Nicholas Stanley pleads not guilty to murder of sex offender; jury trial set for October

UPDATE: The Elkhart County Prosector's Office reports an amendment has been made to Stanley's charged, adding a second count of Domestic Batterer in Possession of a Firearm.

ORIGINAL STORY: GOSHEN, Ind. -- In his initial hearing, 35-year-old Nicholas Stanley appeared virtually before Judge Michael Christofeno Tuesday morning for the first time with no lawyer present.

He was granted his request for a public defender, but the prosecution raised concerns about a now-removed GoFundMe page that raised more than $13,000. Prosecutors asked if those funds could be used for Stanley’s legal defense.

Judge Christofeno said that the amount raised would not suffice. Following the hearing, the GoFundMe page was taken down. A family member told ABC57 that the money is now gone, and several donors have already reported pending refunds in their accounts.

In a statement to ABC57, a spokesperson for GoFundMe said:

““We have a team of experts working around the clock to review fundraisers, prevent misuse, and implement our terms of service, which explicitly prohibit fundraisers that raise money for the legal defense of anyone formally charged with an alleged violent crime. In this case, our Trust & Safety team is reviewing and has reached out to the organizer for more information. During this process, all funds remain safely held by our payment processors and are not accessible to the organizer. ”

GoFundMe’s policies explicitly prohibit raising money for the legal defense of anyone accused of a violent crime. The company says it has a dedicated team of experts working to detect and prevent misuse of its platform.

Stanley’s sister, Jessica Stanley, told ABC57 that the fundraiser was originally created to support her brother’s legal expenses. However, she said the family later chose to redirect the funds to support his children in order to comply with GoFundMe’s terms.

“The community definitely has our back,” Jessica said. “So we’re hoping the jury will have our back as well, especially my brother’s,” she told ABC57 after Thursday’s hearing.

With the GoFundMe page shut down, the family has launched a new fundraiser through GiveSendGo, a platform with different terms of service that allow fundraising for legal defense.

Stanley’s next pretrial conference is scheduled for July 31, with a jury trial set to begin October 6.