Mushrooms for Dinner Dear

Gina Glaub
Jan 8
6 min read

A resident of Hamilton County, Indiana, was walking along a rural road on April 24^th, 2020. Hamilton County is a very safe area, in the 98^th percentile for safety in the entire country, so imagine the shock when this resident found a dead body lying in a ditch! The resident called 911. When authorities arrived, they found the male’s body, clearly deceased and decomposing, lying in the ditch with a rifle sling around his neck. It appeared that the body had been dumped as his feet were clean there but there were no obvious injuries. There were also scratches on his arms and legs. The police initially wondered in the man had overdosed and friends had panicked and dumped the body in the ditch.

At the medical examiner’s office, fingerprints were taken as DNA would take several weeks to identify the man. The fingerprints were thankfully on file and identified the man as David Fouts. David Fouts was an Indiana native who worked in leadership at Salesforce in Indianapolis. Other than his high-profile job, David was an avid cyclist and raised four greyhound dogs. He had been divorced once before.

Katrina Gentry started to date David Fouts in 2016. Katrina had grown children and grandchildren of her own. She was beautiful and outgoing, usually the center of attention. Katrina and David married in 2019. Upon notification of the death, Katrina was hysterical. She stated that she and David had not been living together due to David having an affair and some financial issues they were having. Katrina pointed the finger at David’s mistress, stating her other lovers were after David. After speaking with David’s affair partner, this was ruled out.

During the autopsy, stomach contents were obtained. There were small pieces of mushrooms in his stomach. The stomach contents were sent to Purdue University’s mycology department for examination. Dr. M Catherine Aime was able to identify the mushrooms as white domecap mushrooms known as Lyophyllum connatum. These mushrooms, she explained, cause heart failure and respiratory distress and are certainly deadly. However, she explained the toxin will not show up on an autopsy because the fungus deteriorates within hours. It’s the perfect murder weapon.

Investigators learn that in September 2019, David was arrested for domestic battery and invasion of privacy. The charges were filed by Katrina against David. The court date was approaching and David planned to fight those charges. This concerned investigators, so they started to review phone records. They noticed that Katrina and David had lots of contact with each other daily, but the contact stopped suddenly after April 22^nd, 2020. Why does Katrina suddenly stop trying to contact her husband? He was found dead two days later.

Katrina’s phone searches and photos were even more concerning. They included a picture of the death cap mushroom, the nickname of the mushroom used to kill her husband. Searches included “crimes of passion Indiana” and “what it takes to get arrest warrant for murder Indiana”. Katrina Fouts just became the number one suspect in the murder of her husband. Investigators do not believe she acted alone, however.

Terry Hopkins, a retired Indiana police officer, was a caretaker for Katrina’s father. He had formed a friendship with Katrina and the two had frequent phone contact with Katrina. Katrina contacted Terry more than anyone else in her contacts, 734 contacts in all according to police. She denied any romantic relationship, claiming she was just friends with the sixty-five-year-old. Terry did have an intense hatred for David Fouts. He was also a sick man, battling congestive heart failure, a previous stroke, and diabetes.

Cell phone records indicate that on April 22^nd, 2020, Terry and Katrina met up about 6 pm and went to a country house. They both shut their phones off and lost GPS that night. Their phones were not powered back on until approximately 11 am the next morning. This was enough probable cause for a search warrant for the country house, Terry’s house, and Katrina’s house.

A walkie talkie was found in Katrina’s vehicle. Inside the country house, a matching rifle sling to the one found around David’s neck was found. A hydraulic lift was found, and spots of blood were found and collected for analysis. Cardboard with a shoe imprint was taken. In Terry’s car, they found a box cutter, dead blow hammer, and duct tape. They find surveillance video and a receipt of Terry buying items such as zip ties, rubber gloves, rope, tarp, knives, etc. They then find the other walkie talkie matching the one found in Katrina’s vehicle. They are set on the same channel.

Katrina immediately asked for a lawyer when police asked her to come back in for another interview. They then asked Terry to come in. He initially agreed and came in. He was covered in bruises. He then asked for an attorney and did not speak with investigators.

Katrina’s background reveals she has a history of lying. She had previously reported a rape that was determined to be a false report. She was forced to pay for the investigation as it was a lie. They also speak to her ex-boyfriend who states she is a liar. Katrina apparently took a large life insurance policy out on her ex-boyfriend. Soon after, he found a basket in his home with grenades in it! He truly believes that Katrina was planning to kill him. He kicked her out immediately.

Looking into Terry’s background, they speak with his ex-wife Deb. Deb and Terry were high school sweethearts and married for 45 years. He had been a dedicated police officer for decades and retired as the captain over Internal Affairs in 2014. In 2015 he had a frontal lobe stroke. The frontal lobe of the brain controls personality, inhibitions, and impulse control. After the stroke, Terry’s behavior changed and he became verbally abusive and had an affair. Deb divorced him.

Terry then became a caregiver for Katrina’s father. Deb believes that Katrina manipulated Terry, noticing his declining mental status. Deb believes he likely had some type of dementia. Katrina allegedly talked about how David was a horrible husband and treated her very poorly, ensuring Terry would have hatred for David. Katrina manipulated a man in poor health for her gain.

DNA samples from the shirt wrapped around David and the lift cart itself finally came back. The shirt came back with David and Terry’s DNA. The lift cart contained the DNA of Terry and Katrina. David’s DNA was on the rubber mat on top of the lift cart. The only explanation that makes sense, according to investigators, is that David was killed as the country house, put on the lift cart to be placed in the vehicle, and then dumped in the ditch.

There was no evidence to prove that David was killed by the mushrooms. However, the rest of the evidence was enough for prosecutors to take the case to trial. Katrina Fouts and Terry Hopkins were arrested and charged with first degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and failure to report a dead body. Terry Hopkins would never face a jury, however. He died before he could go to trial of congestive heart failure.

Katrina had previous told the detectives she wanted to see the killer. The detective put a mirror on a clipboard and showed her after the arrest so she could see her husband’s killer. Her response? “He doesn’t even like mushrooms.”