“Both victims were stabbed to death,” Whittaker said in a released statement.
Their bodies were discovered early Friday morning when deputies responded to the house after two women came in to the sheriff’s office just before 5 a.m. to report the deaths.
Deputies responded to a 911 hang-up call just 10½ hours earlier at the same residence, where 39-year-old Adam J. Uchyn met them in the driveway. Uchyn, who also lived at the house, told deputies he made the 911 call and filed a report alleging a theft and assault occurred but that the perpetrator had left.
“This report was a ruse he created to prevent the deputies from discovering the murder that had likely just occurred,” Whittaker said.
Investigators now believe Phipps made the 911 call, which ended abruptly with only the address provided by the caller. Dispatchers tried to call back but there was no answer.
Deputies who arrived at about 6:30 p.m. Thursday were told they were responding to a 911 hang-up call but they were not told of the caller’s gender before they encountered Uchyn, the sheriff said.
Credit: Darke County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Darke County Sheriff's Office
“The deputies took the complaint from Adam Uchyn at face value since they had no further information and were unaware of what had actually happened inside the house,” Whittaker said. “Uchyn remained outside during the interaction, which lasted approximately 40 minutes.”
The sheriff on Friday identified Uchyn as a suspect and asked for the public’s help to find him. He was arrested Friday night in Chicago and is in the Cook County Jail awaiting extradition on a felony probation warrant out of Darke County.
The double homicide remains under investigation and is under review by Darke County Prosecutor R. Kelly Ormsby III pending charges.
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