MUNCIE, Ind. — The Muncie Police Department said it is investigating the death of a 19-year-old man, whose body was found one day after he was reported missing, as a homicide.
A close family member of the man told FOX59 he is the third victim in his family killed this week.
According to police, officers were provided information on Thursday regarding the possible location of a body. After investigating further, Muncie officers found the remains of a man in the area of County Road 475 E. and S. Windsor Road.
MPD said the victim, identified as Kyler Musick, 19, was reported missing on Wednesday, July 13 after family members said they were unable to make contact with him following a double homicide that happened at his family’s home in the 2900 block of S. Liberty Street.
A close family member of Musick said that he had met up with some of his friends. The friends shot and killed Musick, the family member said, and then went to his house to rob him but weren’t aware Musick’s grandpa and great aunt also lived at the home. During the home invasion, the friends who allegedly killed Musick then also killed his great aunt and grandpa, according to this family member.
Police confirmed early Friday morning that Musick’s killing is being investigated in conjunction with the slayings of 69-year-old Malcolm Perdue and 51-year-old Kyndra Swift at a home on S. Liberty Street, but they had not yet confirmed the familial relationship between the victims.
On Friday, the department also said three arrests had been made in connection to the homicide investigation on S. Liberty St. and that police were not looking for any additional suspects.
“All suspects have been accounted for and there is no active threat to the public,” wrote MPD Deputy Chief Melissa Criswell.
Police confirmed the identities of two suspects arrested in the double slaying as Daniel Lamar Jones, and Devin Xavier Myers, both 27 years old. The identity of the third suspect has not yet been released.
The two men are currently being held without bond at the Delaware County Jail. While formal charges have not been filed yet, Delaware County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Hoffman said, he expects to file formal charges early next week.
“At this time it is premature to make a decision one way or the other on whether I intend to seek the death penalty in this case. However, I can say that it is certainly on the table,” he shared with FOX59.
Court documents obtained Friday by FOX59 show that Devin Myers was on parole under the supervision of the New Castle District of the Indiana Department of Parole at the time of his alleged role in the homicides.
A probable cause affidavit indicated that Myers was released from the Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) in May 2022 for armed robbery, however, IDOC clarified to FOX59 that Myers was released in November of 2021 from IDOC and sent to the Kosciusko County Jail until he was released on May 31st.
The affidavit reveals more details about Myers and Jones’ alleged roles in the double homicide investigation at the home on S. Liberty St.
According to police, officers were called to the S. Liberty St. address early Wednesday morning, just before 5, and found Perdue and Swift dead from apparent gunshot wounds.
Police said the initial investigation leads them to believe that the victims were shot to death during a home invasion, which corroborates information shared with FOX59 by a family member of the victims.
An affidavit shows: through several investigative methods, police were able to identify Myers as being connected to the killings. As the investigation continued several hours after the shooting, at about 2:20 p.m. on July 13, Delaware County 911 received a call regarding a suspected overdose at a home in the 2100 block of S. Pershing Drive, the same address on record for Myers.
Police found Myers unconscious at the home in Muncie, where he had apparently overdosed. When they took him to the hospital and tried to get a DNA sample, court documents say he became confrontational with police and made several unsolicited comments, including “you’ll never find Devin Myers’ gun.”
While MPD has not released specifics on Musick’s death, including cause of death, court documents indicate investigators may have had information to believe he had been killed even before his body was found.
According to court documents, investigators later found a Jeep Grand Cherokee linked to Musick, who had recently been reported missing. The PC shows police indicated it appeared someone attempted to hide the SUV and when a search warrant was executed, investigators found what appeared to be blood on the center console.
An affidavit shows that investigators also interviewed Jones, who admitted to being with Myers the night of July 12 into the early morning hours on July 13.
“Jones advised that while he was with Myers, Myers told him that he (Myers) had shot his friend in the face, wrapped the body in plastic and then got rid of the body,” the affidavit read.
Jones also told investigators that a female with Myers helped him wrap up and dispose of the body, documents show.
The affidavit then details what detectives were told about the hours to follow.
Court documents show that Jones admitted that he and Myers entered the Liberty St. residence, both armed with handguns, with the intentions of participating in a robbery. He also reportedly told police that he fled from the home after hearing gunshots and seeing Myers with an older man in the rear of the house.
The two named suspects were taken into custody and face preliminary charges, including murder, robbery, and criminal confinement. The jail status of the third suspect remains unknown.
Police said the investigation into Musick’s death as well as the pair of homicides at the Liberty St. home remain under investigation.
“The Muncie Police Department, together with the prosecutor’s staff, have worked around the clock to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding this case,” Hoffman said.
Police are still asking anyone with information on the case to call the Muncie Police Department Detective Division at 765-747-4867 or dispatch at 765-747-4838.
