Cops serving eviction hear gunshots, then find man and woman dead inside Indiana home

Police are investigating a murder-suicide after a man and woman were found dead inside a home facing eviction in Indiana.

Washington Township deputy constables went to the home — on the north side of Indianapolis — to serve an eviction, on the morning of Monday, Dec. 2, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said in a news release. But just as the constables arrived, they heard two gunshots from inside the residence.

Constables entered the home and found two people, a man and a woman, in a bedroom with gunshot wounds, police said. They were both pronounced dead at the scene.

Responding to a report of “a possible murder,” IMPD officers came to the home to assist the constables, the department said.

Investigators took a gun from the scene as evidence.

“At this time, detectives believe this to be a murder-suicide,” police said. Investigators didn’t say who shot who.

Court records show a tenant living at the address had tried to fight the eviction by filing a request to stay, the Indianapolis Star reported. Their request to stay was denied on the morning of the shooting.

Up to 600 murder-suicides happen each year, according to the FBI. They account for about 1,000 deaths a year.

“Although uncommon, such incidents vary widely in terms of the persons involved, how they are related, and where the crimes take place,” the FBI reported. “Usually, law enforcement personnel deal with murder-suicides involving two people in domestic settings or relationships.”

About 65% of murder-suicides involve intimate partners, officials said, and 81% happen in the home.

This story was originally published December 3, 2024 at 2:40 PM with the headline "Cops serving eviction hear gunshots, then find man and woman dead inside Indiana home."