Man formally charged with strangling girlfriend to death in Bartholomew County
WAYNESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — An Indianapolis man has been formally charged in Bartholomew County with murdering his girlfriend after she was found dead in her home with a plastic bag around her head.
Bartholomew County Prosecutor Lindsey Holden-Kay announced the charges against Anthony Carter Friday. Carter was taken into custody Monday under suspicion of the death of his girlfriend, Ashley Neville.
According to court documents, Just before 5:30 a.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to a home on 650 S in Bartholomew County for a welfare check on Neville who lived at the residence. A woman who called into dispatch stated that her father, Carter, had stopped by Neville’s home and killed her. The woman also stated that Carter was living at the residence for the past year.
Neville had a “no contact” order in place against Carter that was issued from Jennings County on Feb. 22, 2022.
Police went to Neville’s home in hopes to find her and noticed that most of the windows were covered, and there was a padlock on the outside of the door. The back door of the home had a brown bookcase in front blocking anyone from entering. Officers did not make contact with Neville and there weren’t any vehicles reported at the scene, court docs say.
Detective Kevin Abner with the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office stated in the court documents that while attempting to locate Neville, he learned that she is known to drive a red 2015 Chevrolet Cruze that was found abandoned in a field north of 2240 E. 800 South Sunday morning.
Officers were granted permission by the owner of the residence to make entry inside the home to see if Neville was inside. Deputies began searching the residence and did not find anyone.
At around 1 p.m. Sunday, neighbors in the area reported a suspicious male in the woods near the home. Deputies and a police dog later found Carter hiding in the wooded area and he was taken into custody.
Carter told police that he grabbed the gun from Neville and it went off hitting her. Carter said he did not know the gun was loaded and the gunshot did not immediately kill Neville. To end her suffering, Carter put a plastic bag around her head, using duct tape to secure it, and then placed his hand over her mouth smothering her, court docs say.
Carter also admitted that he was the one that abandoned Neville’s car in the field where police found it.
A search warrant was executed for Nevielle’s home and her body was found on the bed in a room covered with a large pile of clothing and other items. Her head was covered with a white plastic bag secured with grey duct tape.
Monday morning, an autopsy was conducted in Hamilton County and it was revealed that Veville had suffered a gunshot wound to the left side of her head. Later that day, Carter confessed that he had discarded the small pistol used in the shooting in the woods where he was hiding.
Carter assisted in the search for the gun and told Abner that Neville never had the gun as he had described to the police. He was in sole possession at the time it fired. After further search, deputies located the weapon.
