The Seneca County man accused of murdering his son in 2008 has been indicted by a grand jury.
Police believe 52-year old Karl Karlsen killed his son, 23-year-old Levi Karlsen, and made it look like an accident for insurance money. Karl Karlsen was scheduled to appear in Seneca Falls Town Court for a preliminary hearing this afternoon, instead DA Barry Porsch tells us the Grand Jury delivered a three count indictment.
Karl Karlsen
Levi Karlsen died in November 2008 when a pick up truck he was working on fell off its jack and crushed him to death. We asked Porsch what's next in the case?
Levi Karlsen - photo submitted
Investigators are also looking into a fire in California back in 1991 that killed Karlsen's first wife.
The maximum possible sentence on the murder counts is 25 years to life.
The first count of the indictment alleges that on November 20, 2008, Karl Karlsen, under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life, recklessly engaged in conduct which created a grave risk of death to Levi Karlsen and thereby caused the death of Levi by causing a motor vehicle to fall on him.
The second count of the indictment alleges that Karl Karlsen intentionally caused the death of Levi Karlsen by causing a motor vehicle to fall on him.
The third count alleges that in or between November and December 2008, Karl Karlsen knowingly committed a fraudulent insurance act with intent to defraud and wrongfully obtained property with a value in excess of fifty thousand dollars.
Karlsen will be arraigned in the Seneca County Court on December 10, 2012 at 2:00 P.M.
The indictment resulted from a joint investigation conducted by the Seneca County Sheriff’s Department, New York State Police, New York State Department of Financial Services and Seneca County District Attorney’s Office.
