Inset: Brandon Criss (Greene County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Arson fire where a man was found stabbed to death (WXIN).
An Indiana man is behind bars after he allegedly killed his girlfriend’s stepfather who the suspect claimed was a child molester.
The investigation began early Sunday when first responders battling a fire at a home in Linton, some 90 miles southwest of Indianapolis, found the body of 64-year-old James “David” Higar in the bathroom, suffering from apparent stab wounds to the neck and shoulder. Authorities also found a dead dog.
According to a probable cause arrest affidavit from the Indiana State Police, a witness told troopers that a friend of his named Brandon Criss, 39, came to his home earlier in the night “covered in blood.” Criss allegedly showed him a picture of a man who appeared to be dead and was “bragging that he just killed David Higar.” The photo showed a man who looked to be “laying naked on a bathroom floor, bloody, beaten and wounded,” the affidavit said. Criss also allegedly admitted to setting Higar’s home on fire.
Higar’s nephew told cops his uncle and Criss had been “at odds with each other” and that Criss had previously threatened to kill “any of [his fiancee’s] family [that] came over to where he was staying,” the affidavit said. As officers were searching for Criss, dispatch received a call from a woman who said Criss had approached her son at a nearby gas station where the suspect asked him to take a Carhartt jacket and knife that Criss had because he “thought he killed someone,” per the affidavit.
Officers traveled to the gas station where they found Criss and noted he was wearing brown boots with red stains on them. They transported him to the Linton Police Department for an interview.
After receiving his Miranda warnings, Criss said he had been drinking for most of the day and had an argument with his girlfriend before going on a walk. He told cops Higar “gives him rides and helps whenever he needs it,” the affidavit said. Criss claimed he did not do anything to hurt the victim and didn’t understand why he was under arrest. He thought someone was setting him up.
“Where’s the physical evidence?!” Criss allegedly said. “It’s hearsay. They are lyin’ on me. It’s people trying to set me up. I got a lot of haters in this town, a lot of haters.”
But a photo in a “deleted photos” folder on Criss’ cellphone told a different story, according to the affidavit: it was allegedly the picture of Higar’s body that Criss had shown to his buddy earlier in the night.
When detectives confronted him with this information, Criss changed his tune.
“This was a hate crime against David Higar,” he allegedly said. “He’s a child molester and it was committed as a hate crime. I don’t want to be in state prison. If I’m going to prison for the rest of my life, make it federal prison. If this is a hate crime, I’ll be going federal.”
Detectives later spoke to Criss’ girlfriend who told them he had been sexually assaulted as a kid and that he “hated child molesters even though she though he and Higar were close,” cops wrote. She said while Criss is not typically a violent person, he becomes aggressive while drinking alcohol.
The affidavit did not say why Criss preferred federal prison nor provide any further details about his allegation against Higar.
Cops arrested Criss on charges of murder, arson and animal cruelty. He remains in the Greene County Jail without bond. His next court date is scheduled for Nov. 5.
