BLOOMINGTON – On Tuesday afternoon, Bryce Michael Leighton appeared in the Monroe Circuit Court 2 before Judge Valeri Haughton and a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf on a charge of murder. He is being held in the Monroe County Correctional Center without bond.
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 to the 5900 block of East State Road 45 after a report of a disturbance.
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 the last 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, blood 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 interior of the house was in a “general state of disarray” with broken furniture, appliances, and glass throughout.
