Suspected Indiana serial killer Darren Deon Vann refused to say a word during his first court appearance Wednesday for the murder of a 19-year-old woman in Hammond, prompting the judge to reschedule the hearing and hold Vann in contempt, USA Today reported.
Vann, who told police he has killed at least seven women, stood silent with his hands shackled as Magistrate Judge Kathleen Sullivan questioned him during the hearing at a Lake County Jail courtroom.
Lake County Sheriff John Buncich said Vann, 43, seemed uncomfortable with the large amount of reporters that were crowding the courtroom, USA Today reported. The accused killer asked why his hearing wasn't begin held in the county's main courthouse and didn't want to leave the jail's holding area due to the overwhelming media presence.
"Please tell your client this is an open courtroom and I have to let people in," Sullivan told Vann's lawyer, according to the newspaper.
Wednesday's incident is a shift in the wind for Vann, who up until now had been cooperating with investigators. Over the weekend Vann, a convicted sex offender, led police to the bodies of six women he allegedly stored in abandoned homes in Gary.
"All I can say is that his demeanor while he has been incarcerated here has been calm and quiet and collected," Buncich told USA Today. "And this morning was the first time he gave any indication of being disruptive or uncooperative."
Meanwhile, authorities are currently working on identifying three out of Vann's alleged seven victims. Four of the women have been identified as 19-year-old Afrikka Hardy, 28-year-old Teaira Batey, 35-year-old Anith Jones and 36-year-old Christine Williams.
As of Wednesday Vann has only been charged with Hardy's death. Investigators are looking into the possibility that he has more killed more victims.
Hardy was found dead Friday in a motel room in Hammond. Her mother, Lori Townsend, told the Associated Press she moved to Gary from her Colorado home to find her own way in life. But she "fell into a trap" and apparently became a prostitute.
Hardy was reportedly at the Motel 6 meeting a client, who turned out to be Vann, when she was killed.
"She didn't believe the world is as ugly as it is," Townsend told the AP. "Unfortunately, she succumbed to the hands of ugliness."
