By Aubrey Woods
Seymour Tribune
SEYMOUR — A 30-year-old man accused of murder died Sunday seven days after he was found unresponsive in his cell at the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown.
Tobias Au of Hope was taken to Schneck Medical Center in Seymour on May 10 after jail officers found him not breathing, according to a news release from Sheriff Rick Meyer.
The sheriff said lifesaving techniques were administered immediately and Au, accused of murdering Ryan Joseph Ross of Seymour on May 6, was taken to Schneck by Jackson County Emergency Medical Services personnel.
Meyer said no additional details surrounding Au’s death were available and referred questions to the Indiana State Police, who are investigating the incident.
Ross was found shot to death in an apartment at Sycamore Springs on Seymour’s far east side by officers responding to a call from Au at 5:37 a.m. that a man had been shot.
County officers Aaron Wilkins and Billy Dishman initially responded to the scene and Meyer arrived a short time later to help with the investigation.
Meyer said during a May 7 news conference at that jail that Ross had previously been in a relationship with Dakota Anderson, who lived in the apartment at 2710 Bent Tree Lane.
The two also had a child together, but Anderson was now dating Au, Meyer said, and neither Au nor Ross lived with Anderson at the Bent Tree Lane apartment.
A protective order was placed in January for Ross to stay away from Anderson, although it is unconfirmed if Jennings County, where Ross resided, had served him with the order, Meyer said.
Police said Ross had gone to the apartment to exchange their child, and Anderson let him in after he knocked on the door.
While Ross was inside near the door, Au, who had arrived at the residence shortly before Ross, shot him several times.
Au and Anderson were taken to the sheriff’s department, where they were interviewed by county detectives. After both interviews were conducted and crime scene technicians compared notes they had taken at the scene, Au was arrested for murder.
Meyer said he was unaware of any previous animosity or incidents between Ross and Au.
Ross and Anderson’s child and a second child were present in the apartment during the incident, Meyer said.
Meyer said Anderson was released and is not currently facing any charges related to the incident; however, that may change as more details emerge.
