AFRICANGLOBE – A fatal stabbing in Fort Wayne back in August was labeled a hate crime.
That description was confirmed because of what one suspect told investigators.
The accused man last month was sitting in jail, and out of the blue admitted to a grisly attack, saying the victim’s race was a factor.
Court documents spell out that on September 19th, 32-year old Aaryn Snyder, who was locked up in the Allen County Jail at the time, approached a jail guard and said he wanted to confess to a murder, eventually blurting out that “this is a hate crime.”
A detective was called in shortly after, and according to court documents, Snyder tried to give his statements before the officer even finished reading his advice of rights.
Snyder went on to say he killed 22-year old Samuel Hardrix because he was Black, Snyder claiming that he is part of a white organization.
Snyder said the two got into an argument near Shilling and Fourth Street and that after Hardrix called him a name, Snyder grabbed Hardrix’ pocket knife and stabbed him to death.
He told an officer “I stabbed him seventeen times.”
A homeowner found the body August 21st in a strip of grass next to her property.
A bloody hand print could be seen on the side of the house.
Snyder told police it wasn’t the first time he’d killed somebody, and that he earned a “patch” for killing from the “white organization” he claims to be linked to.
In the court papers, Snyder was said to have made other statements, including that the murder was about “money, drugs and his race being disrespected.”
According to the court file, in the presence of an officer, Snyder told a nurse treating him, “I killed that guy; I am looking at life and (they’re) probably going to call it a hate crime because he (Hardrix) was Black.”
Police later interviewed a man who they suspected had witnessed the argument between Snyder and Hardrix.
His description of the knife matched what Snyder told police the murder weapon looked like.
According to the Allen County Sex Offender Registry where Snyder has been registered since 2007, he has numerous tattoos related to white supremacy, like a swastika, clansmen cross and a lightning bolt.
The standard range of penalties for murder in Indiana is 45 to 65 years.
Even if prosecutors could prove this was a hate crime, it’s unlikely that it would impact the sentence, because this state does not have hate crime legislation.
Snyder is being held without bond on the murder charge.
By: Kayla Crandall, Jeff Neumeyer And Rex Smith
