70-year-old Indiana man accused of shooting deputy dies of COVID

NEWBURGH, Ind. (WISH) — A 70-year-old man facing an attempted murder charge in the Sept. 18 shooting of a Posey County sheriff’s deputy died Monday from complications due to the coronavirus, Indiana State Police said in a news release.

Paul Wiltshire, who was from New Harmony, died Monday at Deaconess Gateway Hospital in Newburgh, state police said.

Wiltshire on Dec. 17 was taken by ambulance from the Warrick County Jail in Boonville to the hospital because he was ill, the release said.

Posey County Sheriff Tom Latham asked the state police to investigate Wiltshire’s death, which is common when an inmate dies in custody, the release said.

An autopsy was set for later Monday, but the preliminary cause of death is natural causes due to COVID, according to Warrick County Coroner Sarah Seaton. The release from state police did not say whether Wiltshire had received a COVID-19 vaccination.

Around 7 p.m. Sept. 18, Posey County law enforcement went to check on the welfare of a person at a home in the 610 block of Short Street in New Harmony. While police were outside the home, Wiltshire began firing at officers, who returned fire. State police were investigating the shooting.

Sheriff’s Deputy Bryan Hicks, 41, was critically injured in the gunfire, and state police have yet to update his condition.

Wiltshire was taken to a hospital for the treatment of gunshot wounds. Wiltshire was arrested Sept. 22 upon leaving Deaconess Gateway for jail.

The town of New Harmony sits on the Wabash River, about a 40-minute drive west of Evansville.