In the summer of 2023, the life of 23-year-old Kenneth L Barnett Jr. was cut short in a fatal shooting on the far east side of Indianapolis. The incident occurred on the afternoon of June 27, 2023, at the Budget 8 Inn, a motel located in the 6800 block of East 21st Street. Officers from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department were dispatched to the scene following a report of a person shot. Upon their arrival, they discovered Barnett suffering from gunshot wounds.
Despite the efforts of emergency medical personnel who arrived shortly after, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators immediately began processing the scene, spending hours collecting evidence and reviewing surveillance footage from a neighboring hotel in an attempt to piece together the events that led to the shooting. For nearly a year, the case remained under active investigation as detectives worked to identify a suspect. A significant breakthrough came when investigators were able to identify 24-year-old Anthony Morst of Indianapolis as the alleged perpetrator. Evidence gathered by detectives, including text messages exchanged between Morst and Barnett leading up to the shooting, played a crucial role in his identification. It is alleged that a pillow was used to muffle the sound of the fatal gunshot.
In June of 2024, the Marion County Prosecutor's Office formally filed a murder charge against Anthony Morst, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. On June 18, 2024, members of the IMPD Violent Crimes Unit and the SWAT team located and apprehended Morst in the 2300 block of Danford Square. He was taken into custody without incident and arrested on the outstanding murder warrant for his alleged role in the death of Kenneth Barnett Jr. If convicted, Morst faces a potential sentence of up to 65 years in prison.
