Murder suspect, child killed in crash

PORTAGE, Ind. (WLS) -- A deadly chain of events began with a fatal stabbing in a northwest Indiana apartment. It ended with a car crash that claimed the lives of a murder suspect and a 2-year-old child.

In addition to the adult and child in the car, a third adult died in the stabbing. One woman survived the knife attack at the apartment in Portage, Indiana. She was the ex-girlfriend of the man suspected in the attack.

Not only is it bizarre, but it is an incredibly tragic story. The only person to survive this whole situation is the suspect's ex. She is said to be originally from Mississippi, with no family in the area to lean on, and she is now having to deal with the death of her son and the boyfriend who may have very well saved her life.

"The girl came running out screaming 'help, help,' " said Ian Prance, neighbor.

Lawrence Hill forced his way in to his ex-girlfriend's home, and she was there with her 2-year-old son and current boyfriend, 29-year-old Dennis Williams.

Hill left the apartment and the suspect then took the female out of the apartment holding a knife to her throat and was attempting to leave the apartment building with her when Williams intervened and was ultimately stabbed to death.

Police say Hill left the woman unharmed but took off with their son, and half an hour later, he crashed a vehicle into a state trooper who had been informed that Hill was heading in his direction. The trooper had been laying out stop sticks on Route 20 just east of Beam Street in Porter, Ind.

Both Hill and his son were killed in the crash.

Neighbors of Hill's girlfriend say both she and Hill relocated to the area from Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina but had been separated for a while.

"First we heard a lot of screaming and hollering upstairs. My daughter screamed for us to come to the door. Then I heard banging on the door, saying help. About the time I opened the door, she had already ran out. That's when my neighbor across the hall told me to look upstairs. That's when the guy was upstairs dying," said Quentin Pops, neighbor.

Police have confirmed that Hill had a criminal record dating back several years and had recently served 10 days in jail back in August for failing to register as a sexual offender at his new address.

Accident reconstruction experts are still trying to figure out whether Hill crashed the car against the squad car purposely or not.

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local, michelle gallardo

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