JENNINGS COUNTY — A Jennings County man has been accused of murder and arson charges following a two-year investigation by the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies arrested Michael Wayne Hubbard, 36, of 1425 N. Cottonwood St., Butlerville, at 11:20 p.m. Tuesday after a warrant was issued for his arrest. Hubbard is being held at the Jennings County Jail without bond.
Hubbard’s arrest stems from a lengthy investigation that started in May of 2019 following the death of 47-year-old Robert L. Head Jr. in Country Squire Lakes in North Vernon, investigators said.
According to court documents, deputies responded to a call of a car fire at RK Bait & Tackle, 1712 Bristol Court in North Vernon, at 3:28 a.m. on May 3, 2019.
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Before officers and fire arrived, dispatch received another 911 call saying a naked man was in a ditch off of Country Manor Street and Derbyshire Court East, deputies said.
When deputies arrived, they found Head with burns all over his body, the case’s probable cause affidavit said. Head was then transported to a hospital in Indianapolis for treatment, the affidavit said.
Detectives investigated the scene and were able to obtain video surveillance from the owner of the bait shop, the affidavit said.
Court documents said that the video showed two people in the vehicle, a blue, four-door Honda, outside the shop at 3:19 a.m. before a flash fire started inside the vehicle.
A passenger stood to the side of the car with the door open before running towards a wooded area, court documents said. It didn’t take more than a minute for the vehicle to be fully engulfed in flames, and Head was then seen leaving the vehicle and taking his clothes off that were on fire, court documents said.
In body cam footage from the incident provided by Jennings County deputies, Head said that a man had thrown gas on him, set him on fire, and that the name of the man that did it was Mike, court documents said.
During questioning by deputies, police asked Head if he had done methamphetamine or bath salts, and that he said he didn’t know the difference but that he had done drugs with Hubbard, court documents said.
Witnesses believed that Hubbard had been given a ride by Head after doing some handyman work for a mutual acquaintance, the affidavit said.
In his initial interview with police, Hubbard denied killing Head and told deputies he had just given him a ride home, court documents said. The affidavit said that Hubbard told police there was a gas can in front on the floorboard of the vehicle when he was in it.
On June 24, 2019, Head, who was in a coma, was pronounced dead by the Marion County Corners office.
In later questioning, witnesses told detectives Hubbard had verbally told them that he had killed Head, and that he had been involved in multiple arsons, according to court documents.
Polygraph tests were conducted multiple times at the Columbus Police Department during the investigation.
On March 2, Jennings County Prosecutor Brian J. Belding signed off on a probable cause affidavit accusing Hubbard of murder and Level 2 felony charges of arson, according to court documents.
