Murderer will not reside in Bloomington

Convicted murderer Robert E. Lee will no longer reside in Monroe County, an Indiana Department of Correction official said. Instead, Lee is currently in Jennings County.

Lee was sentenced to 60 years in prison for the 1986 murder of Ellen Marks, but was released early for good behavior and for receiving multiple college degrees.

Lee was released from the Branchville Correctional Facility on Saturday and taken to the Monroe County parole office where his GPS monitoring device was activated. He was then transported to an undisclosed location in Bloomington where he intended to reside.

But DOC Media Liaison Amy Lanum said this fell through, and he is no longer staying at that location.

“Due to the large public attention, they decided they no longer wanted him to stay there,” she said.

Because of the violent nature of Lee’s crime, officials had a difficult time finding a place for the man to stay in Monroe County. Early this week, Lee was taken to the Jennings County parole office, where Lanum said he now plans to reside.

Jennings County is two counties east of Monroe County. According to Google Maps, it is an hour and 15 minutes from Monroe County.

The DOC would not release Lee’s specific location, but Lanum said the man has 72 hours after his release to disclose his place of residence and register with the Sheriff’s Department.

Once he registers, Lee’s location will be available on the Indiana Sex and Violent Offender Registry.

Indiana law did not require individuals to register on the Indiana Sex and Violent Offender Registry at the time of Lee’s conviction, said Indiana Parole Board Vice Chairman Randall Gentry. Although Indiana law does not require Lee’s registration, Gentry said his registration is a stipulation of his parole.