Docs: Son reportedly shot father, burn down his house in Elizabeth with help of friend

ELIZABETH, Ind. — A 23-year-old Elizabeth man and a 26-year-old Pekin man were arrested after they allegedly shot the Elizabeth man’s father and burned his house down in an attempt to cover it up.

According to court documents filed in Harrison County, David Woolsey Jr. and Edward Powers have both been preliminarily charged with:

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• Murder
• Arson resulting in serious bodily injury, a Level 2 felony
• Obstruction of justice, a Level 6 felony

Powers and Woosley Jr. were arrested early Friday morning, which law enforcement officials called “a significant milestone in a complex and thorough investigation.”

At around 2:24 a.m. on March 15, deputies with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office were called to a structure fire at an Elizabeth home. As crews were putting the fire out, a body was reportedly located among the ashes, a body later identified as 51-year-old David Woosley Sr.

An autopsy of the body found at the scene found that Woosley Sr. had two gunshot wounds in the back of the head and was likely dead before the fire began.

During a search of the home that burned down, investigators reportedly found a .30 caliber bullet that matched the same size and marks as the two bullets that were recovered from Woolsey Sr.’s body. They also reportedly found lead balls from shotgun shells at the scene.

In interviews with law enforcement, family members and friends detailed multiple conflicts between Woolsey Sr. and Woolsey Jr. Woolsey Jr. reportedly told police in an interview that he “mostly tried to avoid conflict” with Woolsey Sr.

When asked what he did the night of the shooting, Woolsey Jr. said he played video games at his home and went to bed around midnight.

When detectives asked Woolsey Jr. who he thought might have killed Woolsey Sr., Woolsey Jr. reportedly said “it might have been someone who he was involved with or someone he purchased drugs from.”

Law enforcement officials then asked Woolsey Jr. if he killed his father, to which he reportedly replied he said “no, I did not” while “slightly (moving) his head back and forth as if shaking his head no.” After his initial response, Woolsey Jr., unprompted, repeated that he did not kill him while his head reportedly moved “up and down… as if he was shaking his head yes.”

As the investigation continued, an anonymous tip led police to another interview with a person inside the home who told them that Woolsey Jr. was not in the home the morning of the shooting.

In an interview with another family friend, the friend told deputies to speak with Powers after law enforcement told him that the incident was being investigated as a homicide.

The interviews led police to conduct multiple searches, including searches of Woolsey Jr’s home and Powers’ home. At Woolsey Jr.’s home, they reportedly found multiple .30-caliber rifles, as well as a letter with the header of “Anger.”

“The letter talked about how anger can affect a person and that a person can use anger to fight against someone who is mistreating someone you care about,” the court documents read.

At Powers’ home, they reportedly found more firearms and later found a suppressor that was believed to have been on the rifle at the time of the shooting.

Police also searched ponds in Elizabeth, as well as near Powers’ home, where they found cases of shotgun shells, two cell phones, one of which had “visible damage that seemed to be intentional,” and a 12-gauge shotgun that reportedly belonged to Woolsey Jr.

Texts and photos on Powers’ phone also showed that Powers had a 300 blackout rifle, the gun that officials believe was used in the shooting. While looking through Powers’ phone, they reportedly found that the photo of this particular gun was “deleted specifically on” March 20, one day after detectives first spoke with Woolsey Jr.

Digital evidence collected by police also reportedly proved that multiple people, including Woolsey Jr. and other members of the family, lied about their whereabouts and alibis the night of the shooting. Cameras also reportedly captured Powers’ vehicle heading toward Woolsey Jr.’s home the night of the fire, both of whom were allegedly “missing at the time of the murder.”

In a news conference Otto Schalk, the prosecuting attorney for Harrison County, said that this was a “premeditated, calculated and intentional killing.”

“In my 15.5 years as being the prosecuting attorney of Harrison County, I have never seen a more thorough or thoughtful investigation than this case,” Schalk said. “The amount of hours spent, the attention to detain and the interagency cooperation is something that I’m extremely prod to be a part of.”

Harrison County Sheriff Nick Smith said that investigators used various means as part of their investigation, including:

• Security camera footage
• Cell phone history
• Social media activity
• Geolocation data
• Ballistics
• Cellular forensics
• Search warrants
• Purchase histories
• Text Messages
• Internet search history

Schalk said Woosley Jr. and Powers are being held in the Harrison County Jail without bail. Both will have jury trials tentatively scheduled for October, with both facing up to 65 years in the Indiana Department of Correction on the murder charge.