Attempted Murder Suspect Dies Of COVID-19 3 Months After Allegedly Shooting His Victim

A former town marshal in Posey County, Indiana, who was charged with shooting a sheriff's deputy has died after being hospitalized with COVID-19, officials said.

Paul Wiltshire, 70, died of natural causes stemming from a bout of COVID-19 at Deaconess Gateway Hospital in Newburgh, Indiana, Monday morning, the Evansville Courier & Press reported, citing Warrick County coroner Sarah Seaton.

He had been receiving treatment for the illness at the hospital since Dec. 17.

Wiltshire had been in custody in Warrick County Jail for allegedly shooting Posey County sheriff's deputy Bryan Hicks in the head during a police standoff at Wiltshire's residence in New Harmony on Sept. 18, a report by The Indiana Lawyer said.

Wiltshire, a former marshal in his town, fired a weapon toward Indiana State Police (ISP) officers who responded to the residence around 7 p.m. that day for a welfare check, according to WTHR Channel 13.

The shooting reportedly began when Wiltshire threatened to kill his wife and shoot "anyone who came to (the) residence."

Officers returned fire, but 41-year-old Hicks was shot and critically injured during the exchange, police said.

Wiltshire, who was also struck by gunfire, was arrested and charged with attempted murder after being released from the hospital days after the incident.

Hicks, meanwhile, was treated at the hospital after being shot in the head. He returned to Evansville on Dec. 20 for additional treatment.

"He's worked hard. When he first got there, [there was] no movement in the right leg, no movement in the right arm, but now he’s able to use them. He can function with them. He can walk," Hicks' father, Keith, was quoted as saying.

Posey County Sheriff Tom Latham has requested for the ISP to investigate Wiltshire's death, which is common when an inmate dies in custody, a press release from the state police force said.

An autopsy was scheduled for early this week, according to reports.

Hicks' shooting was reportedly the first officer-involved shooting in New Harmony since at least 1994. It occurred as New Harmony, a historic Wabash River town about 180 miles southwest of Indianapolis, was hosting an annual German festival called Kunstfest.