BLOOMINGTON – A trial date has been set for the man accused of shooting and killing his long-time girlfriend in November at their Bloomington home.
Bryce Leighton, 34, will face a jury of his peers in Monroe Circuit Court 2 on Monday, April 1, with jury selection beginning at 8:30 a.m. with Judge Valeri Haughton presiding. A pretrial conference is set for Monday, February 19, at 2:00 p.m.
He pleaded not guilty to the crime and is being held without bond in the Monroe County Correctional Center.
Leighton has retained Bloomington Attornies Stuart K. Baggerly and Rachel Marie Rogers, both of Bloomington. Prosecuting the case for the state is Christopher Allen Pierce, who is the lead prosecutor, assisted by Trisha Bushey, Erika Oliphant, and Amy Huffman Oliver.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Leighton is accused of fatally shooting 48-year-old Tara Langley in the head.
Monroe County Sheriff’s Department deputies were dispatched at approximately 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, November 5, 2023, to the 5900 block of East State Road 45 after a disturbance report.
When officers arrived, they found 34-year-old Bryce Leighton outside with “a bright red liquid consistent with the appearance of blood” on his hands and his clothes. Leighton was reportedly yelling something about his “baby.”
Deputies then found Tara Langley lying on the floor in the garage. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police reported there was a lot of blood around Langley’s head, and a black AR-15-style rifle was laying on the ground.
Leighton was then taken in for questioning. Police said Leighton was “hysterical and hard to understand.”
When asked what happened, Leighton stated he was “having flashbacks” and began sobbing and saying, “My baby, oh God.”
Leighton told police that he was trying to leave the home because Langley was intoxicated and “got mean” when she was intoxicated. He added that he and Langley had been dating for seven years.
According to the probable cause, Leighton claimed his girlfriend was aggressive when she was drinking and her drinking had gotten worse over the last couple of months.
Leighton told police he was trying to pack his things so he could leave when “she came at me.” He told police he warned Langley, who had a TASER in her hand, not to come near him, but “she wouldn’t stop”.
Leighton said Langley turned the TASER on, and he could hear it popping, “everything just went into a blur”, he told police.
Leighton had the gun in his hands during the altercation.
Leighton was taken to an area hospital for a medical evaluation. Investigators secured a search warrant for the home. They found blood leading throughout the garage, smeared on the door frame and the AR 15-style rifle, and the floor in a massive pool of blood and blood on the wall to the ceiling.
They found one spent shell near Langley’s body and a TASER.
Investigators noted in the probable cause affidavit that the house’s interior was in a “general state of disarray” with broken furniture, appliances, and glass throughout.
