05112015 - News Article - Police: Murder-suicide in Porter - Man kills wife, officials say; daughter unhurt

Police: Murder-suicide in Porter 
Man kills wife, officials say; daughter unhurt
Post-Tribune (IN)
May 11, 2015
www.newsbank.com
MORGAN TOWNSHIP - Brianna Hefner Ballor, a former athlete and valedictorian at Morgan Township High School, called her mother late Saturday for the last time.

"She said 'Mom,' and then she was screaming and it went click," said Elizabeth Hefner.

Hefner went next door to her daughter's house about 11:50 p.m. and heard a single gunshot. She called police who found Brianna and Glenn Ballor dead from gunshot wounds lying in a pool of blood on the floor in their bedroom.

Police say Glenn Ballor, 38, shot his wife Brianna, 31, with a shotgun, then turned the gun on himself. Porter County Coroner Chuck Harris said both died from gunshots fired at point-blank range. Their 2-year-old daughter, Brynn, was unharmed.

Authorities and Hefner said the couple were in the middle of a divorce proceeding. Harris and Porter County police Sgt. Larry LaFlower said there was evidence of a fight before the shooting.

The couple lived in a quiet, rural neighborhood at 189 S. County Road 75 East, just southwest of the Porter County fairgrounds.

Harris said toxicology tests will be done to determine if drugs or alcohol played a role in the shooting.

Hefner said her daughter married Glenn Ballor about three years ago. She said the couple met when they were in a wedding party together.

"They started dating and then they got married," she said.

Hefner Ballor was the 2002 valedictorian at Morgan Township High School, where she also played basketball and ran low hurdles on the track team.

"She graduated from Purdue in 31/2 years," Hefner said. "Then she went to the University of South Carolina in Columbia."

Hefner said her daughter received a degree in criminal justice and worked at the Porter County Juvenile Detention Center.

LaFlower said Glenn Ballor had a criminal history, but there were no domestic violence calls to the couple's house.

Hefner said Glenn Ballor, who graduated from Portage High School, had a bad temper.

Chris George, who is now the principal at Morgan Township, was Hefner Ballor's basketball coach her junior and senior year.

"She was a very good student and quite a competitor. My heart goes out to her and her family," he said.


Caption: Hefner Ballor This residence in Morgan Township is where police say Glenn Ballor, 38, killed his wife, Brianna Hefner Ballor, 31, then took his own life. The couple were found in a bedroom in the home. Carole Carlson/Post-Tribune