Cops in Indiana take Bryce Winnecke into custody after he allegedly decapitated his father (WLKY).
Cops in Indiana made a grisly discovery when they found the body of a victim decapitated in his own house — and later recovered the head at another home.
It all began around 10 a.m. on Friday when the ex-wife of the victim, 73-year-old Erich V. Winnecke Sr., called police and requested a welfare check at his home in the 1700 block of Summerlin Place in Jeffersonville, which sits along the Hoosier State border with Kentucky. She was concerned for his safety because he and their son, 33-year-old Bryce William Winnecke, were having problems, a probable cause arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime said.
“This is going to sound graphic, but his head was cut off,” a 911 caller said, according to local NBC affiliate WAVE. “And we don”t know where his head is.”
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Cops went inside and made the shocking discovery.
“It was a very apparent homicide,” Jeffersonville police Detective Sam Moss told reporters.
The victim was discovered in his bedroom with “significant evidence of defensive wounds” and numerous stab wounds to the chest, the complaint said. Blood spatter covered the walls of the bedroom, cops wrote. Investigators also recovered a large knife with a blade roughly 1 foot long with a deformity that likely occurred when it came into contact with “hard substances.”
As investigators surveyed the scene, Bryce Winnecke spoke with his mother — who was at the victim’s house — on the phone.
“I killed him,” he allegedly told his mother. “I went over to dad’s because he is the evilest person that ever lived, I cut his head off.”
Officers learned he was at his mother’s house roughly a mile away in the 3000 block of Callaway Drive. He allegedly was carrying a plastic bag that was “approximately the size of a human head.” He also was holding a knife and ran inside when he saw cops, refusing to come out, according to the complaint.
The SWAT team responded to the scene and after tossing flash-bang devices into the home, cops were able to coax Winnecke outside after about four hours.
Following the standoff, cops went inside where they discovered the victim’s head in his son’s bedroom, per the affidavit.
“Let’s please keep in mind, we have a family that was affected by the result of this,” Chief Kenny Kavanaugh said, adding the scene was “horrific.”
Bryce Winnecke stands accused of murder and abuse of a corpse. He remains at the Clark County Jail.
Neighbors on Summerlin Place where the original crime occurred were stunned by all the police activity.
“It’s shocking because this is a safe neighborhood,” Randi Snider told local CBS affiliate WLKY. “When families have issues, it can hit anywhere. Just anywhere. So it’s sad.”
