Charlestown homicide victim identified

Aprile Rickert, The Evening News and the Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind.
·2 min read

Feb. 26—JEFFERSONVILLE — Police have identified the man fatally shot at a Charlestown home this week, and the person accused of his killing has formally been charged with murder.

The Clark County Sheriff's Office confirmed Friday that 55-year-old David Hutchens of the Las Vegas area died Wednesday after being shot by his girlfriend's nephew.

Curtis W. Johnson, 31, of Bardstown in Nelson County, Ky., has been charged with the homicide. He appeared via Zoom for an initial hearing Friday morning in Clark County Circuit Court No. 1, two days after his arrest for the shooting. A not guilty plea was entered on Johnson's behalf and a public defender appointed. He remains held without bond.

On Wednesday, family members gathered at a home in the 1600 block of Indiana 62 in Charlestown to settle an estate after the death of another family member. They heard what sounded like a gunshot and found the victim unresponsive, the News and Tribune previously reported. Johnson was still on scene when officers with the Clark County Sheriff's Office arrived, and he was taken into custody after initially giving a false identity.

According to court records released Friday morning, one family member who lives at the house said the defendant had been acting strangely when he arrived Tuesday, and refused to leave when asked. A family member also said she had been lying down in the living room as Hutchens, the victim, watched TV in there, and that Johnson walked in and apologized then left the room. The family member closed her eyes and a moment later heard a gunshot. When she opened her eyes, the woman said Johnson was standing near Hutchens and staring at him; she ran to hide in another area.

Two other family members were in the garage at this time and heard a loud noise; they ran to the living room and found Hutchens dead. Court records show they told police Johnson had been nearby and spoke of demons; his shotgun was also in the room.

The woman who had hidden following the shot reported that Johnson had tried to kick in the door where she had locked herself, and shoe marks were present.

An autopsy conducted Friday morning in Clark County pointed to the gunshot wound as the cause of death, the sheriff's department reported.

Johnson has pretrial conferences set for March 25 and April 22 with a jury trial scheduled for 9 a.m. July 13.