EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) – The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office (VCSO) released more details on an investigation at Cypress Dale Road.
VSCO says a passerby called 911 around 4:43 pm on February 27 after seeing a man on the ground bleeding outside the residence.
“Yes I’ve got a medical emergency . There is a man down here, he is bleeding tremendously,” the caller told dispatch.
Sheriff deputies responded and found 42-year-old Chad Wildt of Evansville, outside with a gunshot wound to the face. Chad’s brother, 36-year-old Shawn Wildt of Mt. Vernon, was found dead from a gunshot wound to the torso inside the house. We are told that the Wildt brothers arrived at the house after seeing a motion alert on their trail camera. Family member say they set up the camera after having issues with trespassers.
Law enforcement officials say shortly after deputies arrived, a male juvenile called 911 to report that he and a friend had been at the address.
The juvenile told Dispatch that people the brothers arrived at the residence and assaulted his friend 18-year-old Austin Ousley of Evansville, who then shot both people. The juvenile said that he was no longer with Ousley, and the juvenile was taken to the Vanderburgh County Operations Center to be interviewed by detectives.
Law enforcement officials then began a search for Ousley, who made self-incriminating social media posts and was eventually located behind the Rural King on Morgan Avenue by a friend with whom he had been communicating. VCSO says Ousley was found in his vehicle with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and was transported to a local hospital. Deputies say Ousley was later transferred to a hospital in Indianapolis where he is listed in critical condition.
VCSO says the juvenile was interviewed, and in his statement, he told investigators that he and Ousley had entered what they believed to be an abandoned house to take pictures. The juvenile said that he believed they had been in the house several weeks prior to do the same thing. He said he and Ousley liked to go to various locations in the area to take pictures.
Detectives noted that both the storm door and entry door on one side of the house had been forced open. VCSO says evidence reveals that the shooting happened inside the residence and that the survivor exited the house before collapsing near the roadway.
Deputies say the juvenile was taken into custody for Residential Entry and transported to the Youth Care Center pending a hearing in Juvenile Court. VCSO says the investigation is continuing and the Sheriff’s Office is in consultation with the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office on potential charges should Ousley survive.
VCSO says an autopsy on the deceased victim will be conducted by the Vanderburgh County Coroner’s Office.
