Documents: Young mother was fleeing from two men before fatal shooting on Indy's east side
Emily LeeAnna Willis was pleading for help moments before she was fatally shot on the city's east side, court documents read.
The 27-year-old mother of one was found on the sidewalk with gunshot wounds in the 200 block of North Rural Street near its intersection with East Washington Street, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
Willis was transported to a hospital in critical condition, where she died after the Aug. 28 shooting.
Before she was shot, a gray Honda Civic approached Willis, prompting her to scream "leave me alone" several times, a probable cause affidavit against her accused killer states. Police previously said they believed Willis was involved in an altercation before the shooting.
Witnesses told officers they spotted the Honda driving through the alley into a church parking lot around 9 p.m. Nothing seemed out of place until the vehicle reached the entrance to the lot and the occupants began talking to Willis, who was walking on the sidewalk.
Willis began walking south on Rural Street before turning around, running north and pleading for help. That's when someone in the Honda's passenger seat fired about 20 shots at her, according to the affidavit.
Detectives tracked down a suspect in the case using surveillance video from a nearby library and statements from several witnesses.
Deonta Nelson, 34, was arrested on Sept. 1 in connection with the shooting and is facing preliminary charges of murder and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon.
Library surveillance video helps police find car
From the scene of the shooting, police spoke with a friend of Willis, who said he dropped her off to hang out with other friends at about 4 p.m. Nearly four hours later, Willis messaged the friend’s wife asking for help.
“Willis stated that two men were trying to lure her into their car, but she did not want to get into the vehicle with them,” reads the probable cause affidavit for Nelson’s arrest. “Emily told them that she was at the library and that she needed to be picked up.”
Surveillance video from the library showed Willis trying to flee from two men in a grey Honda, including one dressed in a bright red hoodie. Investigators also found a license plate for the Honda and used license-plate reading cameras and other databases to track it to an apartment complex about 1.5 miles from where the shooting occurred.
Police later stopped the vehicle as it was improperly registered. The driver of the Honda told police he was driving the car when Willis was shot and said the man who shot her was asleep in his apartment, the affidavit reads.
Investigators were granted a search warrant for the apartment and inside found a bright red hoodie and a Glock handgun. The affidavit does not include details on the motivation for the shooting.
More Indianapolis crime: A snack run to a west-side gas station ended into a double killing, court records say
In an interview with police, Nelson stated he was in the area to shoot dice around the time of the shooting and that he knew and saw Willis, but he denied shooting the woman, according to the affidavit.
An attorney for Nelson was not yet listed in online court records before publication of this article.
When asked if the driver of the Honda could face charges in Willis’ death, a spokesperson for IMPD said the investigation is ongoing and that the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office makes final charging decisions.
Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis man arrested in killing of Emily Willis on Rural Street
