Sarah Jo Pender (born May 29, 1979) is an American woman convicted along with her former boyfriend, Richard Edward Hull, of murdering their roommates, Andrew Cataldi and Tricia Nordman, on October 24, 2000, in Indiana.

On the morning of October 24, 2000, Hull drove Pender to a local Walmart to purchase a 12-gauge shotgun, a soda, and condoms.

The clerk who handled the sale of the weapon later reported seeing Hull select the ammunition and bring it to the counter, where Pender then paid for it.

[9] When Pender returned, both victims were dead and Hull had already placed one of their bodies in the back of a truck owned by his friend Ronnie Herron.

[8][6][10] Hull had borrowed the truck on October 23 to remove items from the basement of the building as part of a plan he had with Cataldi to create a methamphetamine lab in collaboration with a chemist from Las Vegas.

[9] On October 25, Pender went to work while Hull borrowed equipment from neighbor Jana Frederick to clean up the blood in the house.

Pender stated later that "after he committed these murders, I did not call the police, but instead stayed with him out of love, fear, loyalty and sheer stupidity.

Sells was known for his recently failed campaign to become prosecutor of Hamilton County, in which he had highlighted his success with convicting murderers and violent offenders.

According to Indianapolis Star journalist Vic Ryckaert, Sells "likened her influence over Hull to the control Manson had over his followers, who committed a string of murders in 1969.

[17] Another piece of evidence presented to the jury was the testimony of fellow inmate Floyd Pennington, who had a pen relationship with Sarah Pender for several months.

[21] The only hard piece of evidence presented at Pender's trial as proof of her guilt was a letter that she allegedly wrote on May 16, 2001, and sent to Hull.

Several elements support this claim: At the beginning of September 2001, Floyd Pennington was a habitual offender and violent felon awaiting sentencing on a robbery conviction.

[35] In 2009, while helping journalist Steve Miller with research on the Sarah Pender case, former prosecutor Larry Sells became aware of the existence of a "snitch list" written by Floyd Pennington and given to Detective Ken Martinez.

They formed an intimate relationship, and Long referred to Pender as her "wife" while they served time at the Indiana Women's Prison in Indianapolis.

[39] Spitler dropped off Pender at one of the facility's parking lots, where Jamie Long picked her up, gave her $140 and drove her to Indianapolis.

After viewing video surveillance tapes and consulting the guard shack log, investigators identified Spitler as Pender's accomplice.

[45] On December 22, 2008, two hours after a rerun of the America's Most Wanted episode, her neighbor identified her and called the Chicago police, who arrested her at her apartment.

[46] Pender was held in solitary confinement at the Indiana Women's Prison in Indianapolis from December 2008 to January 30, 2014, for a total of 1,870 days (slightly over five years).

If granted, Pender would plead guilty to a class C felony of assisting a criminal, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 8 years.

Citing the new evidence, he explained that "If she believes this information justifies a new trial, then their remedy is to file a new post-conviction relief petition.

[49] On February 17, 2014, the Indiana Court of Appeals denied the request explaining that the "petitioner has failed to establish a reasonable possibility that he is entitled to post-conviction relief.

Bradford had been judge during both of Richard Hull's 2000 and 2005 appeals,[8][51] raising questions about the court's impartiality in reviewing Pender's request.

[52] In 2002, during her trial, Marion County Deputy Prosecutor Larry Sells likened Pender to a "Female Charles Manson" to describe her alleged influence over Hull.

"[43] The America's Most Wanted website made a particularly dramatic depiction of Pender, labeling her a "cunning and dangerous fugitive" and asking viewers to call "before she has the opportunity to kill again."

"[54] In a controversial book about Pender, journalist Steve Miller also compared her to an evil, supernatural being and wrote, "Vampires, as the lore has it, exist on the essence of others.

"[55] Pender has written that "the media, including 'America's Most Wanted,' has selectively used facts in order to manipulate the viewers to believe I am a degenerate, dangerous criminal in return for sensational story and higher ratings under the guise of bringing justice.

Two months after her escape, in October 2008, Roger Heitzman, another correctional officer at Rockville, was arrested by the state police for trafficking and engaging in sex acts with at least one female inmate.

The book, written by Steve Miller, has been criticized as inaccurate and deliberately quoting key documents in a misleading way.

"[60] According to former prosecutor Larry Sells, reading the book led him to reconsider his position on the fairness of Sarah Jo Pender's 2002 trial.

[62] Lifetime produced a movie based on the Pender case titled, "She Made Them Do It" starring Jenna Dewan Tatum.