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Inset, top to bottom: Michael Kegg III and Malisa Kegg (GoFundMe) and Michael Kegg Jr. (Gibson County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The house where the victims were killed in Francisco, Ind. (Google Maps).
In a tragic turn of events in Indiana, a 53-year-old man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his ex-wife and son. The brutal incident occurred just two weeks after a divorce proceeding with his ex-wife, as he attacked them in their home and subsequently set the house ablaze.
Michael R. Kegg Jr. received the harshest possible sentence from Gibson County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey F. Meade, who imposed 126 years in a state prison for the horrific 2025 killings of 51-year-old Malisa Kegg and 34-year-old Michael Kegg III, according to court documents.
The judge specifically assigned a 64-year sentence for the murder of his son and an additional 62 years for the murder of his ex-wife, with the sentences to run consecutively.
Meanwhile, Amanda Kegg, who was married to Michael Kegg at the time of the murders and is accused of being an accomplice, faces charges of two counts of murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder. Her trial is slated for November.
The tragic events unfolded on December 31, 2024, when the Gibson County Sheriff’s Office and the Francisco Fire Department responded to a 911 call reporting a house fire on East State Road 64 in Francisco, approximately 125 miles south of Indianapolis.
When the fire was subdued, investigators went inside and found a dead body — later identified as Kegg’s son — lying next to a can of accelerant in the kitchen, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime.
A second body was found in the living room and identified as Malisa Kegg. While both bodies were burned, the victims also suffered gunshot wounds to the chest. Autopsies subsequently confirmed that the mother and son’s causes of death were gunshot wounds suffered before the house fire.
Investigators recovered two spent shells from a .410-gauge shotgun near Malisa Kegg’s body and one next to her son’s body. A shotgun was also discovered in the home propped against wall and loaded with with an unfired shell.
Michael Kegg, who had appeared for a divorce hearing with Malisa Kegg just two weeks earlier, was quickly pegged as a prime suspect in the double murder. During that hearing, the judge ordered him to complete a laundry list of tasks in a short period of time, Town & Courier reported.
In an interview with detectives, Amanda Kegg initially said she and Michael Kegg had argued on the night of Dec. 30, 2024, and she had not seen him at all on Dec. 31. However, she later said that in the early morning hours of Dec. 31, Michael Kegg told her to leave her phone at home and drive him Francisco so he could “take care of something.” She noted that Michael Kegg also left his phone at the house.
Amanda Kegg claimed she dropped him off at a park and waited in the car for about two hours before leaving. It was later revealed that she actually went to Michael Kegg’s bank and withdrew $800 from the ATM, the maximum allowed per day.
Michael Kegg told investigators he went from the park to the victims’ home to do some work on a vehicle. He said he spoke to his ex-wife and son, who told him “he needed to leave.” He claimed he then left and both victims were still alive.
“Michael Kegg (Jr.) advised that he left the residence and walked through the field out of the back of the house, and toward Hopkins Park,” the affidavit states. “Michael Kegg (Jr.) advised that as he was walking away from the residence he heard and saw lights and sirens responding toward Francisco.”
Investigators said they believed Michael and Amanda Kegg “formulated a plan” to kill the victims and then lit the house on fire “to cover up the murders.”
One day before the fire, Michael Kegg went to Francisco town hall and demanded that the water be shut off in Malisa Kegg’s home, Town & Courier reported. He reportedly told officials he no longer wanted to pay her utility bills.