A Gibson County man was sentenced to 126 years in prison after a jury found he shot and killed his ex-wife and adult son at a home near Francisco and then set the house on fire in an effort to cover up the deaths, authorities said.
The case began as a structure fire on New Year’s Eve 2024 and turned into a homicide investigation after officials said both victims had been shot before the blaze. Prosecutors argued the killings came during a bitter split and financial strain, pointing to actions taken in the days before the deaths. The sentence means Michael R. Kegg Jr., 53, is expected to spend the rest of his life in state custody, while a second defendant, Amanda Kegg, still faces trial.
Deputies and firefighters responded to a 911 call about a burning home in the 7000 block of East State Road 64 in Francisco on Dec. 31, 2024. After the fire was brought under control, investigators entered the house and found a body in the kitchen near a can of accelerant, according to a probable cause affidavit summarized in court filings. The body was later identified as Michael Kegg III, 34. A second body was found in the living room and identified as Malisa Kegg, 51. Both victims had burns, but autopsies later determined they died from gunshot wounds to the chest, not the fire.
Investigators said evidence inside the home pointed to a shotgun attack and a deliberate attempt to ignite the scene. Authorities recovered two spent .410-gauge shells near Malisa Kegg’s body and another shell near Michael Kegg III’s body, along with a .410-gauge shotgun found inside the residence. The gun was discovered propped against a wall and loaded with an unfired shell, investigators said. Officials have described the fire as intentionally set, and the placement of an accelerant container near one of the bodies became part of the early focus of the investigation.
Attention quickly turned to Michael R. Kegg Jr., who had appeared in court with Malisa Kegg about two weeks earlier for a divorce hearing. Officials have said the hearing produced a short timeline for him to complete several court-ordered tasks, setting the stage for escalating conflict. Investigators also cited actions taken the day before the deaths, when authorities said Kegg Jr. went to Francisco town hall and demanded that water service be shut off at Malisa Kegg’s home because he no longer wanted to pay the utility bills. Witnesses described him as angry, and prosecutors later argued the dispute blended personal resentment with money pressures.
The investigation also pulled in Amanda Kegg, who was married to Kegg Jr. at the time and later divorced him. Detectives said she gave shifting accounts of the days around the fire. In one interview, she initially told investigators she had argued with Kegg Jr. on the night of Dec. 30, 2024, and had not seen him on Dec. 31. Later, investigators said she acknowledged driving him in the early morning hours of Dec. 31 after he told her to leave her phone at home. She also said he left his own phone behind. She told investigators she dropped him near a park and waited in the vehicle for about two hours, according to the affidavit.
Authorities said bank records and other evidence did not match that account. Investigators said Amanda Kegg went to Kegg Jr.’s bank and withdrew $800 from an ATM, described as the maximum daily amount. Prosecutors later argued that the ride, the decision to leave phones behind, and the cash withdrawal were steps meant to help conceal movements and support a plan. Investigators concluded that Michael and Amanda Kegg formed an agreement to kill the victims and then set the home on fire to hide what happened, according to court records summarized in reporting on the case.
Kegg Jr. gave his own version of events in an interview with detectives, investigators said. He told authorities he went from the park to the victims’ home to work on a vehicle. He said he spoke with his ex-wife and son, and that they told him he needed to leave. He claimed he walked away through a field behind the home and headed back toward the park, saying he saw emergency lights and heard sirens moving toward Francisco. Investigators have said that account conflicts with the physical evidence found inside the house and with their theory of how the shootings and fire unfolded.
When the case reached court, jurors convicted Kegg Jr. on two counts of murder in January 2026. The sentencing followed on Feb. 13, when Gibson County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey F. Meade ordered consecutive terms totaling 126 years. The court imposed 64 years for the killing of Michael Kegg III and 62 years for the killing of Malisa Kegg. Local reporting on the sentencing said the court cited a breach of trust when issuing the term tied to the killing of his son, and the judge ordered the time to be served in the Indiana Department of Correction.
For residents in and around Francisco, a small community in southwestern Indiana, the case has remained a stark reminder of how quickly a domestic dispute can turn deadly. The first public details came from the fire response itself, when crews arrived expecting a structure fire and instead found two bodies inside the burned home. Days later, the county coroner publicly identified the victims and said both died from gunshot wounds to the chest. Friends and relatives raised money for funeral costs, and the victims’ names continued to appear in court updates as the case moved from initial charges to trial and then sentencing.
Even with the sentence imposed, parts of the story remain unresolved in the courts because Amanda Kegg faces her own criminal case. Prosecutors have charged her with two counts of murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder. She has pleaded not guilty, and her case is scheduled for trial in November. Court calendars can change, but officials have said that proceeding will be the next major step in the broader investigation, with prosecutors expected to lay out what they believe her role was before and after the killings.
In the meantime, authorities have treated the physical evidence from the home as central to the case record. The scene included the shotgun shells, the firearm, and signs investigators said were consistent with arson. Autopsy findings that the victims were shot before the fire helped prosecutors argue the blaze was not an accident, but a deliberate attempt to destroy evidence and delay identification of what happened inside. Investigators have also relied on interviews, digital records, and financial transactions to build a timeline of the hours leading up to the fire and the steps taken after.
The case now stands with Kegg Jr. convicted and sentenced, while prosecutors prepare for the next trial tied to the same deaths. If Amanda Kegg’s case goes forward as scheduled, jurors will be asked to weigh the state’s claim that she assisted in planning and transportation, as well as evidence about phones left behind and the cash withdrawal described by investigators. A trial date in November is currently the next key milestone on the public court docket.
Author note: Last updated February 16, 2026.