COLUMBUS, Ind. – Bartholomew County Prosecuting Attorney Lindsey Holden-Kay has formally charged Anthony Carter, 49, of Indianapolis, with the murder of a Bartholomew County woman. Ashley E. Neville, 40, was found dead inside a home in the 500 block of East County Road 650S on April 16.
The case is now pending in Bartholomew Superior Court I and Judge Jim Worton will set the date for an initial hearing. Pursuant to Indiana law, murder is punishable by 45-65 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) was sent to the home for a welfare check on Neville. A caller supposedly told dispatch that Carter, her father, had just informed her that he had killed his girlfriend, identified as Neville. Carter had been under a no-contact order with Neville since February 2022.
BCSO was unable to make contact with Neville at the home but noted most windows were covered up, there was a padlock on the front door, and the back door appeared to have a bookcase in front of it to block entry, according to the affidavit. While trying to locate Neville, deputies learned a Chevrolet Cruze, which Neville was known to drive, was found abandoned in a field north of County Road 800S.
After getting permission from the property owner, law enforcement eventually gained access to the house on C.R. 650S but could not find Neville during a cursory search, according to the document.
At 1 p.m. that day, BCSO received a report of a man hiding in the woods near the home. Deputies and a K9 responded and arrested Carter, who was taken to the sheriff’s office for an interview. Carter told investigators he grabbed a gun from Neville and it went off, striking her. The suspect claimed he did not know the gun was loaded. He then allegedly stated the shot did not immediately kill Neville and “to end her suffering,” he put a plastic bag around her head, used duct tape to secure it, and then placed his hand over her mouth, smothering her, according to the document. Carter also reportedly told law enforcement he was the person who abandoned the vehicle in the field.
A search warrant was obtained and executed on the night of April 16 at the home on C.R. 650S. Neville was found on a bed, covered by a large pile of clothing and other items.
An autopsy conducted the following day in Hamilton County, Ohio, revealed Neville had suffered a gunshot wound to the left side of her head.
During a subsequent interview, Carter supposedly said he discarded the small pistol in the woods somewhere south of the home. He took BCSO to the location where the gun was recovered. Carter also allegedly told investigators Neville had never actually been in possession of the gun as he had previously described, according to the affidavit.
