Southeastern Illinois serial killer's murder conviction stands

Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 12:02 PM

By Steve Anderson

The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld the murder conviction of Bruce Mendenhall, a serial killer from Edwards County in southeastern Illinois.

Mendenhall, a truck driver who is from Albion, was found guilty in January of 2025 by an Indianapolis jury of the 2007 death of Carmen Purpura and was given a 65-year prison sentence. He was already serving life sentences in three other states for murder.

Mendenhall's appeal in Indiana argued that there was not enough evidence to prove the exact location of where Purpura was killed, challenging Indiana's jurisdiction in the case and that evidence found in his truck should have been excluded from his trial.

However, the appellate court rejected both of those arguments and allowed the conviction and the resulting sentence to remain in place.