Police say the violence began after an argument in a Merrillville basement over the home furnace.

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. — A 44-year-old man is accused of killing his father and critically injuring his mother during an early Sunday attack inside their Merrillville home after a dispute over the furnace, according to police and court records released after his arrest.

The case drew attention because investigators say the fight started over a routine household conflict and ended with a father dead, a mother in surgery and a son facing murder and attempted murder charges. Police said officers found the suspect outside the Hendricks Street home around 2 a.m. March 15 and took him into custody without incident. The father, Orell Whitaker, 74, was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife was taken to Franciscan Health in Crown Point in critical condition.

According to court records described in media reports, the violence began in the basement after Jason Whitaker’s mother again told him to stop turning off the furnace. She later told investigators she was on the basement stairs when her son hit her in the head with a cast-iron skillet and stabbed her several times. Orell Whitaker stepped in, trying to protect his wife and break up the attack, police said. That intervention gave the woman enough time to move upstairs and call 911. By the time she looked back, she told police, she saw her son dragging her husband by the feet across the basement floor. Police said the attack happened inside the family’s home in the 7400 block of Hendricks Street.

Officers responding to the 911 call said the caller reported that she and her husband were being stabbed. When police arrived, they found Jason Whitaker outside the home with his hands up, according to the Merrillville Police Department. Court records later described him as covered in blood and holding a bloody knife when officers made contact. Inside the house, officers found Orell Whitaker dead. The surviving victim had extensive injuries, including multiple stab wounds and a skull fracture. Law&Crime, citing the probable cause affidavit, reported that surgeons placed a metal plate in her head. ABC7 Chicago later reported that the woman remained stable while in critical condition at the hospital. Authorities also said the attack appeared to be an isolated domestic incident and that there was no wider threat to the public.

The charging record outlined a broad set of allegations beyond the homicide count. Police said Jason Whitaker was booked on murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, two counts of domestic battery by means of a deadly weapon and two counts of battery resulting in serious bodily injury. Those charges reflect what investigators say happened to both parents during the same episode. The coroner identified the dead man as Orell Whitaker, 74, of Merrillville, and said his death was ruled a homicide after an autopsy. Court records cited by local and national outlets also said Jason Whitaker later admitted stabbing his father in the neck and stomach about four times. That claim, if introduced in court, would become central evidence alongside the mother’s account, the 911 call and physical evidence recovered from the house.

Records described a difficult family history inside the home before the attack. The mother told police that she and her husband had previously forced Jason Whitaker to leave the residence but later allowed him to return after he ran up large hotel bills. A relative also told investigators that Whitaker has schizophrenia, according to reports on the affidavit. That detail appeared in coverage of the case, but no public court filing reviewed in those reports showed a legal finding about his mental state at the time of the attack. Investigators also said Whitaker made a series of accusations during questioning, claiming his parents had confined him in the basement and were involved in criminal activity. Police said they found no evidence to support those allegations.

Whitaker also claimed he acted in self-defense, a statement that is likely to be tested against the physical evidence and the surviving victim’s account as the case moves forward. Indiana procedure requires an arrested defendant to be brought before a judicial officer for an initial hearing, but public reporting available after the arrest did not make clear when that hearing would occur. Law&Crime reported that Whitaker remained in custody at the Lake County Detention Center without bond. The probable cause affidavit, the coroner’s homicide finding and any forensic testing on the knife and inside the basement are expected to shape the next phase of the prosecution. It also remains unclear whether prosecutors may revise or add charges as medical records, autopsy evidence and witness interviews are further reviewed.

The details that emerged from the affidavit gave the case a grim, close-range quality. Investigators said the surviving mother escaped only after her husband stepped between her and their son. She then made the 911 call from upstairs while still badly hurt. Police later said Whitaker returned upstairs and tried to drag her back toward the basement before officers arrived. In court terms, that allegation may help explain why prosecutors filed multiple violent felony counts instead of limiting the case to the father’s death alone. In human terms, it left a single family home on Hendricks Street as the scene of a killing, a rescue and the last known effort by one spouse to save the other.

Whitaker remained jailed after the March 15 attack, and public reporting reviewed in the days that followed did not identify a confirmed court date. The next milestone is expected to be his initial court appearance in Lake County and the filing of additional case details in open court.

Author note: Last updated April 8, 2026.