Marcia Linsky

Marcia Linsky was a defense attorney and former magistrate in Allen County, Indiana, whose three decade legal career made her one of the most recognized courtroom figures in Fort Wayne. She worked through nearly every part of the local justice system, and reports describe her 28-year legal career in northeastern Indiana. She began as a law clerk in Allen Superior Court's criminal division before serving as a deputy prosecutor, then as an Allen County magistrate, and later as a private defense attorney and public defender. At the time of her death she was with the Fort Wayne firm Close Hitchcock LLP, where her areas of focus included sentence modifications, expungements and criminal defense.

Colleagues remembered her as generous with her knowledge and a steady presence for younger lawyers. Allen County's chief public defender said he considered her a trustworthy friend who could be called on any time of day or night. The county later honored her memory formally: Allen County Commissioner Nelson Peters went through Linsky's 28-year legal career in northeastern Indiana before presenting a Distinctive Service Award to her family.

Linsky was born on February 9, 1959, in Ohio to Charles and Marjorie Gohlke. She studied at Indiana University and went on to earn her law degree from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, graduating in 1984. She made her home in Grabill, a small town in Allen County near Fort Wayne, and built her career entirely within the local Indiana legal community.

Marcia Linsky, a former magistrate who most recently served as a public defender, was found dead in her Grabill home on the evening of Saturday, February 3, 2024. The Allen County coroner ruled her death a homicide, finding that Marcia Louise Linsky, 64, of Grabill, died from multiple incised wounds. She was six days short of her 65th birthday.

Her boyfriend at the time, Charles Michael Calvert, then 60 or 61, was arrested and charged with her murder. Investigators said evidence at the scene appeared to be staged, and court documents indicate he initially told police he acted in self-defense during an argument. The case drew heavy local attention because of how well known and widely liked Linsky was in the Fort Wayne legal community, with one report noting that Marcia Linsky was a sought after criminal defense attorney in Allen County whose 30-year career spanned work as a magistrate, private attorney and public defender, and that it came as a shock to the community when she was found stabbed to death at her home.

She was survived by her daughter, Elizabeth Schlichter, and her late husband's children, stepdaughter Amanda Linsky and stepsons Nicholas and Daniel Linsky, along with five grandchildren. A visitation and celebration of life were held for her in Fort Wayne in the days following her death.

More than two years later, on October 1, 2026, a jury found Charles Calvert guilty of murder in Linsky's death, following a trial in which he took the stand in his own defense. The verdict closed a long legal process that followed her killing and renewed public attention on her life and the case.