EVANSVILLE, In. (WEHT) – According to a police affidavit, 20-year-old Caden Wayne Harms of Evansville turned himself in on October 26 in connection with the investigation of a pair of murders on Mount Vernon Avenue.

The affidavit states that on October 21, Harms and an accomplice were picked up on Mary Street by a vehicle driven by Richard Dee Garrett, who is already in police custody. Garrett told police that while traveling to Evansville’s West Side, Harms and the other individual stopped to change clothes before parking near a residence on W. Virginia Street. Police say that the accomplice retrieved a handgun from a backpack before exiting the vehicle.

The affidavit states that Harms ran down an alleyway near Mount Vernon Avenue, with surveillance footage showing him acting in a “lookout” role, while his accomplice walked directly to the residence where the crime occurred. Garrett told police that after hearing gunshots, he transported them back to the Mary Street address, noting that the accomplice had blood stains on them.

According to the affidavit, detectives detained two individuals from the Mary Street address, who identified Harms and his accomplice. The individuals confirmed that the pair had returned to the address and burned their clothing on a grill. The affidavit states that a search of the residence turned up human blood stains inside the residence.

The affidavit goes on to state that during interrogation, Harms corroborated the information that detectives already had and told them that the accomplice, a cousin of his, had killed both Michael Blankenship and Mitchell Greathouse. He admitted that the two of them had planned to kill Blankenship in a robbery and that a fourth person was in on the plan and had provided the handgun. He also admitted that they had burned their clothes along with a wallet they had taken from one of the victims, stashed the shoes they wore and that he himself had buried the handgun near his residence. The handgun was recovered in a search.

Harms is facing the following charges:

  • 2 counts of murder
  • Robbery
  • Assisting a criminal
  • Obstruction of justice