Arrest made in 2006 Franklin double homicide of Blake and Chynna Dickus

More than 20 years after a young boy and his stepmother were stabbed to death in their Franklin, Indiana home, an arrest has finally been made in the case.

On Oct 2, 2026, the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office announced two murder charges against Michael Jerome James for his role in the death of 10-year-old Blake Dickus and 26-year-old Chynna Dickus, the IndyStar reported (https://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2026/10/02/arrest-made-in-2006-franklin-homicide-of-10-year-old-stepmother-blake-chynna-dickus-michael-james/92063564007/).

James, now 35, was 14 years old at the time of the double homicide. The pair were found stabbed to death in their Aberdeen Drive home on the evening of July 24, 2006. The case went cold for two decades, with the family’s search for justice at one point commemorated on a billboard above Interstate 65.

Prosecutor Lance Hamner, who said the case had long haunted him, wrote in a news release that seeking justice in it was “a primary driving force behind my decision to leave the bench as judge and run for prosecutor once again”.

The announcement came one week after Hamner’s office raised the reward for information leading to a resolution of the case from $25,000 to $100,000.

James was indicted by a grand jury, which means authorities cannot disclose any information about the case against him. At the time of the announcement, an initial hearing had not yet been scheduled in Johnson Circuit Court.