Breakup culminates in arrest after woman says she was threatened by ex

Daniel Elifritz

COLUMBUS, Ind. — The breakup of a 14-year relationship culminated with a local man being accused of threatening the life of his long-time companion with a handgun.

Daniel Elifritz, 54, of 619 Chestnut St. is charged with pointing a firearm at another person as a Level 6 felony, intimidation as a Level 5 felony, and domestic battery as a Class A misdemeanor.  Most of the details were in a probable cause affidavit filed by the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.

At about 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 14, a female acquaintance of the threatened woman notified emergency dispatchers that Elifritz had put a gun to the victim’s head and was threatening to kill her, Aspenson stated.

The female caller also said that as she talked to the victim on her phone, she could hear Elifritz accusing his former companion of stealing money from him, the affidavit states.

Dispatchers were able to make contact with the victim through texting, which allowed them to confirm her name and location.

Sheriff deputies decided to park on Fremont Drive in the Heritage Heights area, so they could quietly approach the victim’s Harrison Drive residence on foot, the affidavit states. As they approached the house, deputies could see Elifritz and the woman arguing while standing in the roadway.

Since the suspect was unarmed, a deputy was able to come up behind Elifritz and hold him at gunpoint while giving loud verbal commands, the affidavit states.

After Elifritz was handcuffed, the woman told the deputies that Elifritz had moved out of the house three weeks earlier, and that she only allowed him back in to retrieve some of his possessions. She confirmed Elifritz had aimed a handgun at her head at close range while threatening to kill her, the court document states.

For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.