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Rosa makes court appearance in murder case
A Greencastle woman apparently died from five close-range gunshot wounds over the weekend.
Though her husband insists he has no memory of the incident, he has been charged in her death.
Joseph R. Rosa, 72, Greencastle, has been formally charged with the murder of wife Nancy Rosa. Prosecutor Tim Bookwalter conferred with detectives before filing the charges in Putnam Circuit Court Tuesday morning.
Rosa made his initial appearance before Judge Matt Headley via videoconference on Tuesday afternoon. Headley noted that jail staff had concerns about transportation and said the move was “for everybody’s safety.”
The defendant said he understood the charges against him, as well as the sentencing range of 45-65 years and an advisory of 55 years.
“I did this for 39 years — I’m clear,” Rosa said, referring to his career as an Indiana Conservation Officer as well as serving in a similar capacity at the DePauw Nature Park at the end of his career.
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Austin Malayer requested that Rosa be held without bond, saying he believed the evidence in the case supported such a request. Headley granted the request.
Rosa also requested a public defender, noting that he did not currently have access to the assets he would need to sell in order to hire his own attorney. Headley appointed attorney Todd Meyer to the case with the understanding that Rosa may later hire his own lawyer.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Putnam County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the Rosa home in the 3000 block of South County Road 550 West late Sunday morning. Joseph Rosa had apparently contacted a friend saying that he woke up around 10 a.m. to find his wife lying on the floor covered in blood and stiff to the touch.
At Rosa’s request, the friend called 911.
The deputies who responded found Nancy Rosa’s body in the living room and contacted Detective Capt. Doug Nally, who is leading the investigation.
Nally obtained a search warrant, after which investigators from multiple agencies spent several hours analyzing any evidence at the scene.
What they found included evidence that Nancy Rosa’s gunshot wounds came from close range, a .357 revolver belonging to Joseph Rosa with five spent casings in the cylinder and blood spatter on the husband’s clothing and hand.
Both at the scene and later at the Putnam County Jail, Rosa allegedly told Nally that he woke to find his wife dead and had no memory of hearing any gunshots.
Nally wrote that during two different interviews, Rosa denied any memory of the incident, but admitted that he and his wife often argued and yelled at each other. Rosa eventually concluded that though he had no memory, he must have shot his wife before holding out his hands as if for handcuffs, saying “take me to jail.”
Rosa was booked in the jail at 9:18 p.m. on Sunday.
Even during an interview on Monday, Rosa continued to say he had no memory of the incident.
Even if he has no memory of the incident, Rosa was more than talkative before Headley on Tuesday, talking not only about his experience in law enforcement, but also his collections of coins and firearms, as well as more than once making statements about the case.
Each time, Headley urged him not to elaborate.
“Mr. Rosa, please don’t talk about the case specifically right now,” Headley said at one juncture. “I just don’t think that would be in your best interest.”
Two further dates were set on Tuesday, with Headley setting a 1 p.m. Thursday, May 25 civil hearing regarding the seizure of Rosa’s firearms, as well as a 9 a.m. pretrial conference on July 20.
An autopsy of Nancy Rosa was conducted on Monday. The investigation is ongoing.
Officers and detectives from multiple agencies worked together throughout the day on Sunday, including PCSO detectives Nally, Don Pettit and Matthew Biggs; evidence technicians from the Indiana State Police; Detective Capt. Michael Collins of the Greencastle Police Department; the Putnam County Coroner’s Office; and deputies Josh Boller, Kyle Lee.