The pending housing dispute provides context for McCullough’s visit to the property, while police records describe the evidence found after his son called for help.
COLUMBUS, Ind. — An unfinished eviction case became part of a murder investigation after an 89-year-old Columbus landlord went to a Pearl Street property and was later found dead inside the home of the tenant he was trying to remove, according to police and court-document accounts.
Bartholomew County prosecutors have charged Rudy Minton, 49, with murder in the death of Jerrell “Jerry” McCullough. Police arrested Minton after finding McCullough on July 21 in the tenant’s side of a duplex in the 1400 block of Pearl Street. The housing dispute is a significant piece of the timeline because court proceedings involving Minton’s tenancy were already underway, but authorities have not publicly established every event that occurred between McCullough’s arrival at the property and the discovery of his body.
Local reporting based on the probable cause affidavit says Minton was behind on rent and McCullough was pursuing eviction. McCullough’s adult son told police about those proceedings after becoming concerned about his father’s whereabouts. The existence of an eviction case explains why the landlord and tenant had an unresolved financial and legal relationship. It does not, on the public record now available, establish a motive as a proven fact. Prosecutors will still have to show what happened and why the evidence satisfies Indiana’s murder statute.
McCullough’s son became alarmed when he could not reach his father and found his father’s vehicle outside the duplex. The SUV was unlocked, something the son told authorities was unusual for McCullough. He then encountered Minton at the residence but was allegedly prevented from entering to look for his father. The son contacted 911 and told Minton that officers were coming, according to accounts of the charging documents. What had begun as concern about an elderly man’s absence was therefore tied almost immediately to the rental property and its tenant.
The call reached Columbus police at about 8:36 p.m. July 21. Authorities were also hearing from another person. According to the probable cause affidavit, a woman told dispatch that she believed her friend may have done something to the landlord and wanted officers to check on him. The public sources do not fully explain what caused that caller to become suspicious or what information she had. That uncertainty matters because her reported concern was part of the police response but should not be treated as independent proof of what occurred inside the duplex.
Officers arriving at the address contacted Minton before locating McCullough. Police say Minton repeatedly referred to having swallowed bleach. When officers asked where the landlord was, Minton allegedly said McCullough was inside in a trash container. Minton was detained, and officers entered the home. Police found a dead man who was later identified by the Bartholomew County Coroner’s Office as McCullough. Detectives and crime-scene investigators then spent hours processing the residence.
The physical scene became the center of the criminal case. The Columbus Police Department initially said McCullough showed apparent signs of blunt-force trauma. Reports based on the probable cause affidavit said investigators found blood inside the residence and described injuries to McCullough’s head and face. Police also obtained warrants to search the home, McCullough’s vehicle and items belonging to Minton, according to WDRB’s account of the affidavit. The initial police release said the precise cause and manner of death remained under investigation and that a forensic autopsy would be conducted.
Searches also produced property that investigators said belonged to McCullough. Local reporting says officers found items taken from or associated with McCullough’s vehicle, as well as personal identification or wallet contents, inside the residence. Police said Minton had the key fob to McCullough’s vehicle. Investigators further reported apparent blood spatter on Minton’s glasses and documented bruises, scratches and other marks that they considered consistent with a possible struggle. Those observations are part of the probable cause showing used to support a charge; their evidentiary significance has not yet been determined at trial.
Authorities also cited statements Minton allegedly made after police arrived. At the scene, he allegedly told an officer, “I just thought I could pull it off, I’m sorry.” While he was later being examined at a hospital, detectives performed a gunshot-residue test, and Minton reportedly commented that there had been no gun involved. During transport, the affidavit says he made another statement about people who are not “despicable” doing despicable things and asked an officer to pray for him. The state may consider those statements important, but the complete context in which they were made is not available in the sources reviewed for this article.
A social-media post became another part of the timeline investigators assembled. Police learned of a Facebook message attributed to Minton that apologized to others and said they would learn what had happened soon enough. Reports differ slightly in how they describe the post’s timing relative to officers’ arrival, so the most reliable conclusion is that it appeared during the period surrounding the welfare-check response. The affidavit’s reference to the post places it alongside the physical evidence and Minton’s alleged statements, rather than establishing a separate account of the killing.
The legal posture changed a week after the death. Columbus police announced on July 22 that Minton had been arrested on a preliminary murder charge and was being held without bond. On July 28, Bartholomew County Prosecutor Lindsey Holden’s office formally filed a murder charge, according to local news reports. The case was assigned to Bartholomew Superior Court 1, with Judge Jim Worton identified in local coverage as the judge responsible for setting the initial proceedings. Filing a charge means prosecutors believe there is a basis to proceed; it is not a finding of guilt.
The eviction matter therefore remains relevant but incomplete context. The records reviewed establish that landlord and tenant were in a legal dispute over the tenancy, that McCullough went to the property, and that his son subsequently found circumstances alarming enough to call police. They do not establish, without further evidence, the precise conversation or confrontation that may have occurred between the two men. No verified source reviewed for this article provides an eyewitness account of the fatal encounter itself.
Sources consulted do not show that the murder case has reached a final resolution. Minton remains a defendant accused of killing McCullough, and the alleged statements, recovered property and physical evidence described by investigators would be subject to the rules of the criminal court. What started as a dispute over possession of a rental home has moved into a far more serious legal proceeding in which prosecutors carry the burden of proving the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
Author note: Last updated Aug. 29, 2026.