MUNCIE, Ind. — A Muncie man is in custody after police claim he shot, strangled and punched a woman he was in a relationship with during an argument on Sept. 17.
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed in Delaware County on Monday, 29-year-old Eric Newton was charged in relation to the Sept. 17 incident. Newton was charged with:
- One count of attempted murder, a Level 1 felony;
- One count of aggravated battery, a Level 3 felony;
- One count of domestic battery with a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony;
- One count of strangulation, a Level 6 felony.
According to an additional affidavit of probable cause filed in relation to the incident on Tuesday, Newton was also charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, a Level 4 felony. Newton previously had a conviction for dealing narcotic drugs.
Around 7 a.m. on Sept. 17, hospital police stated a woman had been brought by a neighbor to the emergency room with a reported gunshot wound to her lower back. The woman was transferred to the intensive care unit for emergency surgery.
In a conversation with the neighbor who had brought the woman to the hospital, the neighbor said she had been asleep when she heard something outside. The neighbor looked out her back door and saw the woman who had allegedly been shot screaming, “laying on the ground between the fence and a car parked in the yard.” The neighbor then drove the woman to the hospital.
During the Muncie Police Department’s investigation, the documents said police spoke with the woman’s mother. The mother told police the woman was in a relationship with Newton and that “there had been ongoing domestic violence issues, with Newton being violent…”
The documents claim that Newton had become violent towards the woman, hitting her and pulling her hair. When the woman ended up on the ground in “the fetal position,” Newton allegedly pulled out a gun and shot her. In an interview with the woman after surgery, she said during the altercation, Newton choked her for about 15 seconds and punched her in the face four to five times.
When police conducted the search of the home where the alleged incident occurred, the documents said police found broken eyeglasses, shoes and a cellphone lying on the ground next to a white Cadillac. The Cadillac had what appeared to be three bullet holes in it, along with what appeared to be blood on the back bumper.
According to the documents, Newton is currently being held in Delaware County Jail on no bond because of the attempted murder charge.
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