Judge Accepts Plea, Sentences Criminal Confinement Defendant

 The Knox man who handcuffed and shackled his wife to their coffee table while wielding a knife was sentenced to 10 years in prison, despite the victim’s protest that his punishment is too harsh. Starke Circuit Judge Kim Hall accepted a plea from 37-year-old Benny Giselbach to charges of escape, criminal confinement and resisting arrest. All three stem from an April 15th incident at his Bass Lake area home. Continue reading

Formal Charges Filed in Alleged Criminal Confinement Incidents

Benny Giselbach
Benny Giselbach

Formal charges have been filed against a Knox man accused of handcuffing, shackling and water boarding a woman at his Bass Lake area home. Employees at Bass Lake Pub and Ristorante called 911 after the woman showed up there early last Wednesday afternoon and told them she had managed to escape. Benny Giselbach was arrested nearby by deputies from the Starke County Sheriff’s Office after a multi-agency manhunt. Continue reading

Domestic Violence Suspect Arrested Following Manhunt

Benny Giselbach
Benny Giselbach

A Knox man faces several new felony charges following a Wednesday manhunt in the Bass Lake area. It started around 12:20 p.m. when the Starke County 911 center got a call from the Bass Lake Pub. The caller told the dispatcher a woman showed up there in handcuffs and shackles saying she had been held hostage and “water boarded.” The victim told deputies she lived across the street and had fled her home on foot. Continue reading

Knox Man Arrested after Alleged Domestic, Intimidation Incident

Giselbach Booking ohoto
Benny Giselbach

A Knox man is in the Starke County Jail after allegedly threatening harm to himself, his wife, and law enforcement.

The 911 Dispatch Center received an open 911 call from a woman Wednesday afternoon stating that her husband had a loaded weapon and made threats toward her and himself. He also threatened to harm law enforcement officers if they arrived at the home.

Dispatchers were able to use GPS from the 911 call to determine the caller’s location according to a press release. At one point, the call was disconnected, but the dispatchers utilized the TEXT 911 service to gather more information to relay to responding Starke County Sheriff’s Department officers.  Continue reading