A three week long death investigation closed out Monday evening after investigators arrested a Tell City man on murder charges.
Arrested and Charged with one county of murder was Randal L. Coalter, 45, of Tell City, IN.
Police do not have detailed information as to the relationship between the suspect and the victim, other than they did know each other previously and were acquaintances.
On March 4, 2017, the Perry County Sheriff’s Department requested the assistance of the Indiana State Police with the investigation into the death of 62-year-old David Weedman of Saint Croix. Initial reports to police indicated that Weedman died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his home; however, law enforcement fully investigated the death as suspicious.
An autopsy conducted on March 7 in Tell City revealed that the fatal wound sustained by Weedman was not consistent with a self-inflicted wound.
State Police investigators continued to pursue the investigation as a murder investigation.
Over the course of the next two weeks, the investigation led detectives to investigate Coalter.
Investigators learned that Weedman and Coalter had become involved in a physical altercation on March 1st in Weedman’s home. March 1st was the last time Weedman was seen alive.
“The information given to detectives leading them to arrest Coalter was direct and indirect information from a witness, which at this point I am not allowed, per department policy, to release,” said ISP Sergeant Philip Hensley.
Detectives presented enough evidence within a probable cause affidavit to obtain an arrest warrant for Coalter.
Coalter was arrested without incident March 21st and was lodged in the Perry County Security Center.
Indiana State Police detectives were assisted throughout the case by the Perry County Sheriff’s Department and the Tell City Police Department.
