In the early afternoon of February 19, 2025, a grim discovery was made on the south side of Indianapolis. A passerby stumbled upon a car with its door ajar behind the Greenwood Place Shopping Center in the 7600 block of Shelby Street. Inside the vehicle, authorities found the body of 21-year-old Demetrius Starks, a male who had sustained fatal gunshot wounds.
The Marion County Coroner's office would later rule his death a homicide, prompting an intensive investigation by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
Detectives quickly went to work, canvassing the area and analyzing evidence left at the scene. Their efforts soon pointed them toward a suspect: 32-year-old Joshua Blackwell of Kokomo. Investigators tracked Blackwell's movements to Noblesville and Kokomo. In a collaborative effort with the police departments in those cities, Blackwell was apprehended in Noblesville on February 28, just over a week after Starks' body was found.
Following his arrest, Joshua Blackwell was charged with the murder of Demetrius Starks. In addition to the murder charge, he faces accusations of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, obstruction of justice, and theft with a prior conviction. Court records indicate that a jury trial for Blackwell is scheduled to commence on May 5, as the legal process to bring closure to the untimely death of Demetrius Starks moves forward.
