Sarah Jo Pender is a killer from Indiana who was convicted of the murders of her roommates Andrew Cataldi and Tricia Nordman
According to court documents Sarah Jo Pender was dating and living with convicted felon Richard Hull. Due to his felony convictions Richard Hull was unable to buy firearms. Sarah would buy Richard a shotgun and ammunition
Sarah Jo Pender and Richard Hull were having issues with their roommates, Andrew Cataldi and Tricia Nordman. On the day of the murders Sarah Jo Pender went for a walk and when she was away Richard Hull would shoot and kill Andrew Cataldi and Tricia Nordman. When Pender returned she allegedly helped Richard Hull dispose of the bodies
Sarah Jo Pender would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to 110 years in prison
Sarah Jo Pender would make news again years later when she would escape from prison and remained free for months
Sarah Jo Pender has maintained her innocence since being arrested in 2000
Sarah Jo Pender Videos
Sarah Jo Pender Now
| DOC Number | 953968 | |
| First Name | SARAH | |
| Middle Name | J | |
| Last Name | PENDER | |
| Suffix | ||
| Date of Birth | 05/1979 | |
| Gender | Female | |
| Race | White | |
| Facility/Location | Indiana Women’s Prison | |
| Earliest Possible Release Date* * Incarcerated individuals scheduled for release on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday are released on Monday. Incarcerated individuals scheduled for release on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday are released on Thursday. Incarcerated individuals whose release date falls on a Holiday are released on the first working day prior to the Holiday. | 02/11/2054 | |
Sarah Jo Pender Case
Students at Georgetown University are joining a growing list of people seeking to exonerate Sarah Jo Pender, an Indianapolis woman serving 110 years in prison for double murder.
Pender’s case is among five that students taking a class called “Making an Exoneree” will be reinvestigating in a new video and social media push aimed at overturning her conviction.
“Making an Exoneree (is) Georgetown University’s unprecedented course in which a group of dedicated undergraduate students reinvestigate likely wrongful conviction cases,” the university said in an announcement posted on its website. “By the end of the semester, (the students) will have created short documentaries based on their investigations and interviews, as well as online campaigns advocating for freedom.”
Pender, 43, is in the Rockville Correctional Facility serving a sentence for the October 2000 shotgun murders of her roommates Andrew Cataldi and Tricia Nordman.
Over the years, doubts have been raised about the reliability of witnesses and evidence that was used to convict Pender.
Even the prosecutor who led the case that put her behind bars, the same man who gave Pender the nickname “female Charles Manson” back in 2002, now believes she deserves her freedom.
“I have learned things since Sarah Pender’s trial and conviction in 2002 that convince me that important evidence presented at her trial was tainted and that her murder convictions should be set aside,” retired Marion County Deputy Prosecutor Larry Sells told WRTV.
“Justice is long overdue for Sarah Pender. Unfortunately, the legal system has to date failed her, but that grievous error can and should be corrected.”
The Georgetown students are sorting through court records and have contacted Pender and her family, the university said.
The students at Georgetown, working with students at University of California, Santa Cruz, will produce documentaries, websites and social media campaigns aimed at winning freedom for Pender and the others they are helping this semester.
“It’s wild how quickly this program moves,” student Jacob Livesay said in the Georgetown announcement. “I met my team just two weeks ago, and we have already become fierce advocates for the exoneration of Sarah Jo Pender.”
“Just two weeks in, I can already tell working to overturn wrongful convictions is something I’m going to be passionate about for the rest of my life,” Livesay said.
Georgetown’s “Making an Exoneree” class launched in 2018 and has helped win freedom for five former prisoners, the university said.
