Second defendant in death of Hobart man by Portage Township pond submits guilty plea

Jada Monroe, the co-defendant in the June 13, 2023, murder of Derek Hartz, 35, of Hobart, entered guilty pleas on three felony murder and robbery counts without a written plea Monday morning before Porter Superior Court Judge Michael Fish.

Monroe pled guilty to one count of murder; one count of murder in perpetration of a robbery; and one count of robbery.

Fish set sentencing for 11 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 21. Indiana has sentencing guidelines of 45 to 65 years in prison for murder, and 10 to 30 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines for robbery.

Monroe’s co-defendant Donomic Brothers was convicted after four hours of deliberation by a jury in Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Clymer’s courtroom on three counts: murder, felony murder, and felony robbery. Clymer sentenced Brothers to 82.5 years in prison.

Brothers’ sentences were given consecutively, meaning they were added up, rather than running concurrently. He told the judge he intends to appeal.

The jury found Brothers guilty of luring Hartz to a public access fishing site in Portage Township on an LGBTQ dating app and then brutally murdering him with 28 blunt force blows and stab wounds, any number of which would have been fatal on their own, according to the testimony of forensic pathologist John Feczko, who conducted the autopsy.

Porter County prosecutors contend Brothers and Monroe lured Hartz on an LGBTQ dating app with the promise of sex to rob him of his car and money.

Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.