Formal charges including attempted murder have been filed against a local man who admitted he tried to kill a Columbus parks department ice skating instructor by stabbing her in a parking lot to prevent her from reporting a car accident.
Ryan T. Halligan, 29, of 3526 Cardinal Court, is accused of attempting to kill Emaly “Emma” Baxter outside of the Hamilton Center Ice Arena last Friday. He has been charged with attempted murder as a Level 1 felony; aggravated battery as a Level 3 felony; criminal confinement as a Level 3 felony; strangulation as a Level 6 felony; and auto theft as a Level 6 felony.
Halligan is also facing two Class A misdemeanor charges — operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, and interference with the reporting of a crime, court documents state.
In addition to those charges, the prosecutor’s office has also filed a habitual offender enhancement document in the case, seeking to have Halligan sentenced as a habitual offender if found guilty. The document alleges he has accumulated at least two prior unrelated felony convictions. Indiana law allows those convicted as a habitual offender to receive an additional fixed term between six to 20 years for Level 1 through Level 4 felonies or two to six years additional for those convicted of a Level 5 or Level 6 felony, according to Indiana statutes.
In Friday’s incident, Baxter told police she was driving in the parking lot outside the city ice rink at about 6:30 a.m. when an unknown male crashed his car into her vehicle, according to a probable cause affidavit.
As Baxter attempted to report the accident, the male driver — later determined to be Halligan — got inside her vehicle and told her to get off her cell phone. After Halligan punched and choked Baxter, she attempted to escape through the front passenger door, but he held her down and continued to choke her, the affidavit states.
When Baxter did get out of the vehicle, Halligan fell on top of her and punched her multiple times, court documents state. It was at that time that Halligan told Baxter he was going to kill her and stabbed her in the chest, the affidavit states.
While on the ground, Halligan is accused of kneeling on the woman’s neck, which restricted her airflow and made it difficult for her to breathe, the court document states.
Less than three minutes after Baxter phoned 911, Columbus Police officer Frank Dickman arrived and saw Halligan assaulting Baxter.
When Halligan saw the officer, he attempted to escape by running east over the pedestrian bridge crossing Haw Creek. However, Halligan — who had blood on his clothing and skin — was found quickly, hiding behind several stacked sheets of plywood on the porch of a residence, the affidavit stated.
Another officer found a bloody red and black hooded sweatshirt under the plywood that was wrapped around a fixed blade knife, the affidavit states. A computer check on the Ford Fusion that Halligan was driving showed the vehicle had been reported stolen in Indianapolis.
Back in Lincoln Park, two police officers provided first aid to Baxter until paramedics arrived. Officers determined she had suffered serious injuries and lost a substantial amount of blood, so a decision was made to fly her by Lifeline helicopter to Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital. A spokeswoman there said Wednesday that after spending the past few days in stable condition, Baxter was released from the Indianapolis hospital.
Halligan remains in an area hospital, where he is under police custody while undergoing treatment, said Columbus Police spokesman Lt. Matt Harris.
During questioning, Halligan told investigators he had choked and stabbed Baxter in an effort to prevent her from contacting police, the affidavit states. Halligan told investigators he was stabbing Baxter to try to get her to be quiet, as he needed to make sure “he didn’t get in trouble so he stabbed her enough to get the job done,” the affidavit states. The suspect also admitted to investigators he was trying to kill Baxter, the affidavit states.
Investigators said Halligan told them he was on methamphetamine and heroin in the hours prior to the accident, the affidavit said. Officers noted in their report that Halligan had poor balance, garbled speech, and had urinated on himself.
In addition to the Friday incident, Columbus police reported Halligan is also accused of forcing his way into an apartment of a female relative in a burglary attempt on Oct. 9, according to court records. After the victim attempted to call police, Halligan stopped her, according to court documents. When the relative tried to defend herself, he reportedly attempted to strangle her, court documents stated. She was treated by paramedics at the scene.
For the Oct. 9 incident, Halligan is accused of Level 3 felony burglary, Level 6 felony strangulation and a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery, with his bond set then at $25,000, according to jail records. However, jail records indicate Halligan was released from jail after 48 hours as required by law as no formal charges had been filed against him by the prosecutor’s office within that time period, jail officials said.
In a third incident, Halligan was arrested in September for unlawful possession of a syringe as a Level 6 felony, as well as a misdemeanor charge of possession of paraphernalia, court documents state.
A warrant for Halligan’s arrest has been issued by Bartholomew County Superior Court 1 James Worton, police said. Once he is released from the hospital, he will be booked into the Bartholomew County Jail with bond initially set at $1.5 million, according to jail officials. There is no 48-hour hold on these charges for Halligan as formal charges have been filed.
According to court documents, Halligan was convicted May 2, 2012 in Shelby County for felony possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. In addition, Halligan was convicted in Johnson County of felony theft. The two convictions are the basis for the habitual offender enhancement, court documents state.
