INDIANAPOLIS — A 24-year-old is under arrest in connection to an execution-like killing that occurred one year ago at a controversial motel on the city's east side.
Anthony "AJ" Morst, 24, of Indianapolis was arrested last week by metro police. He is charged with one count of murder.
Previous reports detail how officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department were called to the Budget 8 Inn on E. 21st Street on June 25, 2023, on report of a person shot. Officers ended up discovering 23-year-old Kenneth Lee Barnett Jr. inside a motel room with a gunshot wound.
Barnett was pronounced dead on scene.
Court documents detail how Barnett was killed in a near execution-like manner with a pillow used to silence the single gunshot to the head.
Surveillance footage taken from the motel reportedly showed Barnett arriving at the motel with another male. Shortly before 3 a.m., the unknown male is seen quickly leaving the room with a knit mask pulled over his face. The suspect then flees in Barnett's Chevrolet Traverse.
The vehicle was later found ditched by the suspect near 62nd Street and Georgetown. The back window was broken out.
Court documents reveal how police used cell phone data to determine that Barnett had been texting Morst on the night of the deadly shooting.
Further investigation into Morst uncovered that Morst allegedly reached out to someone in June in the middle of the night. It was Morst saying he'd just bought a new car and wanted to bring it by. The individual told investigators that Morst showed up in a Chevy Traverse with the window broken out.
Police said a description of Morst's outfit from that night matched the suspect seen leaving the Budget 8 Inn motel room.
In February, police gained access to Morst's phone records and found he accessed the Budget 8's WiFi on June 25 — last connecting at 3 a.m. Police also found selfies of Morst wearing a black knit facemask, similar to the one seen in the motel surveillance footage, and flashing a gun.
Even more damning, investigators uncovered text messages between Morst and Barnett with the two agreeing to meet at the Budget 8 Inn.
On June 12, police officially arrested Morst in connection to the murder of Barnett. SWAT assisted in taking Morst into custody in the 2300 block of Danford Square.
Morst faces up to 65 years in prison if convicted of murder.