In the small town of Mitchell, Indiana, the community was unsettled by the death of 73-year-old Rodney E. Hays. What initially might have seemed like a quiet passing took a dark turn as law enforcement began to investigate the circumstances surrounding his demise. On a Tuesday evening, officers from the Lawrence County Sheriff's Department were dispatched to Hays's residence to conduct a welfare check.
Upon their arrival, deputies encountered a man, later identified as 53-year-old Shawn
Edward Hays, the son of Rodney Hays, who was hastily attempting to leave the property in a pickup truck. The situation escalated when officers observed a shotgun on the seat next to the driver. A brief struggle ensued as one deputy secured the weapon while another detained Shawn Hays. It was after this tense encounter that the grim discovery was made. In the yard of the residence lay the body of Rodney Hays.
The investigation into Rodney Hays's death was quickly deemed a homicide. Subsequently, his son, Shawn Edward Hays, was taken into custody at the scene. The Lawrence County Sheriff's Department, with assistance from the Indiana State Police and the Lawrence County Prosecutor's Office, began a thorough investigation into the events that led to the elderly man's death. Shawn Edward Hays was booked into the county jail as the primary suspect in his father's killing.
