By Palm Beach & Broward Mugshots
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — An Indiana man sentenced to 55 years for murdering his 11-month-old stepdaughter is back in state custody after being released on parole more than three decades before the end of his original sentence.
Jonathan C. Richardson, who now uses the name Autumn Cordellioné, was booked into the Vanderburgh County Jail on July 15, 2026, for an alleged parole violation.
Indiana Department of Correction records subsequently showed Richardson back in state custody with an earliest possible release date of August 15, 2041.
Authorities have not publicly disclosed what Richardson allegedly did to violate parole.
FAITH LEE WAS LEFT IN HIS CARE
The case began in Evansville on September 12, 2001.
According to the Indiana Court of Appeals, Richardson’s wife, Linda Mason, went to work that morning and left her 11-month-old daughter, Faith Lee, in Richardson’s care.
Two friends stopped by the home late that afternoon. Instead of inviting them inside, Richardson told them Faith was sleeping and remained outside with the visitors.
The friends later testified that Richardson was behaving strangely. Loud music was playing inside the home even though he claimed the baby was asleep. They also noticed a fresh, bleeding tattoo of Faith’s name on his arm.
At approximately 6:45 p.m., Richardson went to a neighbor’s apartment and called 911, reporting that Faith was unconscious.
Emergency personnel resuscitated the infant and transported her to a hospital, where she died.
AUTOPSY FOUND MANUAL STRANGULATION
Richardson initially told investigators that he put Faith down for a nap and later found her unresponsive with fluid coming from her nose and mouth.
During a second interview, Richardson admitted throwing the infant into the air and shaking her while attempting to stop her from crying.
The autopsy established that Faith died from asphyxiation caused by manual strangulation.
Richardson was arrested and charged with murder.
STATEMENT MADE WHILE AWAITING TRIAL
While incarcerated before trial, Richardson was questioned by a corrections officer following a disturbance inside a suicide-watch cell.
When asked why he was in jail, Richardson answered, “Murder.”
Another officer checked the booking sheet and said it listed reckless homicide. According to the appellate opinion, Richardson then made a profane statement admitting that he killed the child.
Richardson later tried to prevent prosecutors from introducing that statement at trial. The judge denied the request.
A Vanderburgh County jury found Richardson guilty of murder in 2002, and the court imposed a 55-year prison sentence.
CONVICTION UPHELD
Richardson appealed the conviction, arguing that the prosecutor committed misconduct, that the jail statement should have been suppressed and that the state had not presented sufficient evidence to prove murder.
On August 28, 2003, the Indiana Court of Appeals rejected those arguments and affirmed the murder conviction.
RELEASED AFTER SERVING LESS THAN HALF THE SENTENCE
Richardson spent slightly more than 20 years in the Indiana prison system before being released on parole.
Local reports said Richardson had returned to Evansville after the early release. The Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office previously said it had not been properly notified that Richardson was returning to the community.
The release received renewed attention because Richardson had been sentenced to 55 years for the murder of an 11-month-old child but was freed after serving less than half that term.
That release did not last.
On July 15, Richardson was taken into custody for a parole violation. By July 24, state records showed Richardson had been returned to the Indiana Department of Correction.
The specific basis for the parole violation remains undisclosed.
CURRENT STATUS
Jonathan Richardson is once again in Indiana state custody.
The Indiana Department of Correction currently lists August 15, 2041, as Richardson’s earliest possible release date.
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