In the summer of 2022, a horrific triple homicide shattered the community of Muncie, Indiana, claiming the life of 69-year-old Malcolm Edward Perdue, a white male. On the morning of July 13th, Perdue and a woman named Kyndra K. Swift, 51, were discovered shot to death inside a residence on South Liberty Street in what appeared to be a home invasion robbery.
The tragedy deepened when, the following evening, the body of Perdue's 19-year-old grandson, Kyler Ryan Musick, was found near Prairie Creek Reservoir. He too had been fatally shot.
The investigation swiftly led to the apprehension of two suspects: Devin Xavier Myers, 27, and Daniel L. Jones, also 27. The Delaware County Prosecutor's Office filed a litany of charges against the pair. Myers faced five counts of murder, armed robbery, criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit robbery, and obstruction of justice. The multiple murder charges against Myers stemmed from different sections of the murder statute, including 'felony murder,' which pertains to a killing that occurs during the commission of another serious felony. Jones was charged with two counts of murder, aiding, inducing, or causing armed robbery, criminal confinement with a deadly weapon, and conspiracy to commit robbery.
Authorities alleged that both men were involved in the robbery that led to the deaths of Perdue and Swift. Myers was specifically accused of being the one who killed all three victims. The gravity of the crimes prompted the county prosecutor to announce that the death penalty was being considered for the accused. It was also noted that both Myers and Jones had prior unrelated felony convictions, which led to the prosecution seeking to have them declared habitual offenders. The case was filed in Delaware Circuit Court, with an initial hearing scheduled for July 20, 2022.
