Staff Reports
WAYNESVILLE — Investigators are giving out few details about a woman’s death reported Monday morning in Waynesville, declining to reveal the victim’s name, age or why her death was considered “suspicious.”
Indiana State Police and Bartholomew County Sheriff deputies, along with Bartholomew County Coroner Clayton Nolting, were “processing” the scene for evidence in the 2700 block of East South Street in Waynesville for most of the day and evening Monday, said Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers. The address is on the corner of Wayne and South streets in the unincorporated town of Waynesville in southwest rural Bartholomew County, where an estimated couple hundred people live.
The victim’s identity and other information may be released today after Nolting receives the results from an expected autopsy for the victim, Myers said.
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Bartholomew County Sheriff deputies were called to a one-story home at 6:28 a.m. on a “possible code,” according to a press release from the sheriff’s department.
When deputies arrived, they located a deceased female inside the home who they said had “suspicious” injuries.
Deputies secured the scene and notified the Bartholomew County Death Investigation Team, established to investigate potential homicides in the county.
Investigators were initially notified by a family member who had come to the house and found the victim, Myers said. There was no one else at the one-story blue home when the family member arrived, he said. The house has a “private property” sign posted on it and appeared to have a security camera attached to the garage.
A family member who was near the house Monday, who identified himself as the victim’s brother, said the family became suspicious when they were unable to reach the victim over the weekend and could not reach her all day Sunday. The brother was caring for the victim’s dog at the scene Monday, after the pet was found inside the victim’s house after he entered the home and found the body.
The brother said he had to have another family member let him in Monday morning because he did not have a key. Initially, the two family members thought the victim might have been at work since her vehicle wasn’t there, but noticed the lights were on inside the home, which seemed unusual to them, he said.
When they got inside the house, they noticed the bedroom light was on and when they checked that room, that’s when he found the body, the brother said.
Talking with neighbors, they learned nearby residents had not seen the vehicle at the house nearly all weekend.
One of the victim’s sons is believed to be incarcerated at the Bartholomew County Jail on multiple drug-related charges involving methamphetamine with a six-figure bond, according to jail records.
The victim’s brother also said the victim had picked up a family member from the Johnson County Jail recently and brought that person back to her house to stay with her. He said that the police are looking for that individual to question him about what happened.
Detectives determined Monday morning that an SUV was missing from the residence and issued an “all-points bulletin” to locate it, said Bartholomew County Sheriff Chief Deputy Maj. Chris Lane.
Indianapolis police found the vehicle in Indianapolis and detectives were headed there Monday afternoon to pick it up, while at the same time obtaining a search warrant for the vehicle, Lane said.
The death investigation team is working aggressively to pursue further information and once that information is gathered, it will be shared with the public, Myers said. It is up to Nolting, as part of the death investigation team, to determine if the death is a homicide, he said.
The team is made up of the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, Columbus Police Department, Indiana State Police, Bartholomew County Coroner’s Office and the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office.
