Background: The Owen County Security Center in Spencer, Indiana (Google Maps). Inset: Samantha Mayhew (Owen County Prosecutor's Office).
An Indiana woman is accused of killing another woman during a fight after the suspect inquired about the victim's custody of her child.
Samantha Mayhew, 33, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Kiersten Moore, the Owen County Prosecutor's Office announced. The defendant is being held in the Owen County Security Center on a $30,000 bond.
At around 12:30 on Saturday morning, Mayhew and Moore, whose age is unclear, were at a bonfire in rural Indiana, according to Bloomington-based newspaper The Herald-Times, which cited a probable cause affidavit. At some point, a fight between the two women broke out, with witnesses calling Mayhew the aggressor.
One witness said Mayhew asked Moore why she didn't have custody of her child, and that after they started fighting, Mayhew grabbed the victim's hoodie, causing both of them to fall toward a rock pile, local Fox affiliate WXIX reported. The affidavit added that police learned the suspect may have put Moore in a chokehold.
As Owen County Sheriff's Office deputies were responding to a call to the property on Private Road 525 West, they reportedly saw Mayhew walking along a road. She is said to have had a large laceration to her cheek and blood all over her face and clothes, and she reportedly smelled like alcohol and had an "[a]busive attitude."
An officer stopped her and asked her what happened, the affidavit stated. Mayhew allegedly said that "they were trying to get her for that girl not breathing."
She reportedly made several other remarks, such as, "the b— started it," "I don't know, she came at me," and "I did this."
A witness said that Mayhew was "f— up" on alcohol and "a whole bunch of other stuff," the affidavit added. The defendant was also alleged to have been seen on top of the victim during the fight, with someone other than Moore believed to have caused Mayhew's injuries in an attempt to get her off the victim.
Responding authorities found Moore unconscious, with an officer reporting that she did not appear to have any obvious visible injuries, per WXIX. She was transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Mayhew was arrested and charged that day.
The Owen County Sheriff's Office said that though an autopsy on Moore was conducted on Tuesday, a cause of death had not yet been determined. The agency asked people to "not post speculations, theories, opinions, or rumors out of respect for the victim and her family."
Following her initial appearance in court on Monday, Mayhew is scheduled to return on April 16.
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