A man was arrested by the Miami County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio after he admitted to police in a neighboring jurisdiction that he fatally shot an old friend, purportedly by accident.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the Union Township residence of Michelle Elliott, 57, on the evening of March 27 after police in Miamisburg, Ohio, in neighboring Montgomery County informed them over dispatch that she was dead from a shooting.
Miamisburg Police knew this because Brian Mason, 58, had walked up to them, around 25 miles south of where the shooting occurred, and turned himself in, saying he had an accident the previous night.
“I was showing an old friend of mine how to use this gun that she was needing, that she asked for, and it went off and shot her in the chest,” Mr. Mason told Miamisburg Police officers, as caught on body camera footage acquired by WHIO-TV, a Dayton CBS affiliate.
The firearm was a .40-caliber handgun, according to an affidavit acquired by the Dayton Daily News. After the discharge of the weapon, Mr. Mason covered Elliott’s body with a blanket and left.
Mr. Mason explained further that he was living out of his pickup truck as well as motels and drove around for hours after the incident.
After Miami County Sheriff’s Office deputies interviewed Mr. Mason at the Miamisburg Police Department, he was charged with murder Tuesday and taken to the Miami County Jail.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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