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Last updated on Tuesday, January 12, 2016
(ST. HENRY) - More details were released on what happened during a three-hour hostage situation in Dubois County that lead to one man dead and two women injured early Sunday morning.
According to police, 25-year-old Kyle Popplewell entered the home in St. Henry in Ferdinand Township on County Road 50 West, around 2:30 a.m. Sunday through a back door.
Police say three people were in the home, 37-year-old Jeffrey Perry and two adult women, Perry's girlfriend and his foster daughter.
When Dubois County deputies arrived they were met at the back door by Perry's girlfriend. They entered the home and found Perry injured and the other woman being held hostage. They then called Huntingburg and Jasper officers and Indiana State Police raid entry team members and negotiators came to the scene.
According to a probable cause affidavit, when Poppelwell entered the home all three occupants were sleeping. The women were in their bedrooms and Perry was sleeping on the couch.
One woman woke to screams coming from the living room. When she went to see what was wrong, she found a man, who police say was Poppelwell, on top of Perry.
The woman then yelled for the second woman to call police as she attempted to pull the man off Perry.
That is when police say Popplewell turned and swung a knife at the woman cutting her right breast area.
After calling police the second woman returned to the living room and then attempted to return to her bedroom, but Poppelwell followed and forced his way into the bedroom. He made her pull a mattress in front of the window blocking the view and push a dresser up against the bedroom door. He then raped the woman several times threatening to break the woman's neck if she screamed.
In the meantime, the woman who had been slashed, dialed 911. She then returned to the living room, rolled Perry over and discovered he had suffered several stab wounds and was not breathing.
The women then yelled for the other woman, but Poppelwell told her to "stay back."
Police arrived to find the woman being held hostage. During the three hours of negotiations Poppelwell continued to rape the woman. He finally released her. Popplewell came out of the room and the waiting officers were able to arrest him after subduing him with a Taser.
Both women were taken to Memorial Hospital in Jasper where they were treated and released.
Police also took Popplewell to the hospital for a blood-draw, but say they don't believe he was intoxicated or using drugs.
Popplewell appeared in Dubois Circuit Court Monday afternoon to face charges of felony murder, two counts of Level 1 felony rape, Level 1 felony burglary, Level 2 felony criminal confinement, Level 5 felony battery resulting in bodily harm and Level 6 felony intimidation. Judge Nathan Verkamp entered a preliminary not-guilty plea on Popplewell's behalf and appointed Public Defender Scott Blazey to represent him.
If found guilty, Popplewell could face life in prison without parole, but Dubois County Prosecutor Anthony Quinn is considering seeking the death penalty.
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