John Jefferson
Inset: Caleb Ingram (Madison County Sheriff’s Department). Background: The suburban home where Ingram’s brother was killed (Google Maps).
An Indiana man is behind bars for killing his own brother over a paltry amount of money, according to police in the Hoosier State.
Caleb Xavier Ingram, 21, stands accused of one count of murder, according to Madison County Sheriff’s Department records.
The defendant is believed to have almost immediately regretted the argument and the rare bout of violent rage, police say.
The incident occurred late in the evening on Oct. 30 at a residence on East Second Street in Anderson, a medium-sized city some 40 miles northeast of Indianapolis. A 911 call about a stabbing came in at around 11:49 p.m., according to the Anderson Police Department.
Responding officers said they were greeted at the door by the defendant, who then led them inside and upstairs to the scene of the crime, according to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by Indianapolis-based Fox affiliate WXIN.
Inside the house on the suburban, tree-lined street, police found William Henry Ingram IV, 22, with a knife wound to the left side of his neck, the affidavit says. Efforts to save the young man’s life were all in vain — he was rushed to a nearby hospital where he eventually succumbed to his injuries.
The telltale signs of violence were spread throughout the shattered home, police allege.
Officers say there were bloody barefoot footprints on the floor; blood in a hallway, bedroom, and bathroom; and a smallish or medium-sized orange knife outside of the defendant’s bedroom.
Caleb Ingram was also covered in blood — but allegedly not his own. Responding officers assessed the defendant needed “possible medical treatment” because he had a “large amount of blood on him” and took him to a hospital, according to the court document. Doctors discovered, however, that he had no injuries whatsoever.
A review of body-worn camera footage by detectives provided law enforcement with the alleged killer’s presumed motive.
Before invoking his right to counsel, Caleb Ingram said his older brother “spent some money that [Caleb Ingram] was going to spend on [his] girlfriend,” according to the affidavit obtained by the TV station.
“I just took it to heart,” the defendant allegedly told responding officers.
Police say Caleb Ingram also made several unprovoked admissions of guilt and remorse while alone in the back of a patrol car — while talking to himself — that were captured by an in-car video camera.
The affidavit contains the following external dialogue:
Jesus please let him live. Jesus, I’m sorry. I won’t ever talk bad about him no more…I don’t want my brother to die. I don’t want to be like Cain… I’ve got a future, I can’t go to jail. $10 dollars, you’re going to get mad at him for $10 dollars?
“William, I’m so sorry,” the defendant allegedly continued, alone and grieving, in the back of the police vehicle. “I love you so much. Please let him live. I’m so sorry. I will never pick up another knife.”
During a custodial interview, Caleb Ingram is said to have asked detectives about his brother’s health “several times,” the affidavit says.
Finally, the defendant was told that his brother did not survive. Police say that upon hearing the bad news, the alleged killer’s legs “went limp [and] he went to the floor and began breathing heavily.”
The instance of fatal violence was seemingly bespoke — at least so far as the brothers’ loved ones knew.
When questioned by police, the Ingram parents said the two close-in-age siblings did “get into altercations” before — but that they had never once fought each other physically until the day in question.
Caleb Ingram is currently being detained in the Madison County Jail with no bond.
Law&Crime reached out to the Anderson Police Department for additional details on this story but no response was immediately forthcoming at the time of publication.
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