More details and criminal charges have emerged against a Louisville, KY man for his involvement in the July death of Ashley Deaton-Hedge whose body was found in a remote location of southern Scott County.
Melvin C. Evans, 67, of 850 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd., remains in Scott County Jail on a $75,000 bond in connection with the woman’s death.
On Oct. 24, charges were filed by the Scott County Prosecutor’s Office against Evans for aiding in possession of methamphetamine, aiding in possession of a narcotic drug, altering the scene of death, failure to report handling of human remains, obstruction of justice, and false informing.
The charges stem from Evans actions on July 30 & 31, his involvement in the death of Deaton-Hedge and the disposal of her body, according to Scott County Prosecutor Chris Owens.
“This nearly 3 month investigation by Detective Jacklyn Shofner of the Scott County Sheriff’s Office was assisted from day one by multiple attorneys in our office,” said Owens.
According to the probable cause affidavit filed by Shofner, Evans said he had not spoken to Deaton Hedge for about two years until in late July she messaged him on Facebook Messenger asking if he would give her a ride from Clarksville to her mother’s home in Scottsburg.
Evans picked the woman up at the Target store in Clarksville and Deaton-Hedge used her cell phone and his cell phone in attempts to purchase drugs, specifically Xanax and heroin, according to the court document.
Evans said while at a Thornton’s gas station an unknown male gave Ashley information on where she could purchase drugs. Evans said he drove her to an apartment complex near Cane Run Road in Louisville, KY. An unknown male approached the passenger side window and Evans witnessed the man provide Deaton-Hedge with a powdery like substance, according to the court document.
Evans told Shofner that Deaton-Hedge snorted the powdery substance and reportedly said, “This ain’t doing nothing.”
According to the probable cause affidavit, Evans stated she snorted the substance again and was unresponsive within five minutes.
Evans said he drove to a parking lot off Dutchman’s Lane in Louisville and fell asleep. When he woke up the next morning, he advised woman’s head was positioned in his lap and was cold to the touch. Evans told the detective that he realized that Deaton-Hedge was deceased.
Evans described driving around Louisville and into southern Indiana to dump the woman’s body because he did not want law enforcement to believe he provided her with the drugs, according to Shofner’s probable cause.
Evans said he located a vacant property off Underwood Road to dump her body between two storage containers. After doing so, he said he drove to the Henryville Forestry to sleep.
When he awoke, he realized Ashley’s phone and purse were still in his vehicle. He was concerned that family or friends would track her location, so he drove to Eastern Boulevard and threw her phone in a trash, according to the court document.
“The charges filed are based upon the facts presented to us at this time and the Prosecutor’s Office is continuing to request the Sheriff’s Office further investigate this matter so that the person who provided the drugs that resulted in Ashley’s death can be identified,” said Owens.
Although the charges at this time are based upon the facts uncovered by the investigation thus far, it is our hope that further investigation will yield facts that allow us to determine who other people were involved and whether or not more serious charges are merited, he said.
Owens said it is his position that when drugs are sold and those drugs result in an overdose death, that a homicide has been committed.
“Our office vows to aggressively pursue justice in these matters when the evidence and investigations so allow us that opportunity,” he said. “Further, we have instructed our local law enforcement agencies to treat these investigations as homicides, and our office is available to help during the investigative process.”
He said he and officers with the Austin Police Department recently traveled to Indianapolis and participated in a training regarding overdose death investigations. I plan to attend additional training on this topic with officers from our other local law enforcement agencies in the first quarter of 2023.
“We want to see that overdose death investigations are given the importance they deserve and that the investigations are being done in ways that lead to evidence that will hold up in Court,” Owens said.