I live on the Southside of Indy, and don't live too far away from the area Kobi was murdered. I've lived in the area most of my life, so am extremely familiar with the local.
I don't know Kobi directly, but do know a bunch of people who are part of his derby team, and everyone seems to be as confused about the murder as people here.
After reading some things in this thread, wanted to correct some misinformation regarding the geography of the crime:
-Kobi lived in Perry Township, not Franklin. Franklin Township is east of Perry, but they are fairly close (separated by a street).
-The Southside isn't as hilljack/redneck as some others have commented gat least the Perry Township area). I have close friends that are gay who have lived in Perry for decades - and nothing bad has happened to them. They are homeowners, and quite active in the community. I spoke with a few of my gay friends (just to double check), and none of them has had any sort of hateful experience in the area. I am married to someone of a different race, and have a biracial child. We have only experienced racism in the Whiteland area. We are also, as mentioned earlier, extremely supportive of the LGBTQ community - and have not received any backlash.
-Perry Township has a high Burmese/Chin refugee population. Unfortunately, contrary to what I said previously, there have been some idiots who target these individuals - but nothing violent, just ignorant. The community has [largely] rallied against racism, however. I only mention this as to paint a better picture of the location and community - trying to paint a more accepting picture of the Southside. I work in the Zionsville area on the North Side, and can completely understand why Southsiders are viewed as rednecks. The further south you go (specifically south Greenwood and further south), people are generally more racist and homophobic.
-The area where Kobi lived is mostly middle class, and lower middle class. Violent crime doesn't usually happen in the area, when it does happen - usually drug related. According to my friends, however, Kobi was adamantly anti-drug. I would be extremely surprised if this ended up being drug related.
I do think it is odd that this story isn't being reported by all local news agencies. Fox59 seems to be the only one reporting it. WISHTV and rtv6 both have had an article, and WTHR has been silent about the murder (I can't find any articles about Kobi on WTHR's website).
I'm not sure if Kobi was LGBTQ, judging by his FB profile likes and celebrities he follows, I would say he may have been (part of his profile is visible to me, most likely because I know some people who are friends with him). If he was LGBTQ (or an Ally), it seems unlikely he would have been the target of a hate crime. Anything is possible, however, but it seems unlikely he would have been openly targeted for his political beliefs (pretty evenly split liberal/conservative on the Southside). The LGBTQ community on the Southside also hasn't mentioned the murder, and none of my gay friends seem to be worried about hate crimes. Edit: His obituary was posted on FB shortly after I posted this. His obituary did say he was part of the Indy Pride Band - which is a group of LGBT musicians. I believe one would have to be LGBT to be a part of this band.
His body wasn't found in his home, and from what I've read they found his body pretty far away from his apartment. I read that he returned home late from grocery shopping (can't find the story I read that in, may have been edited out). I'm wondering if he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, or if his murderer confused him with someone else.
Judging by the little news that was reported, it seems like his body was moved and hidden (or maybe just hidden). There were reports of multiple gun shots, so he may have been trying to run from his murderer.
Unfortunately I haven't seen a lot of details regarding the crime scene. Residents of the apartment complex were given Crime Stoppers fliers, offering a $1000 reward. People who live in that complex report being shaken up, but are diligently keeping an eye open for suspicious activity.
This is a very bizarre crime, and is unusual for the area. One can only hope the murderer is found soon, and his family can rest knowing justice was served. He seems to have been a great guy, who was universally loved by all who knew him.
