VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) — A northwestern Indiana man has pleaded guilty to charges that he fatally shot his 32-year-old son while they argued inside a pickup truck.
Sixty-nine-year-old James Blum of rural Valparaiso had faced murder charges in the August 2009 death of Aaron Blum. He occasionally cried during a Porter County court hearing Tuesday as he pleaded guilty to a reckless homicide charge.
The Post-Tribune reports Aaron Blum had recently been arrested for drunken driving and that James Blum told police an argument broke out as they discussed the younger man's future. Blum told police his son lunged for the handgun in the driver's door and it went off during a scuffle.
The Times reports a deputy prosecutor says Blum then drove to a hospital but left without seeking help for his son.
