A Murder Shocks An Evansville, Indiana Retirement Community

On November 8, 2018, police in Evansville, Indiana, raced to Wood Duck Drive a little after 9 p.m. after a woman called 911 to report she had just heard a gunshot at her neighbor’s apartment. Her voice shook as she recounted hearing a knock and then a single shot.

The door was wide open, she told the dispatcher, and she could see the light on inside the neighbor’s apartment but no sign of its occupant.

When police arrived, the door frame to the small apartment was busted, and blood was pooled just inside the door. An older man was lying on the floor with a blood stain growing beneath him.

He was suffering from a gunshot wound high on his left leg. The officers radioed for EMS and began administering first aid. The victim was unresponsive, though officers could detect a faint pulse. When paramedics arrived, they realized the man was bleeding from a critical injury to his femoral artery. They rushed the man to the hospital, assisted by an officer who helped hold pressure on the wound.

Despite their efforts, the man later died from his injuries without ever regaining consciousness.

At the crime scene, some mail on a roll-top desk identified the man as Odie Carrier, Jr. Police spoke to neighbors to determine what had happened to the man. One neighbor told police that he’d seen a dark pickup truck racing away from the area with its lights turned out. Another neighbor pointed out Odie’s vehicle in the parking lot and told police that they often saw a female coming and going from his apartment.

There was a single .22 caliber shell casing on the sidewalk in front of Odie’s door. There were no other shell casings or bullet holes in the walls, leading police to conclude the shooter had only fired one shot. Inside, the man’s phone laid on the floor not far from where he’d fallen after being shot. Police believed he’d been shot at the door but had managed to crawl away before he lost consciousness.

The phone revealed that he’d been texting with a female named Taylor at 8:55, just a few minutes before the gunshot was reported to 911. According to text messages, Taylor was on the way to Odie’s apartment when he was shot.

Just a few hours later, patrol officers stopped a truck matching the description given by the witness at the scene. There were three people inside — two men and a young woman. Was one of them Taylor? Find out on The Murder Tapes on July 20 at 9/8c on ID. Previous episodes are available now on discovery+.