Officials: Bodies of missing couple found in Madison County

Madison County authorities have confirmed that the two bodies discovered Thursday afternoon are that of an Indianapolis couple reported missing last month.

The bodies of Heaven Henderson, 21, and Jeremy Danowski, 23, were found near a fence row in the area of 200 S and 700 W near Lapel, Ind., Madison County Sheriff Scott Mellinger confirmed in a news conference live streamed by Fox59.

The bodies were found partially covered in snow and in an apparent embrace, Mellinger said. Investigators found a gun nearby.

Police previously said Danowski bought a handgun from a gun shop in Indianapolis on Dec. 14. Mellinger said Thursday that security footage showed Henderson and Danowski were together when the gun was purchased.

The pair was last seen in Indianapolis on Dec. 17 by Danowski's mother. Later that day, Lapel police found the couple's car parked and locked, approximately 1 ½ miles from where the bodies were found.

On Dec. 18, Danowski's father contacted Lapel police, saying his son's phone had last been used near Lapel. Police initially said they found no evidence of foul play when they first searched the car.

"Nothing was amiss in regard to the car being in Lapel," Mellinger said. "There was nothing — no exigent circumstances to make anyone, even a passerby, think that it was anything but a car parked legally in the park."

Mellinger said that because investigators were still processing the scene, it was too early to positively say if both Henderson and Danowski were shot, who died first and how long the bodies had been there. He did not rule out the possibility of a murder-suicide.

"At the very least, we have a homicide," he said. "We will attempt to determine if there was any coercion. We will attempt to determine which person died first. We will attempt to determine if there was any communication with anyone else that would help us come to what we would think is a final disposition of the case."

Mellinger said detectives will continue to search for answers.

"The question, in these cases, every time comes down to why. And I don't think anyone can make an accurate guess on what was going on in one or both of these two young persons' minds," Mellinger said. "I think the best thing anybody can do is hug their own family and realize that there are some things that, you know, we're just not going to be able to explain."

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Fox59 contributed to this article.

Call IndyStar reporter Holly Hays at (317) 444-6156. Follow her on Twitter: @hollyvhays.