Prosecutors Blindsided — Child Killer Freed

Prisoner in orange jumpsuit handcuffed and escorted by officer — Photo: LightField Studios / Shutterstock

A man convicted of strangling his 11-month-old stepdaughter to death was paroled nearly 30 years early, then landed back behind bars months later for violating that parole.

Quick Take

Jonathan Richardson, now known as Autumn Cordellioné, was sentenced to 55 years in 2002 for killing 11-month-old Faith Lee.
Indiana paroled him in December 2025 after he served about 24 years, roughly 30 years short of his full term.
Local prosecutors say they were not properly notified before his release.
Richardson is now back in jail after violating the terms of that parole.
The case has pushed Indiana lawmakers to consider a bill requiring better victim and prosecutor notification.

A Baby’s Death and a Long Sentence

Richardson murdered his 11-month-old stepdaughter, Faith Lee, on September 12, 2001, in Indiana. An autopsy found the baby died from asphyxiation caused by manual strangulation, according to the Indiana Court of Appeals ruling that upheld his conviction. A jury convicted him of murder, and a judge sentenced him to 55 years in prison in 2002.

Released Decades Ahead of Schedule

Richardson served about 23 to 24 years of that 55-year sentence before Indiana’s Department of Correction paroled him in December 2025. His earliest scheduled release date under the original sentence had been December 2027, meaning the parole came years before even that estimate, let alone the full term. Good-time credits and parole eligibility rules allowed the early release under Indiana law.

Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Diana Moers publicly flagged the release, saying it underscored the need for stronger notification rules. Her office says neither prosecutors nor local law enforcement received proper advance notice before Richardson walked free, despite the seriousness of his crime and his history behind bars.

Back Behind Bars for a Parole Violation

Richardson’s freedom did not last long. Just months after his December release, he returned to prison for violating the terms of his parole, according to local reporting out of Evansville. Authorities booked him back into custody, ending his brief stint outside prison walls and reigniting public anger over how the release was handled in the first place.

The reversal does not undo the original concern. Critics argue the system let a convicted child killer back onto the streets with limited warning to the people meant to track him, and only a parole violation brought him back. That sequence, more than any single rule, is what has fueled outrage from both crime victims’ advocates and everyday Indiana residents.

A Legal Saga That Predates the Release

Richardson, who now identifies as Autumn Cordellioné, has been part of a separate, long-running legal fight inside Indiana’s prison system. He has sued the state over access to gender transition surgery, and a federal judge ordered Indiana’s Department of Correction to arrange the procedure, citing constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. That fight continues independent of his parole case.

Richardson has also filed other lawsuits during his incarceration, including one claiming a prison chaplain denied him the right to wear a hijab, and another alleging that political rhetoric contributed to assaults against him in prison. None of those separate legal claims change the facts of his 2002 murder conviction or the parole violation that returned him to custody.

Why Notification Rules Matter

Corrections systems often release inmates based on technical formulas involving parole eligibility, credited time, and court orders, rules that can feel disconnected from the severity of the original crime. When those releases happen without clear warning to prosecutors or local police, the gap between legal procedure and public expectation becomes a flashpoint, as it has here. Lawmakers are now weighing changes to close that gap.

Indiana legislators have pointed to this case while pushing House Bill 1250, aimed at improving transparency around inmate releases. The goal is to ensure prosecutors, victims’ families, and local law enforcement get timely notice before high-risk offenders leave custody, rather than learning about it after the fact, as happened in Vanderburgh County.

I have no words…

A convicted transgender BABY K*LLER who STR*NGLED TO DE*TH AN 11-MONTH-OLD BABY has just been thrown back in prison for a parole violation after he was RELEASED 35 YEARS EARLY…

…FOR M*RDERING A BABY!!!!!

Read that again.

He str*ngled a BABY and he got… pic.twitter.com/tAajZS68Bh

— Matt Van Swol (@mattvanswol) July 27, 2026

For now, Richardson sits back in Indiana custody following the parole violation, while his broader legal battles over medical care and prison conditions continue in federal court. The case stands as a stark example of how sentencing math, parole procedure, and public safety can collide, leaving both crime victims’ advocates and ordinary residents demanding clearer answers from the system meant to protect them.