An inmate at the Jackson County Jail has been charged with the murder of a North Vernon man.
Alan Joseph Marantos, 34, of North Vernon has been charged in the death of Brian K. Kirby, 52, who has been missing since March 27.
According to a news release from the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department, police began investigating the disappearance of Kirby after he was last seen alive at an address on Primshire Court near North Vernon.
During the investigation, police were able to determine Marantos attacked Kirby and then loaded Kirby’s body in a vehicle and left the property, police said.
Marantos took Kirby’s body to another location, where it was burned. Then he discarded the remains at multiple locations around Jennings County.
Police said investigators collected evidence, including human remains, at numerous locations during their investigation.
The Indiana State Police Laboratory recently determined DNA from some of the recovered human remains matched the DNA of Kirby.
In addition to the murder charge, Marantos faces a Level 3 felony charge of aggravated battery, two Level 6 felony charges of abuse of a corpse and obstruction of justice and a misdemeanor charge of intimidation.
Marantos was arrested April 2 in Seymour on a charge of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury.
The investigation into that incident began when Seymour officers were alerted to a man who appeared to have been battered walking near Second Street and Carter Boulevard.
According to court records, the man said he met Marantos through a mutual friend, and Marantos had offered to give him and his wife a ride from Country Squire Lakes in North Vernon to Seymour. Sometime during the trip, the man cashed a check for $700 and gave some of the money to Marantos as payment for the gas used during the trip.
Police said the man said Marantos asked him if he wanted to hang out later, and the man agreed. Marantos later returned, picked up the man and brought him to an abandoned house in Seymour.
Once there, Marantos punched the man from behind and took cash from his pockets before fleeing, according to court records.
Marantos remains at the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown. He will soon face an initial appearance in Jennings Circuit Court.
Officers from numerous agencies in south central Indiana, including Indiana State Police, Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and Seymour Police Department, assisted with the investigation.
Find the story in Friday’s Tribune.