Indiana jury convicts man in slayings of woman, her 3 kids

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A jury convicted a man Thursday in the killings of a woman and her three children who were slain last year in their northeastern Indiana home.

An Allen County jury found Cohen Hancz-Barron of Fort Wayne guilty of four counts of murder following a seven-day trial in the June 2021 deaths of his girlfriend and her three children.

Hancz-Barron, 22, showed no emotion and stared at Allen County Superior Court Judge Fran Gull as she read the verdicts Thursday morning, The Journal Gazette reported. Deliberations began Wednesday without the jury reaching a verdict. Jurors resumed deliberations Thursday before reaching a verdict.

Attorneys were expected to begin the sentencing phase of the trial later Thursday. Prosecutors have asked that the jury recommend life in prison without parole for Hancz-Barron.

Hancz-Barron was accused of using a knife to kill his girlfriend, Sarah Nicole Zent, 26; her sons, Carter Matthew Zent, 5; Ashton Duwayne Zent, 3; and daughter, Aubree Christine Zent, 2, in their Fort Wayne home. All four died of stab wounds, and the mother also had been strangled, the Allen County coroner said.

Hancz-Barron was arrested hours later at an apartment complex in Lafayette more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) from where the bodies were found.