The 77-year-old Haubstadt, Indiana, man charged with murdering his wife, son-in-law and mother-in-law last month sued his wife’s estate and her heirs for elder abuse and fraud, alleging that she conned him out of his home before he killed her and that she had ties to a Mexican drug cartel.

Attorneys representing Patrick J. Waite, who is being held without bond at the Gibson County jail to face three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, filed the suit Monday.

It comes after Waite dialed 911 May 29 to report that he had shot and killed his wife, Alma Waite, 61; his son in-law, Fernando Tapia Ramirez Sr., 39; and his 81-year-old, bed-ridden mother-in-law, Gloria Garcia Tapia, 81.

Detectives said Patrick Waite also shot and critically injured another adult family member.

Three dead in Gibson County shooting

“I shot them all,” Patrick Waite told dispatchers minutes after the killings, according to a Gibson County Sheriff’s Office detective’s sworn affidavit. Waite would reportedly go on to tell investigators he was “guilty as guilty can be.”

Nonetheless, Patrick Waite pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges and his attorneys, Johnathan and Scott Danks, now say he was a victim of elder abuse.

The lawsuit, which names the heirs of Patrick Waite’s slain wife as defendants, seeks a court order divesting them and Alma Waite’s daughter from their stake in the Haubstadt home-turned crime scene.

In a nine-page complaint, Patrick Waite levied sweeping allegations against his wife and her family, laying out in great detail a set of circumstances that align with the motive investigators said he had to kill his wife and in-laws.

According to property records, the lawsuit and detectives, Alma Waite and her daughter assumed sole ownership of Patrick Waite’s home, located at 12917 S. Scottsdale Drive, in the months before the killings.

In an arrest affidavit, detectives wrote that Patrick Waite shot and killed his wife during an argument about who owned the home.

Patrick Waite’s attorneys assert that his wife assumed sole ownership of the home without her husband’s knowledge, and that she secretly transferred ownership to her daughter in an effort to shield the property from potential divorce proceedings.

“The evidence will show that Patrick was a victim of fraud and elder abuse,” Johnathan Danks said in a statement to the Courier & Press. “Patrick never intended to transfer the ownership of his home to Alma, and his signature was obtained by fraud and duress.”

Phone calls and text messages to a number listed in public records for Alma Waite’s daughter seeking comment Wednesday went unreturned.

A GoFundMe campaign ostensibly set up on behalf of Alma Waite’s family by a Bakersfield, California, woman had raised more than $3,000 as of Wednesday.

“Alma Waite was truly the life of the party,” the GoFundMe states. “Her laugh was one of a kind. Her energy was infectious, her stories unforgettable and her heart absolutely unmatched. She gave love freely, danced without shame and reminded us all not to take life too seriously.”

The Gibson County Sheriff’s Office, which is leading the criminal investigation, did not respond to a request for a comment on the lawsuit. Gibson County Prosecutor Michael Cochren declined to comment.

Attorneys claim Patrick Waite is a ‘victim,’ say he had ‘no knowledge’ of wife’s criminal past

Patrick Waite purchased the Scottsdale Drive home that was destined to become the scene of a triple homicide for $235,000 in 1998 with his then-wife Nancy Waite, according to Gibson County Assessor Records.

The 2,957-square-foot home, which sits on a 1.5-acre lot, was affectionately known by Patrick Waite’s family as “The Waite Estate.” Patrick and Nancy Waite raised their two children in the home, where for years they hosted family and church gatherings.

Nancy Waite died from cancer in 2019, leaving the home solely in her husband’s name. They were married for 52 years.

At the time of Nancy Waite’s death, Alma Waite was incarcerated in a federal penitentiary, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. She was released in January 2020 after serving a portion of a five-year sentence in a methamphetamine-trafficking case, court records show.

Patrick Waite’s attorneys said he lived alone for three years after his first wife’s death until he met Alma Waite on an online dating website in September 2022. According to the lawsuit, Alma and Patrick Waite began living together in the Haubstadt home weeks after they met, and in March 2023 they married.

“Patrick’s children had no knowledge of the impending marriage and were not made aware of such until the day after the marriage,” the civil complaint states. “Patrick and Alma executed a prenuptial agreement before the marriage occurred, ensuring that Patrick’s property would remain his separate property.”

Over the ensuing weeks and months, Patrick Waite’s adult children said they were cut out of their father’s life. Phone calls between Patrick Waite and his children were conducted on speaker phone in the presence of Alma Waite, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that Alma Waite would go on to block the phone numbers of her husband’s children and grandchildren from his phone after Patrick Waite’s daughter attempted to warn him he could be falling victim to a “con.”

