An Indiana homeowner was charged with murder for allegedly shooting dead an unarmed man he falsely claimed threatened him with a sword at his front door.
Indiana State Police responded to a Saturday call from Kevin Campbell, 68, who told them there was a dead man in his yard suffering from a cardiac arrest, WKRC reported.
Campbell claimed that victim Christopher Proctor, 41, knocked on his bedroom window at about 5 pm on October 26.
He told officials that he grabbed his “small caliber rifle” and went to open his front door. where he said he found Proctor holding a sword and when he approached him with the weapon he shot him in the chest.
Police say that he told them that he had intended to fire a warning shot to scare Proctor, who was eventually found to be unarmed.
Campbell and Proctor had a relationship that lasted 11 months but had become estranged. It’s not clear what the nature of the relationship was.
Floyd County Prosecutor Chris Lane said the killing took place after Proctor had gone to Campbell’s home twice on October 26, first to drop off clothing.
After the shooting, Campbell allegedly lay in bed for 20 minutes and is accused of waiting two hours before notifying police, prompting an obstruction of justice charge.
Investigators say that during those two hours, he reportedly tried to move the body into the bed of his truck and only called the police once he realized he could not physically move the body.
He had tried to hide the man’s body out of fear of getting in trouble, according to WAVE. He hid Proctor’s phone in his car.
Campbell was taken into custody on the day of the shooting and later charged with murder, manslaughter, criminal recklessness with a firearm and obstruction of justice.
An obituary for Proctor states that the man had a “complicated life” but he “never gave up trying. He kept fighting the good fight.” He had been working in construction remodeling houses at the time of his death.
