Ohio men due in court in I-70 homicide case

Charges have been filed in the strange case in which a 33-year-old Ohio man was shot to death while riding in a van with relatives along Interstate 70 in Putnam County.

Mario L. Edwards Sr., 33, Columbus, Ohio, was fatally wounded by at least two gunshots to the torso following an argument as he and his companions rode in a van along westbound I-70 Sunday night near Cloverdale.

Arrested, lodged in the Putnam County Jail and charged in the case are:

Kia SUV in which Mario Edwards, 33, Columbus, Ohio, was fatally wounded in an argument Sunday night.

-- Markus S. Yeanay, 18, Columbus, Ohio, charged with voluntary manslaughter, a Level 1 felony punishable by 20-40 years in prison, and possession of cocaine.

-- Stefon R. Woods, 21, also of Columbus, charged with assisting a criminal, a Level 5 felony, punishable by 1-6 years in prison, and possession of cocaine.

Yeanay was originally held on a preliminary charge of murder but Putnam County Prosecutor Tim Bookwalter, after meeting with Indiana State Police investigators Tuesday afternoon, opted to file the voluntary manslaughter count.

The two suspects were tentatively expected to make their initial appearance in Putnam Superior Court before Judge Denny Bridges Wednesday afternoon..

Yeanay and Woods were arrested early Monday morning on Greencastle's East Side after their Kia rental van was stopped by Putnam County Sheriff's Deputy Jacob Harrington with assistance from Capt. Charles Inman of Greencastle City Police.

Markus Yeanay, 18, Columbus, Ohio, is charged with voluntary manslaughter.

Harrington reportedly spotted the vehicle leaving the Walmart store property around 2 a.m., approximately four hours after the strange situation started to unfold.

Edwards was allegedly shot twice in the torso by Yeanay after an argument ensued as the group of four were traveling along I-70 near Cloverdale. They were reportedly en route from Columbus, Ohio, to St. Louis when the fatal incident occurred Sunday evening.

Reportedly, the argument between the men in the backseat of the SUV escalated into the fatal shooting around 10 p.m. There was no immediate word on what the men might have been bickering over before the fatal shots were fired.

Stefon R. Woods, 21, Columbus, Ohio, was arrested for assisting a criminal and possession of cocaine.

Woods was believed to be driving the van when the incident occurred.

The victim was driven to Putnam County Hospital and dropped off at the emergency room entrance with a female passenger/witness while Yeanay and Woods fled in the vehicle in which the shooting occurred.

Edwards died from his wounds soon thereafter at PCH.

Initially the emergency call erroneously came in as involving an active shooter incident at Putnam County Hospital.

Greencastle Police Department and Putnam County Sheriff's Department officers responded in force and secured the area and began looking for the white Kia van.