Terry Ogle was convicted of voluntary manslaughter after a bench trial over the January 2025 death of longtime educator Mary Ogle.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — A retired Indianapolis school principal has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for killing his 76-year-old wife with a hammer, bringing a Marion County case that began with a murder charge to a close after a judge instead convicted him of voluntary manslaughter. Terry Ogle was sentenced July 17, more than a year after Mary Marjory Ogle was found dead inside the couple’s northwest Indianapolis home.

The sentence followed a multiday bench trial in which Marion County Judge Marshelle Dawkins Broadwell found Ogle guilty on June 4 of voluntary manslaughter rather than murder. The judge concluded that Ogle acted under what Indiana law calls “sudden heat,” a mitigating circumstance that can reduce a killing that otherwise would constitute murder to voluntary manslaughter. Ogle, who was 79 when Mary Ogle died, received credit for 547 days already spent in custody, according to reports on the sentencing.

The case began shortly after 1 p.m. on Jan. 17, 2025, when Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers were sent to a home in the 2800 block of Questend Drive South. Terry Ogle had called 911 himself and told the dispatcher that there had been violence inside the home. During the call, according to court records cited by local news organizations, he acknowledged that he was responsible for Mary Ogle’s death and said she had been struck with a hammer. When the dispatcher raised the possibility of CPR, Ogle said it was too late.

Officers arriving at the residence found Mary Ogle in a rear bedroom. She had suffered blunt-force injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police and court accounts described suspected blood in several areas of the house, including the living room, hallway and other locations. Terry Ogle also had an injury to his wrist that authorities described as self-inflicted. He was taken for medical treatment while in police custody before being booked in connection with his wife’s death.

Ogle’s statements in the minutes and hours after the killing became a central part of the case. He told investigators and the 911 dispatcher that he believed Mary Ogle was having an affair, an allegation that has not been established as fact in the available reporting. He also described himself as having been depressed and said the couple had not been arguing immediately before the attack. His explanation was that he had suddenly “lost it.” A family member also told investigators that Ogle sent a message after the killing saying he was going to jail and had killed Mary.

Prosecutors initially pursued a murder case. The outcome changed at the bench trial, where a judge rather than a jury decided whether the state had proved the charged offense and whether the evidence supported the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter. Under Indiana law, voluntary manslaughter involves knowingly or intentionally killing another person while acting under sudden heat. The existence of sudden heat operates as a mitigating factor that distinguishes the offense from murder; it does not make the killing lawful or excuse it.

Broadwell’s finding therefore affected the legal classification of Ogle’s conduct without changing the basic fact at the center of the case: Mary Ogle was killed in her home and her husband acknowledged causing her death. Reporting on the June verdict said the judge found Ogle’s judgment was likely altered during the attack. The voluntary-manslaughter conviction exposed him to a substantially different sentencing framework than the murder charge he had originally faced. The eventual 15-year term came after he had already spent roughly a year and a half in custody.

The crime also ended the life of a woman remembered by former students and relatives for decades of work in Indianapolis education. Mary Ogle, who was also known as Marge Embry, joined Indianapolis Public Schools in 1970 and spent much of her career at Forest Manor Junior High School. Her obituary said she later co-founded and operated the Indianapolis Algebra Project, an educational program aimed at strengthening mathematics skills among people in marginalized communities. She also supported scholarships, mentoring and volunteer efforts.

Former students described Mary Ogle after her death as a teacher who remained involved in young people’s lives beyond ordinary classroom duties. Accounts published after the killing recalled former pupils who said she gave extra academic help and encouraged students outside school. Her obituary described her as an advocate for social justice who devoted extensive time to community service. She was survived by two sons, five stepdaughters, other relatives and a large extended family that included 22 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Terry Ogle also spent decades in Indianapolis schools. He served as principal of Forest Manor Middle School, where Mary worked as a teacher, and both retired from Indianapolis Public Schools in 2006. The Indianapolis Star reported that Terry Ogle had been involved in education leadership circles in the city. The couple’s professional histories made the circumstances of Mary Ogle’s death especially striking to former students and neighbors who had known them through their school careers and community life.

Neighbors had described the couple before the killing as frequently seen together in their northwest Indianapolis neighborhood. One account from the weeks after Mary Ogle’s death said a neighbor had been accustomed to seeing the two walking along their street and became concerned when their usual routine changed. Police spokesperson Tommy Thompson described the killing at the time as tragic and noted the normally quiet character of the area. Those early neighborhood impressions stood in stark contrast to what officers found inside the home on Jan. 17.

Investigators did not need to search for an unknown suspect. Ogle’s own emergency call, his statements to officers and his message to a family member immediately directed police toward him. He continued to acknowledge causing Mary Ogle’s death during the legal proceedings, according to reports of the trial. The central dispute was therefore not over who inflicted the fatal injuries but over how Indiana law should classify the killing and whether the evidence established the sudden-heat element needed for voluntary manslaughter.

The 15-year sentence represents the final major trial-court consequence reported in the case after the June conviction. Ogle’s credit for 547 days served means time already spent in custody will count toward the term imposed by the court. Available reports did not identify a newly scheduled proceeding that would change the judgment or sentence. The record now stands with Ogle convicted of voluntary manslaughter in Mary Ogle’s death rather than the murder count prosecutors originally brought.

For Mary Ogle’s family, former students and Indianapolis education community, the criminal case closed against the backdrop of a much longer public legacy. Her obituary focused not on the circumstances of her death but on years spent teaching, mentoring, supporting scholarships and expanding access to mathematics education. The sentencing determines the punishment for the person responsible for her killing; it does not alter the record of the work for which former students said they remembered her.

Author note: Last updated August 24, 2026.