Documents: Indianapolis man kept corpse in a bathtub for 6 days

Dwight Shotts cried as he told a 911 dispatcher the dead man had been in his bathtub for about a week.

Shotts, 42, told the 911 operator he shot the man and was prepared to kill himself, according to a preliminary probable cause affidavit filed in Marion Superior Court.

Officers arrived at Shotts' home in the 3100 block of Tabor Street just after 3 p.m. Monday. Despite the threats, the armed and suicidal man surrendered peacefully.

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Anthony Cline's body was in the bathtub. Cline, 35, died from a bullet to the head, the Marion County coroner's office ruled.

Cline, whose family reported him missing last week, was last seen at the Lowe's on South Madison Avenue on April 24.

A day later police found Cline's car in the parking lot of the Greater St. James Missionary Baptist Church, 3101 E. Raymond St.

The church is around the corner from Shotts' home.

At the police station Monday, Shotts denied killing Cline but told a detective he knew who did.

"Shotts claimed the shooter had killed (Cline) and gave him the gun on his way out the door," Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Detective Daniel Kepler wrote.

Shotts stayed with the story, Kepler wrote, even after detectives reminded him he had already confessed to the killing twice — in the 911 call and again to a witness in front of a police officer at the scene.

Shotts told police that he had arranged to buy 100 Oxycontin pills from Cline for $500 but that the deal was really a setup for the person who killed Cline.

"Shotts had no answer as to why he was suicidal about what someone else did," Kepler wrote.

The interview went on for about 45 minutes, ending when Shotts said he was suffering a stroke. Medics found nothing wrong, Kepler wrote.

Police arrested Shotts on a preliminary charge of murder, and an ambulance took him to a secure detention center in Eskenazi Hospital.

Shotts remained held at the Marion County Jail Wednesday, records showed. An initial hearing was scheduled for Wednesday in Marion Superior Court.

Call Star reporter Vic Ryckaert at (317) 444-2701. Follow him on Twitter: @VicRyc.