Patrick Waite’s attorneys said Alma Waite’s criminal history includes “extensive involvement in various criminal gangs,” including the Sinaloa Cartel — a Mexico-based multinational drug trafficking organization. The lawsuit does not state what evidence Patrick Waite or his attorneys obtained to support the claim.

In the federal criminal complaint filed to support Alma Waite’s charges in the methamphetamine case, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration task force officer wrote that Alma Waite shipped pound-quantities of the potent stimulant from Bakersfield, California, to the Evansville area via FedEx.

When police arrested Alma Waite in West Virginia in December 2015 , she detailed her narcotics trafficking activities to DEA investigators, federal court records state, telling detectives she was in West Virginia to orchestrate the delivery of a 10-pound shipment of methamphetamine.

Alma Waite would go on to conduct a controlled methamphetamine delivery for federal law enforcement before pleading guilty to one count of attempting to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

Alma Waite remained under federal supervision following her release from prison in 2020 until Aug. 30, 2021, according to a judicial order.

About a year after Patrick and Alma Waite’s marriage, she prepared a quitclaim deed to amend the ownership of her husband’s Haubstadt home. Patrick Waite’s attorneys allege that she “pressured” him to amend the deed by “preying on his age, emotions and fear.”

“Patrick relied upon Alma’s representations that the April 1, 2024, quitclaim deed would place both of their names on the deed for the home,” the lawsuit states. “Patrick had no knowledge that his name was removed from the deed. Patrick had no intention of relinquishing his beloved family home of 26 years and the majority of his net worth.”

According to assessor records, the home at 12917 S. Scottsdale Drive was placed solely in Alma Waite’s name on April 1, 2024. In December, Alma Waite filed a second quitclaim deed to transfer ownership of the home to her daughter, the records show.

On March 27, Alma Waite’s daughter filed a third quitclaim deed transferring partial ownership back to Alma Waite. Patrick Waite’s attorneys allege this transfer was initiated to hide the fact that property taxes were being paid on behalf of Alma Waite’s daughter.

“At all times following the execution of the April 1, 2024 deed, Patrick believed the home was still deeded in his name,” the complaint states. “Property taxes were mailed to the home and Alma paid the home’s property taxes solely with money provided by Patrick.”

Records: Patrick Waite told detectives he opened fire after argument over home's ownership

An argument over the home’s ownership boiled over into a deadly shooting the evening of May 29 when Patrick Waite used a .45-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun to shoot and kill his wife, according to the Gibson County Sheriff’s Office.

Patrick Waite reportedly told detectives that before he opened fire, Alma Waite disclosed that she had placed the home in her daughter’s name. He couldn’t remember how many times he pulled the trigger.

Alma Waite's sons, including Ramirez Sr., were in the home's den at the time of the shooting, according to a probable cause affidavit. Patrick Waite told detectives he heard the men "saying something to him” before he fired on them multiple times.

At least one of the rounds struck Alma Waite’s mother, Garcia, who was lying in bed, according to detectives.

Garcia and Ramirez Sr. both sustained fatal gunshot wounds to the head, investigators said. The other man was shot "in the chest and neck.” Paramedics transported him to a hospital in critical condition. His condition on Wednesday was not immediately known.

At least one juvenile was inside the home and witnessed the shooting, but was uninjured, according to deputies. The juvenile reportedly identified Patrick Waite as the shooter.

Gibson County Sheriff Bruce Vanoven said Patrick Waite dialed 911 after the shooting and told dispatchers he would be waiting for deputies outside the home, where he was taken into custody without incident minutes later.

As of Wednesday, online court records did not yet state when Patrick Waite would next appear in court.

Vanoven said in an interview last week that Patrick Waite’s actions could not be viewed through “rational, law-abiding, mentally well eyes.”

"Because obviously, this was an irrational act that was against the law,” Vanoven said. “Anybody who would take a person's life is probably not in their right mind."

During a police interview after his arrest, Patrick Waite reportedly told detectives that “he knows what he did was wrong and that God will never forgive him," according to his arrest affidavit.

"(Patrick Waite) stated he was sorry for what he did, and (that) he didn't deserve to live,” the affidavit states.

In response to the civil complaint, Gibson County Circuit Court Judge Robert Krieg on Tuesday ordered Alma Waite's daughter and any "unknown residents" of the Haubstadt home to appear in court June 20. As of Wednesday, an attorney had not entered an appearance on behalf the defendants.