Docs: Anderson man charged with killing wife in domestic violence incident

ANDERSON, Ind. –An Anderson man has been charged after his wife reportedly died from a brain bleed resulting from alleged domestic violence.

According to court documents, 48-year-old John Daughtery has been charged with murder in relation to an incident that occurred in October 2024. Madison County court officials are also seeking a habitual offender enhancement.

On Oct. 11, 2024, officers with the Anderson Police Department were dispatched to an Anderson home in reference to a medical assist. When crews arrived, they found Leslie Houston on the floor of the home.

Daughtery, identified as Houston’s husband, reportedly told police at the time that he had returned home from work and Houston had fallen. Daughtery reportedly found Houston asleep on the floor. Daughtery reportedly woke her up and moved her to the couch.

Later that evening, Daughtery told police that he heard what he thought was Houston vomiting on the couch, causing him to put her on her side and call 911.

“Daughtery denied any history of abuse between himself and Houston,” the court documents said.

The documents said that a CT scan found that Houston had a “massive intracranial injury,” something that officials determined was “not survivable.” Houston reportedly had other injuries that were “consistent with domestic abuse” including bruises.

On Oct. 15, 2024, Houston was taken off life support and pronounced dead, coming after medical staff stated that Houston also had a brain bleed that was “believed to be caused by blunt force trauma.”

The documents stated that law enforcement conducted interviews with family members who provided details on reported domestic violence incidents involving Houston and Daughtery. A family member reportedly provided a voicemail to police where Houston allegedly detailed that she was “done” after she had a head injury.

“(In the voicemail,) Houston tells (the family member) that Daughtery has been hitting her and will continue to hit her,” the documents said. “Houston states she is ready to leave him and do the paperwork for a protective order.”

A different family member reportedly saw another domestic violence incident in February 2024. The documents said that the other family member reportedly saw Daughtery on top of Houston, choking her and hitting her head on the floor.

In a second interview with Daughtery, he reportedly said that the bruising and injuries on Houston’s body were from her drinking and falling when she was drunk. Daughtery once again denied that there was a history of domestic violence in that second interview.