A Gary man was charged Tuesday in his former partner’s 2021 murder.
Dennis Jelks, 61, is charged with murder and three counts of domestic battery in the January 2021 death of Angela Carrier, 37, of Crown Point.
He is in custody, held without bail.
Hobart Police Det. Nick Wardrip wrote in an affidavit that Carrier and her two kids went with her mother on Jan. 26, 2021 to the Merrillville Menards to swap stuff with Jelks after a breakup.
He convinced Carrier to leave with him just around 1:30 p.m. and she was never seen alive again. Carrier died sometime between Jan. 26-30, 2021, the affidavit states.
She was found shot twice in the back of the head on Jan. 30 near 30th Avenue and Jackson Street, documents state. A firearms expert estimated the bullet casings came from a .38-caliber or .357-caliber gun.
Carrier’s family told police he was abusive and kept a gun in his trunk.
Jelks told investigators after leaving Menards, he went with her to buy marijuana from “Tone” near 42nd Avenue and Jackson Street. Two car doors opened, Carrier got into a black car that took off.
He fell, dropped his keys and lost track of the other car, he said. Wardrip discounted his story, writing it wasn’t backed up by evidence.
Cell phone data showed Jelks’s device pinged at Menards, then near 30th and Jackson around 2 p.m. — where Carrier’s body was later found. Afterward, the cell phone went to Jelks’ brother’s house, according to the affidavit.
Jelks was charged three weeks earlier in a domestic battery case against Carrier, documents show.
