UPDATE: The Monroe County Coroner has identified the victim as Caleb Cowden, 29, of Bloomington.
BLOOMINGTON — A man has been charged with murder after he shot another person during a suspected drug deal at an apartment and attempted to dispose of crime evidence, a probable cause affidavit alleges.
Gary W. O'Bryant, 56, was arrested Feb. 8 after Bloomington police found him sleeping on a couch with the victim's body wrapped in blankets bound with rope in another room, according to the affidavit.
The victim was identified as Caleb Cowden, 29, of Bloomington.
He was shot about 9 p.m. Feb. 7 in the 900 block of West Graham Drive, according to the affidavit.
A group of people was meeting a person staying in an apartment with O'Bryant there to purchase drugs when a gunshot was heard outside a bedroom.
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Cowden was shot once in his head, the affidavit alleges.
After the shooting, O'Bryant yelled, "I told you [expletive] don't bring that [expletive] around here! I told you I was going to kill that [expletive]!"
O'Bryant later said he did not know why he shot the victim and was seen walking westbound on Graham Drive toward Rockport Road.
Police said they were called to the scene about 1:15 a.m. and initially did not find any suspicious activity but later requested a search warrant after they were told additional information.
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While executing the warrant, officers found O'Bryant lying on a couch with a bedroom door locked. Police entered the room to find Cowden's body, according to the affidavit.
Officers also discovered evidence that someone had tried to clean up the crime scene, as well as a gun magazine with unused 9mm bullets inside the apartment.
An identical gun magazine and two handguns were found near Graham Drive and Rockport Road, where O'Bryant had been seen walking toward the night of the shooting.
O'Bryant admitted to dealing drugs in an interview with police but said he knew nothing about the dead body.
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He was charged with felony counts of murder, dealing in methamphetamine, obstruction of justice, maintaining a common nuisance and failure to notify authorities of a dead body.
An initial hearing was scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday on O'Bryant's behalf, court records showed.
