JENNINGS COUNTY
A Jennings County man has been accused of murder and arson charges following a two-year investigation by the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies arrested Michael Wayne Hubbard, 36, of 1425 N. Cottonwood St., Butlerville, at 11:20 p.m. Tuesday after a warrant was issued for his arrest. Hubbard is being held at the Jennings County Jail without bond.
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Hubbard’s arrest stems from a lengthy investigation that started in May of 2019 following the death of 47-year-old Robert L. Head Jr. in Country Squire Lakes in North Vernon, investigators said.
According to court documents, deputies responded to a call of a car fire at 3:28 a.m. May 3, 2019, at RK Bait and Tackle, 1712 Bristol Court in North Vernon.
Before officers and fire arrived, dispatch received another 911 call saying a naked man was in a ditch off of Country Manor Street and Derbyshire Court East, deputies said.
When deputies arrived, they found Head with burns all over his body, according to the probable cause affidavit. Head was then transported to a hospital in Indianapolis for treatment, the affidavit said.
Detectives investigated the scene and were able to obtain video surveillance from the owner of the bait shop, according to court documents.
Court documents said the video showed two people in a blue, four-door Honda, outside the shop at 3:19 a.m. before a flash fire started inside the vehicle.
A passenger stood to the side of the car with the door open before running towards a wooded area, court documents said. It didn’t take more than a minute for the vehicle to be fully engulfed in flames, and Head was then seen leaving the vehicle and taking his burning clothes off, court documents said.
In body cam footage from the incident provided by Jennings County deputies, Head said a man had thrown gas on him, set him on fire, and the name of the man that did it was Mike, according to court documents.
During questioning by deputies, police asked Head if he had done methamphetamine or bath salts, and that he said he didn’t know the difference but that he had done drugs with Hubbard, court documents said.
Witnesses believed Hubbard had been given a ride by Head after doing some handyman work for a mutual acquaintance.
In his initial interview with police, Hubbard denied killing Head and told deputies he had just given him a ride home, court documents said. The affidavit said Hubbard told police there was a gas can in front on the floorboard of the vehicle when he was in it.
On June 24, 2019, Head, who was in a coma, was pronounced dead by the Marion County Coroner’ Office.
In later questioning, witnesses told detectives Hubbard had verbally told them he had killed Head, and he had been involved in multiple arsons, according to court documents.
Polygraph tests were conducted multiple times at the Columbus Police Department during the investigation.
On March 2, Jennings County Prosecutor Brian J. Belding signed off on the probable cause affidavit accusing Hubbard of murder and Level 2 felony charges of arson, according to court documents.