Thursday, June 7, 2012

Indianapolis, IN: Police: Westside slayings were murder-suicide

Veronica Bailey, the woman killed in a shooting on Indianapolis' Westside, was about to leave her partner, Johnathan Ogden, when he shot her and then himself, police said.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department received a call at 12:20 a.m. Wednesday at a residence in the 1300 block of South Worth Avenue.

Upon arrival, officers found Ogden, 43, and Bailey, 40, in the front yard with gunshot wounds, according to the IMPD report.

The two, who were not married but had been living together for more than 20 years, were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Police say they think Ogden shot Bailey, and then himself, after the two had a fight. Witnesses told police they heard what sounded like gunshots or fireworks that night.

Police also say they think Ogden and Bailey had been dead for about two hours before their daughter found their bodies and called police.

Ogden had a history of domestic battery, police said. On May 25, he was arrested after "pulling Bailey around the living room and ripping her shirt as he threw her to the ground," according to a police report.

The Marion County coroner's office planned to perform an autopsy Wednesday.

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