Jury selection will continue into the second day of the Anthony Carter murder trial in Bartholomew Superior Court 1.
Carter, 50, of Indianapolis is accused of killing 40-year-old Ashley Neville inside her home along County Road 650S on April 16, 2023. An autopsy performed in Hamilton County, Ohio, determined the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.
While jury selection began at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, the courtroom was still packed with potential jurors at 3:30 p.m. Judge James Worton asked all potential jurors to return by 8:15 a.m. Wednesday, so jury selection can resume at 8:30.
Although some local residents were seated, Bartholomew County Prosecutor Lindsey Holden-Kay said she is not allowed to say exactly how many individuals were chosen during the day-long selection process on Tuesday. Twelve jurors and two alternates will be selected from a jury pool of about 120 people, court officials said.
Holden-Kay estimates the entire jury will be chosen by late morning, with opening statements made by both the prosecutor and public defender Greg Long after the lunch break.
On Dec. 2, 2023, a notice was filed with the court stating that Carter was planning to use an insanity defense.
Following state law, Worton ordered that the defendant be examined by psychologist Kevin Hurley and psychiatrist George Parker. Parker’s evaluation was filed with the court on April 11 while Hurley’s report was submitted May 1.
While those evaluations will not be made public, Long informed the court on Sept. 26 that his client was dropping the insanity defense.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Carter told investigators a small pistol fired and struck Neville as he was attempting to grab it away from her, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Deputies were sent to Neville’s home near Azalia during the early morning hours of April 16 for a welfare check on the female resident, Duke said. He added that deputies were unable to make contact with anyone at the residence.
During the investigation, a property owner reported an abandoned suspicious vehicle in a field in the 2000 block of East County Road 800S, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s spokesman Dane Duke said. After further investigation, the vehicle was found to be connected to the victim’s residence, according to the court document.
While investigating the suspicious vehicle, a neighbor reported a male subject hiding in the woods near the County Road 650S address, Duke said. A perimeter was established around the wooded area and a sheriff’s office K9 was called to conduct a search. Deputies located Carter a short time later, the spokesman said.
As the investigation continued, a search warrant was granted for the residence. The victim was found deceased inside the residence, according to investigators.
There was a no contact order intended to keep Carter, the victim’s former live-in boyfriend, away from Neville at the time of the murder, investigators said.
