Southern Indiana man sentenced to 18 years in prison for 1982 murder

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A southern Indiana man was sentenced to prison for a murder that happened more than 40 years ago.

Monday, Ronald Anderson, 63, of Seymour, Indiana, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the October 1982 murder of Clifford Smith, 24.

Smith's body was found by trappers in December 1982 along the White River, north of Seymour, according to Indiana State Police. At the time, officials said Smith died from a gunshot to the head.

Over the years, the case was passed to different investigators, but in September 2015, the case went to ISP Sgt. Kip Main. Throughout Main's investigation, it was revealed that Anderson was with Smith at a home on East 13th Street in Seymour on Oct. 30, 1982.

Police said Anderson got a shotgun from the house, loaded it, left the home with the gun and got into a vehicle with Smith. Police said Smith was not seen alive after leaving the house with Anderson that night. Anderson then returned the shotgun to the home and tried to hide evidence at the crime scene.

Anderson was arrested Oct. 31, 2023, exactly 41 years to the date of Smith's killing, and has been held at the Jackson County Jail. He pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter on April 4 after prosecutors dropped the murder charge.

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