IMPD investigating murder of IU School of Medicine’s program director emeritus
UPDATE
The Marion County Coroner’s Office announced Tuesday that 61-year-old Dr. Kevin Rodgers died as a result of homicide from gunshot wound injuries.PREVIOUS
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis doctor was found murdered in his home, and police are still trying to figure out who killed him.
It happened Monday in the 7500 block of Ballinshire South on the city’s northwest side.
Indiana University School of Medicine confirmed with 24-Hour News 8 the victim was Kevin Rodgers. He served as its program director emeritus and was also involved with the emergency training program for more than 25 years.
People who worked with Rodgers at IU School of Medicine are left with heavy hearts after learning about his murder.
He’s described as a well-respected educator. He loved coaching lacrosse and was a father of four. But what happened to the doctor inside his Eagle Creek home is still a mystery.
“Everyone is kind of in shock no one really knows what’s going on what exactly happened but no one would expect that,” said Sara Kollach-Walker, who lives in the neighborhood.
Kollach-Walker said things do happen in their neighborhood, just nothing like this.
“We’ve had people break into cars, you know, you hear stories of lock your cars and somebody broke in and stole stuff in someone’s car so that you would expect but you never expect something of this magnitude,” she said.
The investigation began when officers said Rodgers’ wife came home Monday afternoon to find her husband dead inside their home. The call came in just after noon.
Officers and medics got to the home and found Rodgers with some type of trauma and pronounced him dead on scene. As of Monday night, police have not said how Rodgers died and whether they found any signs of someone breaking into the home.
“We don’t know if this was targeted or just some random people came through it’s really worrisome,” said Michael Smith, another neighbor who lives down the street.
Michael Smith said the crime is so alarming because of what happened to his mom the other day.
“Well, the other night my mom was down there and she was sitting in the house I was out with some friends when she texted me and heard the doorknob was rattling and we have a dog and she was going off,” Smith said. “The rattling stopped, and I came home and two days later this is here.”
24-Hour News 8 learned Rodgers was an assistant lacrosse coach at Cathedral High School. A prayer service for his family is taking place Tuesday morning at the school.
Ruth Rodgers released this statement on Tuesday morning:
The Rodgers family is grateful for the outpouring of prayers and condolences received since learning of Kevin’s untimely passing. As the family begins to cope with this tragic loss, they would like to ask the media to respect their privacy and direct all questions about the circumstances surrounding his death to IMPD.
Statement from Cathedral High School:
It is with great sadness that we share with you Dr. Kevin Rodgers, an assistant lacrosse coach at Cathedral High School. Dr. Rodgers has three sons who are Cathedral graduates and one son who is a senior this year at Cathedral. Counselors have been reaching out to our students and staff all afternoon. Counselors will also be on hand tomorrow. In addition, we will have a prayer service for the Rodgers family tomorrow. We ask that everyone keep the Rodgers family in their prayers during this difficult time.”
Statement from IU School of Medicine:
“We learned this afternoon that one of our most revered faculty members, Kevin Rodgers, MD, died earlier today. The specific circumstances are unknown and a formal investigation by IMPD is underway. The IU School of Medicine community is deeply saddened by this loss. Dr. Rodgers was a well-respected faculty educator who was heavily involved in the Emergency Medicine training program for more than 25 years. He received the 2015 Inspirational Educator Award in recognition of extraordinary teaching, based on the growth, development and professionalism of learners.”