Bio 

Richard Dale Huffman Jr. was born on December 31, 1960. Public case summaries identify him as a white male from Indiana, and court records place the criminal case in Marion County, Indiana. At the time of Kerry Golden’s murder in June 1984, Huffman was 23 years old. In the 1999 appeal from his resentencing, the court noted that Huffman presented evidence about his family background, including claims that his parents were alcoholic and did not provide appropriate parenting. The court also reviewed evidence about his alcohol and marijuana use on the night of the murder. These details were considered during resentencing, but the court still affirmed the sentence imposed after his guilty plea.

Before the murder case, Huffman had a documented criminal history. Court records from the resentencing appeal noted prior convictions that included disorderly conduct in 1981, battery on a police officer, fleeing a police officer, criminal recklessness involving a vehicle, and additional disorderly conduct in 1982, theft in 1983, and battery with injury in 1984. A juvenile allegation from 1973 was also mentioned in the record, but it was not treated as a conviction. The court records also state that Huffman escaped after being arrested in the Kerry Golden case, although the accessible appellate opinions did not provide the exact date of the escape or the date of recapture.

Huffman’s known associates at the time included Herbert Underwood and Richard Asbury, who were described in the court record as his longtime friends. Both men were present during the events that led to Golden’s death. Asbury later became a key prosecution witness and testified about the events that occurred after the group left an Indianapolis bar on the night of June 4, 1984.

Murder Story

On the night of June 4, 1984, Kerry Golden was at the Fifty Yard Line Bar in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was introduced to Richard Dale Huffman Jr. while inside the bar. According to the Indiana Supreme Court’s summary of the case, Golden displayed money and also said that he had marijuana. Huffman later met with his longtime friends, Herbert Underwood and Richard Asbury, and the group remained at the bar until closing time. Afterward, they smoked marijuana in the parking lot.

After leaving the bar, the men got into a car. Huffman drove, Underwood sat in the front passenger seat, and Asbury and Golden sat in the back seat. The vehicle was later stopped in a remote area near a Conrail access road in Marion County, close to Rockville Road. Underwood pulled Golden from the car. Huffman and Underwood demanded that Golden hand over marijuana, and the confrontation turned violent. Court records state that Huffman struck Golden, and both Huffman and Underwood kicked and beat him. Underwood also removed Golden’s clothing and took money from his pants.

The assault continued after Golden was stripped. Asbury testified that Huffman asked him for a knife, then held the knife to Golden’s throat and warned him not to report what had happened. According to the testimony summarized by the Indiana Supreme Court, Underwood said Golden had to be killed because he could identify them. Huffman then retrieved a tire iron from the trunk of the vehicle. Huffman and Underwood used the tire iron to strike Golden. Asbury testified that Underwood later ordered him to strike Golden too, and Asbury said he tapped Golden with the tire iron after he believed Golden was already dead.

After the attack, the group left the area. Court records state that Golden’s wallet was later found in a dumpster at a service station where the men had stopped after the killing. Huffman’s girlfriend, Beverly Cobb, testified that Huffman had scabs on his knuckles and that he told her he and his companions had beaten and robbed someone. She also testified that Huffman received part of the money taken during the crime.

Golden’s body was found on June 5, 1984, on the access road in Marion County. Forensic evidence showed that he suffered several types of serious injuries. The pathologist identified blunt-force head injuries consistent with a tire iron, internal injuries from stomping, manual strangulation, and a penile laceration. The medical testimony described multiple injuries that could have caused death.

Formal charges were filed against Huffman in Marion County in 1984. The case information was filed on July 3, 1984, and the State filed its request for the death penalty on October 16, 1984. Huffman was later convicted by a jury of robbery, murder, felony murder, conspiracy to commit robbery, and conspiracy to commit murder. At the original sentencing, the murder and felony murder counts were merged, and Huffman received a death sentence. He also received consecutive prison terms for the additional convictions.

Huffman’s original death sentence was imposed on August 23, 1985. His case then moved through a long appellate process. In his direct appeal, the Indiana Supreme Court reviewed the convictions and sentencing. Later, the post-conviction court granted relief, and the Indiana Supreme Court affirmed that decision. The post-conviction ruling overturned the convictions and death sentence because of an improper intoxication instruction that created fundamental error in the trial.

After the case was returned to the trial court, Huffman entered a plea agreement. Under that agreement, he pleaded guilty to murder and conspiracy to commit robbery. The State agreed to dismiss the remaining charges and not pursue another death sentence. Huffman was sentenced to 60 years for murder and 30 years for conspiracy to commit robbery, with the sentences ordered to run concurrently. The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed the resentencing on October 4, 1999.

A later Indiana Court of Appeals decision from December 28, 2010, shows that Huffman was still incarcerated in the Indiana Department of Correction at Putnamville Correctional Facility at that time. In that appeal, he sought educational credit time, but the court affirmed the denial of his request.