In the early hours of October 23, 2018, a dispute on the east side of Indianapolis turned deadly, claiming the life of 39-year-old Byron Miller. The incident unfolded shortly after 12:30 a.m. in the 500 block of North Rural Street, where police responded to calls of a person shot. Upon their arrival, officers discovered Miller with apparent gunshot wounds.
He was rushed to a local hospital but ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
The investigation into Miller's death revealed a heated argument preceded the fatal shooting. Witnesses informed detectives that Miller had confronted his neighbor, Perise Fowler, regarding an earlier altercation in which Fowler had allegedly struck Miller's girlfriend and another woman, who was pregnant. During this confrontation, Fowler produced a handgun and shot Miller in the chest. Following the shooting, Fowler fled the scene, managing to evade immediate capture. Investigators later discovered the murder weapon concealed in a doghouse at the residence where Fowler had been staying.
After a warrant was issued for his arrest, Perise Fowler was located and apprehended in Alabama on December 4, 2018, by the U.S. Marshals. He was extradited back to Indianapolis to face charges of murder and two counts of felony battery. In May 2021, a jury found Fowler guilty of murder and two counts of battery on a pregnant woman. He was subsequently sentenced to 45 years in the Indiana Department of Correction for his crimes.
