself. Gross was also working on a plea agreement with prosecutors, which was filed Oct. 15. 

Then, when it became clear Schutte was going to stick by his decision, Crook said she wasn't in a proper state to agree to the plea deal since she had snorted methamphetamine that she said was circulating around the jail.

Schutte said he had reason to believe Crook was lying after speaking with counsel at his bench. Crook's attorney, Dawnya Taylor, said she would investigate the claims out of due diligence.

The judge said the agreement would be revisited and the case would go to trial if Crook's allegations of being too high to agree to a plea deal turned out to be true.

More:This Evansville woman was murdered. Then she haunted her house | Webb

More:Case against Gregory Johnston, accused Evansville child molester, dismissed

More:Nut Club member hurt during Fall Festival remains in critical condition

Two of the victim's family members tearfully read prepared statements at the hearing.

Jennifer Connan, Lynn's sister, said her brother wasn't an angel, but he didn't deserve to die the way he did.

"Be a better person," she told Crook. "Start a new life."

Lynn's mother, Roberta Lynn, said she's can't forgive Crook right now for taking her son from his family.

"There is a constant ache in my heart that will never go away," she said.

Investigators believe Lynn was stabbed in a house in the 600 block of East Louisiana Street and collapsed a few houses away as he tried to escape.  

Officers were called to the neighborhood around 11:15 p.m. on April 5. They reportedly found Lynn face-down and unresponsive.

The Courier & Press reported, citing a police affidavit, that the stabbing was caught on video. 

The video, recorded by a child, allegedly showed Gross and Lynn speaking to one another and then fighting. The video then appeared to show Crook stabbing Lynn twice in the back.

Gross was accused of telling the child who recorded the video to delete it.

Gross was charged with aiding, inducing or causing murder; contributing to the delinquency of a minor and attempting to commit obstruction of justice.

As part of her plea deal, she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of reckless homicide, along with pleading guilty to attempting to obstruct justice. The charge of contributing to a minor's delinquency would be waived. 

She agreed to be sentenced to a total of two years and 300 days in prison. After she serves 300 days, the remaining two years would be suspended to probation. 

Gross's sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 19.