WARNING: The details surrounding this case are disturbing.RISING SUN, Ind. -- The 17-year-old boy who told police he killed his 10-year-old brother has pleaded not guilty.
Andrew Conley appeared in an Ohio County courtroom the same day a visitation was held for his brother, Conner. Andrew is charged with murder in the strangulation of his brother.
Close to 30 classmates and friends were present for the hearing. Several started weeping when Andrew walked into the courtroom. He kept his head down for most of the hearing showing no emotion.
Andrew is being held without bond. He faces 45 to 65 years in prison for the murder charge.
The judge asked Conley if he had any questions. He responded by saying "no."
Jeremy Monk is Andrew's step-grandfather. He was in attendance for Friday's hearing.
"My reaction was I was real sad, disappointed, hurt, saying why? I can't figure out why he did this? Why he would do this to his brother?" said Monk.
Family and friends gathered for Conner's visitation and funeral which were held at the Markland Funeral Home in Rising Sun.
His obituary stated Conner enjoyed fishing, swimming and he looked forward to hunting after passing his hunter education course last year.
Dearborn-Ohio County Prosecutor Aaron Negangard said Thursday that Andrew walked into the Rising Sun Police Department last weekend and told authorities that he had killed his brother.
Police say Andrew placed Conner in a headlock causing him to pass out on the floor. According to court documents, Andrew dragged his brother to the kitchen where proceeded to strangle him for 20 minutes until he died.
Negangard says Andrew then placed a plastic bag over Conner's head, secured it with electrical tape, and dragged him through the house and put him in the trunk of his car. He then drove to his girlfriend's house, gave her a sweetheart ring, and stayed there for several hours.
Prosecutors say Andrew then drove to the park where he placed his brother's body in the field a few hundred yards from the school where Conner was a fifth grader and covered him with vegetation.
His girlfriend told police that Andrew was as happy as she had ever seen him.
Conner's parents thought he was spending the night at his grandmother's house.
An Ohio County Sheriff's Deputy found Conner's body on Sunday night in a wooded area behind Ohio County Elementary Middle School off Shiner Boulevard.
"This was a deliberate murder. The evidence is clear. He spoke with no emotion and no remorse in describing the death of his brother. He indicated that he killed him and strangled him for approximately 20 minutes," Negangard said on Thursday. "Sometimes people are just evil. This is an evil child," he said.
The brother of Andrew's girlfriend says his sister threw the ring into a pond behind their house after she found out about the killing.
Police say Conley showed no emotion during his interview. According to police, when asked why he killed his brother, he said, "Like I had to...like when people have something like they are hungry and there is a hamburger sitting there and they knew they had to have it and I was sitting there and it just happened."
Police say there were other signs of destructive behavior by Conley. He apparently tried to kill his father, who awoke to his son standing over him with a knife Sunday evening. He was also withdrawn from school 12 days before he allegedly killed his brother for cutting himself.
Conley also told police he has fantasized about killing someone since the eighth and he he identifies himself with the television show serial killer Dexter.
Conley is scheduled to return to court on January 22.
