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The court upholds a Delaware County man's murder conviction

MUNCIE, Ind. – The murder conviction of a Delaware County man who fatally shot his neighbor has been upheld by the Indiana Court of Appeals.

A Delaware Circuit Court 1 jury deliberated for less than 30 minutes in September 2023 before finding Cy Erik Alley, now 31, guilty of the August 2022 murder of Albany resident Gerald Lee Copley.

Testimony during the trial indicated that Alley – who lived across Delaware County Road 500 north of his victim – shot his neighbor twice with a shotgun outside the victim's home, then reloaded the gun before firing two more Shots were fired at 59-year-old Copley.

Alley's defense team had put up an insane defense.

At his sentencing hearing in October 2023, Alley repeated claims that prosecutors said were delusional – that the federal government had somehow directed him to confront Copley about his belief that his neighbor had hacked into his phone service.

More: The appeals court upholds the conviction of a Muncie man charged with Greenway's murder

Alley – who also described himself as a “friendly neighbor” – was sentenced to 70 years in prison by Chief Judge Marianne Vorhees.

In an appeal, Alley argued that a confession he made should not have been used as evidence against him.

In a 3-0 decision, the state appeals court ruled that the fact that Alley was declared incompetent to stand trial for a time did not preclude the “admission of his earlier confession.”

The judges also noted that in addition to the confession, prosecutors had presented “substantial independent evidence of Alley's guilt,” including “an eyewitness along with DNA and ballistics evidence implicating Alley in the murder.”

According to a state Department of Corrections website, Alley is being held in the psychiatric ward at New Castle Correctional Facility. His expected release date is February 2075, when he would be 81 years old.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter for The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or [email protected].

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