An Indiana man has been arrested after his decapitated father’s body was found at one home and the head at another.
Bryce Winnecke, 33, had been set to appear in court on Monday, WAVE reported, but the hearing was postponed because of a medical emergency.
A 911 caller reported the crime Friday morning shortly before 10 a.m.
“This is gonna be graphic, but his head was cut off,” the caller told a dispatcher. “We don’t know where his head is.”
As reported by WLKY, the victim’s ex-wife initially called 911 to request a welfare check on Erich Winnecke, 73. The suspect was later discovered at her residence, less than a mile away, where he had barricaded himself and refused to surrender.
Police used flashbangs and gas to force the younger man out of the home and eventually took him into custody about four hours later.
Authorities explained that after exchanging several concerning messages with the suspect and receiving no responses from the father, the ex-wife along with another son, visited the father’s home. That’s where they discovered the body.
Detectives found the victim in his bedroom displaying “significant evidence of defensive wounds” along with a stab wound to the chest, as stated in a criminal complaint. The walls were covered in blood splatter, and a large knife was found at the location.
While police were on the scene, Bryce Winnecke spoke with his mother — who was at the victim’s home — by phone.
“I killed him,” he allegedly said. “I went over to dad’s because he is the evilest person that ever lived. I cut his head off.”
The complaint mentioned that Winnecke was seen walking towards his mother’s house carrying a plastic bag “roughly the size of a human head.” Armed with a knife, he fled into the house when authorities arrived.
Once Winnecke was in custody, officers found his father’s head in the son’s bedroom.
He has been charged with murder and abuse of a corpse. His initial hearing has been rescheduled for Tuesday afternoon, WLKY said.
