Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
A Warsaw man is in jail this morning preliminarily charged in connection with the death of an elderly man.
Ron Wayne Harris Sr., 40, of 1404 Meadowlark Blvd., was booked into Kosciusko County Jail at 3 a.m. charged with aggravated battery. He is being held on $50,000 bond.
Al Vorick, 75, was found dead Dec. 19 in his bedroom in the house he shared with Harris.
Joseph T. Czaja, M.D., St. Joseph's Medical Center, reported to county detectives that Vorick's death could have been caused by mild blunt force trauma. Czaja reported internal bleeding on the right side of the brain caused his death.
According to police reports, Harris initially told police he put Vorick, who was reportedly drunk, to bed about 9:30 p.m. the night before his death. Harris said he didn't see Vorick unitl he found him dead around 11:30 a.m. the next day.
But police found after interviewing other parties that Harris allegedly had struck and restrained Vorick with tape, leaving him under the Christmas tree 45 minutes prior to putting him to bed. Vorick allegedly kicked Harris in the mouth.
Harris' arrest came as a result of a two-month investigation by the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department. Detective Sgt. Sam Whitaker said about 14 interviews have been conducted in connection with the investigation.
"They tortured that old man," said Kosciusko County prosecutor David Kolbe.
"While it looks like we might be going softer by going with battery, we actually may be capable of getting up to 20 years in prison," said Kolbe.
A suspect charged with reckless homicide, an alternate charge in this case, would face a maximum of eight years in prison, according to a press release from the prosecutor's office.
