Gardenista
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"On April 24, 2017 at approximately 6:45 AM, Warrick Dispatch received a 9-1-1 call from a female reporting a dead body at the ALCOA soccer fields on Warner Road, located in Anderson Township in Warrick County. Deputies responded to the scene, where they found an apparently deceased female with a large amount of blood near her head. The body was lying just inside the walk-through opening in the fence, which is located approximately mid-way between the two locked gates. A blue, Comfort Bay brand towel was found next to the body. The deceased female was later identified as Halee Rathgeber, age 20, of Evansville. An autopsy was conducted that evening, which revealed that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.
Detectives learned that Isaiah Hagan had been with Rathgeber the previous evening and had told friends on April 24 that he had given her a ride to a park in Newburgh. Hagan contacted the Sheriffs Office the evening of April 24, 2017 and stated that he had driven Rathgeber to the Newburgh Lock and Dam. He told detectives that she gave him like $200 that she owed him. He further stated that she had her cell phone, keys and wallet when she exited his car and when he left her there to await a ride from an unknown person who was not yet there. He sent her a text message at 11:29 pm thanking her for their talk. The following morning he sent another text message to her, which was after the news had reported that a body had been discovered at the soccer fields.
A search warrant was obtained for cell phone data, which revealed that Hagan and Rathgeber traveled together to the ALCOA Soccer Fields on the evening of April 23, 2017. A separate search was issued for the search of Isaiah Hagans phone. That search revealed a series of messages between Isaiah Hagan and his father in which his father is asking him at 11:11 pm Got the money yet and Isaiah replies Waiting for her to get off but Im getting it for sure. Then Isaiah adds, Ill leave it in that box on the counter if youre already asleep when I get back. His father replies that he is leaving the house at 7:30 and will need the money by then.
Detectives learned through several interviews that Hagan owed Rathgeber $600 that she had loaned him or that he had taken from her. He admitted in his interviews that he had written two checks on her account, each for $300, with her permission. One of those checks was returned for insufficient funds. The two remained friends and were often together. Other witnesses reported that Hagan has been stealing items from his roommates and selling those items at pawn shops in the area. A search of the pawn database, Leads Online, revealed that Hagan had been pawning items. Additionally, the Vanderburgh County Sheriffs Office has recently investigated Hagan for theft and told me that they would be requesting criminal charges in that case.
In subsequent interviews with Isaiah Hagan, he told detectives that he gave Halee Rathgeber a ride to the ALCOA soccer fields. He said that he last saw her just inside the opening in the fence between the gates at the soccer fields. He said she had given him money and asked him to sell some concert tickets that she had. He said that she gave him her keys, which included keys to both her car and apartment, so that he could get the tickets. He later admitted to detectives that he had her cell phone all night and that he threw it out the window of his car the following morning because he was scared. He said that he returned to Halee Rathgebers apartment in the early morning hours of April 24, where he entered her car to look for the concert tickets, and then entered her apartment, where he found the tickets. Surveillance footage from the apartment complex shows Hagan entering Rathgebers car at approximately 5:10 AM, checking the areas of the car as he described. In the hours that followed, Hagan proceeded to contact friends of Halee Rathgeber to obtain contact information for a person that was going to purchase the concert tickets from Rathgeber for $265 each.
A search warrant was executed on April 28 at the home of Isaiah Hagan, where he lives with his parents. In the home were two towels and one washcloth that matched the towel found at the scene. The towel seized from the home during the search warrant is also Comfort Bay brand and had a matching RN # on the tags. Additionally, while interviewing the parents, detectives learned that there was a 9mm Hi-Point handgun missing from the home. Hagan was recently notified of collections action being taken against him for a student loan for over $5,000. When Hagan arrived home on the morning of April 24, he had placed $210 on the kitchen counter with a note which acknowledged that he still owed $90. That money was towards $300 that his father had loaned him and needed repayment for.
Halee Rathgebers wallet was found on Wednesday evening along SR 66 near Old Stonehouse Drive in Ohio Township. Isaiah Hagan was shown the wallet during the interview that night and told investigators that the wallet he was shown was Halees wallet. There was no cash left in the wallet, however there were some coins.
During an interview on April 29, 2017, Isaiah Hagan told me that he felt responsible for her death. Isaiah told me that he sent her a text message at 11:29 pm, after he had left her. He said that the following morning, he threw her phone out the window because he was scared. He later sent her a text message, after having thrown the phone out the window. This was after local news was reporting that a body had been found at the soccer fields. He said that he wanted to tell me the rest of what happened, but was scared of going to prison and wanted to first tell his mother. He eventually said that he was finished talking until he could talk to his mother. We arranged for them to meet privately. After some time together, Mrs. Hagan notified us that they were finished. She told me that Isaiah had more that he wanted to tell me and that she thought it would be helpful to the investigation. She said that he wanted an attorney present before he made further statements and that he wanted her there as well. He corrected her and told her that since he had an opportunity to tell her what happened, she didnt have to be present. Isaiah Hagan was then booked into the jail on preliminary charges of Murder, Robbery, and Obstruction of Justice.
While transporting Isaiah Hagan after his arrest, I told him that since he had requested an attorney, I would not be initiating further contact with him, but that he could initiate the contact or his attorney could on his behalf. Then, in the interest of public safety, I asked him if the gun was anywhere that a child or someone would possibly find it and someone else get hurt with it. He told me that it was in a safe location and that he would take me to the gun once he spoke to his attorney."
http://44news.wevv.com/affidavit-released-halee-rathgeber-case/
