Shooting death of Unionville woman Tara Langley detailed in court affidavit
Sheriff's deputies called to a Nov. 4 disturbance at a Unionville home discovered a gruesome scene.
Bryce Leighton was outside, hysterical, blood on his hands and clothes. As they approached the garage, they saw 48-year-old Tara Langley lying on the floor. There was blood everywhere.
Nearby on the ground was a black AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. To the left of her body was an empty rifle shell casing and a stun gun.
No one else was present at the house in the 5900 block of East Ind. 45 when police arrived. A neighbor called 911 around 1:30 a.m. to report something had happened at the house next door.
Leighton stands charged with murder in the death of his girlfriend the past seven years. The 34-year-old man told a detective the two had been arguing and he may have shot Langley in self-defense when she fired a stun gun at him.
A probable cause affidavit Monroe County Sheriff's Office Detective Andrew Rushing filed in the case says "suspect Leighton said she (Langley) turned the stun gun device and when it first popped, 'everything went into a blur.' I asked him if the gun was in his hands at that time and he said yes."
Rushing reported the interior of the house "was in a general state of disarray, with broken furniture, appliances and glass throughout." Police said the bullet that struck Langley in the head went through the attached-garage wall and was found in the living room.
The affidavit said evidence at the scene indicated Leighton was standing just inside the exterior garage door when the shot was fired, and Langley was standing in the middle of the garage when she was hit.
Rushing wrote in the affidavit that when he asked a distraught Leighton what had happened, he said he was "having flashbacks." He said he had been trying to leave the residence, claiming Langley had been drinking and was being aggressive toward him.
"He stated he was trying to pack his things so he could leave, and she 'came at me.' He told me he warned her not to come near him as she was wielding a stun gun device, but she didn't stop."
During a Nov. 7 initial hearing, Leighton pleaded not guilty. Monroe Circuit Judge Valeri Haughton appointed a public defender to the case and set the next court hearing for Jan. 3. Leighton is being held in jail without bond.
Back in 2010, Leighton pleaded guilty to causing a death while driving with a blood-alcohol content of more than .15 and auto theft. He was given a 14-year prison sentence.
He was intoxicated and speeding in a stolen car when he crashed head-on into a Yellow Cab driven by 31-year-old Gwendolynn Sanders of Bedford, who died at the scene.
Leighton was 21 when the crash happened. State prison records indicate he was released in 2018.
Contact H-T reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Man tells police argument preceded shooting of Monroe County woman
