Michigan City man receives 56-year sentence for murder and dismemberment of his roommate

MICHIGAN CITY — A man who killed his roommate and disposed of the decaying body parts in trash cans in Michigan City received a 56-year prison sentence Thursday, June 13.

A jury convicted John Hallett, 54, on May 16 of killing, dismembering and disposing of his roommate, Paul Gonzales, in 2017.

He received 55 years for murder and one year for abuse of a corpse from LaPorte Superior Court 1 Judge Jamie Oss.

Hallett could have received up to 65 years on the murder charge and another 30 months on the lesser count.

A different case:Former South Bend resident sentenced for her husband's murder and dismemberment in LaPorte

Despite the gruesome acts related to the killing, LaPorte County Prosecutor Sean Fagan said he was pleased with the sentence because the chances of Hallett ever being free again, given his age, are very low.

“As long as justice is being served to Mr. Gonzales and his family, that’s what really matters,” he said.

Evidence shows Hallett choked the 64-year-old Gonzales to death in 2017 and left the body on the basement floor for nearly two months at their home in the 1000 block of West Ninth Street.

He then cut up the body with a hacksaw and disposed of the parts in municipal trash cans.

Fagan said none of his remains, which presumably wound up in a landfill, were ever recovered, but evidence of his death in the form of microscopic material was gathered forensically from the pores of the concrete floor where his body decayed.

The men were living on the streets until placed into the home together by a group serving the homeless, police said.

According to court documents, law enforcement did not know about the murder until 2022, when Hallett called Michigan City Police and claimed he had killed his former roommate.

Hallett claimed he killed him because he suspected Gonzales was stealing his mail and trying to get him evicted, police said.

Fagan said an arrest wasn’t made until about a year later after enough information was gathered to substantiate Hallett's claims.

.