Murder Charges Filed Against Indianapolis Man Accused of Stabbing Parents on Lakeshire Lane

Photo: Indianapolis City-County Building (Marion County courts / IMPD). Credit: Momoneymoproblemz / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

INDIANAPOLIS — A north side driveway became a crime scene on Sunday. By Thursday morning, David White, 38, was standing in a Marion County courtroom on two counts of murder.

Prosecutors formally charged White on Wednesday with two counts of murder and one count of attempting to commit battery by means of a deadly weapon, according to online court records reported by WRTV and WISH-TV. He appeared for an initial hearing Thursday and is being held in the Marion County Jail without bond. A next court date has not been set.

The charges are allegations. White is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

What police say happened on Lakeshire Lane

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers were called to the 2700 block of Lakeshire Lane — near West 96th Street and Township Line Road — just before 12:30 p.m. Sunday after a 911 caller reported a man "actively stabbing his father in the driveway," WRTV reported, citing court documents.

Officers found Robert Pottle Jr., 80, in the driveway with severe trauma to the upper half of his body. Cynthia Pottle, 75, was found inside the home with grave wounds to her face and neck. First responders pronounced Cynthia dead at the scene. Robert died about an hour later at a nearby hospital, according to WRTV and WISH-TV.

Police identified the victims as White's mother and stepfather. Investigators detained White at the scene without incident and later arrested him. Court documents say he was found inside a bathroom, soaking wet and stripped to his underwear.

Neighbor tried to stop the attack

Court records summarized by WRTV describe a harrowing neighbor intervention. A witness who called 911 told detectives he heard a "strange moaning," stepped outside, and saw White striking Robert Pottle in the neck and face with a shovel. The witness ran at White, who retreated inside. Cynthia Pottle briefly met the witness before White returned with a shovel and a kitchen knife.

The witness got hold of the shovel, but White allegedly continued the assault, stabbing Robert with the knife. Police say investigators later found a knife and shovel near Robert's body, along with an open jug of bleach. Inside, near Cynthia, they located a small metal garden shovel and garden shears covered in blood, WRTV reported.

Family warnings and a court-ordered evaluation

Detectives told reporters White refused to speak with officers at the scene and claimed the Pottles had been holding him against his will — even though online records list the Lakeshire Lane home as his permanent residence.

Through relatives, investigators learned the family had grown increasingly concerned about White's behavior in recent months. Police say he reportedly stopped taking medication and refused to complete a mental health evaluation ordered by a Hamilton County court. He had become aggressive with his parents, believing he was being held against his will and "poisoned via a new HVAC system" the Pottles installed, according to court documents cited by WRTV.

"Mrs. Pottle was in the process of trying to obtain a mental write for Mr. White because she felt it was becoming unsafe for Mr. White to continue to stay with them," court documents say, per WRTV. Text messages from Robert's phone show Cynthia's final message around noon Sunday asking him to come home because White was concerning her.

WISH-TV reported IMPD said the Mobile Crisis Assistance Team had been called to the home several times, and that investigators believe the stabbing stemmed from a mental health episode. Those details do not erase the alleged violence against two elderly parents — or the neighbor who risked intervening. They do raise hard questions about whether earlier court orders and crisis responses were followed through with the force the public expects when a household is already sounding the alarm.

Held without bond

White remains in the Marion County Jail without bond on the two murder counts and the attempted deadly-weapon battery charge. Police have described the case as an isolated incident with no ongoing threat to the public. Anyone with information was asked to contact Det. Larry Craciunoiu at the IMPD Homicide Office at 317-327-3475.

Sources: WRTV (Oct. 15, 2026), Formal charges filed against man accused in stabbing deaths of parents — https://www.wrtv.com/news/crime/formal-charges-david-white-fatal-stabbing/; WISH-TV Crime Watch 8 (updated Oct. 15, 2026), Police: Man accused of stabbing parents to death on Indy's north side — https://www.wishtv.com/news/crime-watch-8/one-dead-one-injured-in-double-stabbing-on-indianapolis-northwest-side/.

Written by Hoosiers, for Hoosiers.