Body Cam Footage Shows Man Confessing to Police He Shot a Woman Dead
An Ohio man turned himself in to police after telling officers he had shot a woman dead.
Brian E. Mason, 58, arrived at Miamisburg Police Department headquarters on Monday, March 27.
As seen in body cam footage originally obtained by WHIOTV7, Mason approached an officer in the parking lot and said: "I'm here to turn myself in."
He said there had been "an accident" at a friend's home the previous night, when he had been showing his friend how to shoot a gun. The firearm "went off and shot her in the chest," he added.
Mason then told Miamisburg officers that he had a weapon in his truck.
According to the network, he also said: "I wouldn't be here voluntarily, but I've been so scared since it happened."
Police in Miamisburg, a suburb south of Dayton, alerted the sheriff's office in Miami County, where the shooting had taken place.
Sheriff's deputies went to a home in Union Township, which is about 25 miles away and north of Dayton, and found a body.
In a March 28 post on Facebook, the sheriff's office wrote: "Upon deputies' arrival they received no response. Looking through a window, blood was observed in the residence.
"Forced entry was then made at which time an adult female was found deceased in the residence suffering from what appeared to be a gunshot wound."
Detectives later identified the woman as Michelle L. Elliott, 57, who lived at the home in the 11000 block of N. Montgomery County Line Road.
The sheriff's office statement added: "Upon detectives concluding the interview with Mason he was taken into custody and transported to the Miami County Jail, where he was incarcerated on a charge of murder."
Bail was set at $1 million. Mason appeared in court on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to murder, reported the Dayton Daily News.
His next court appearance is scheduled for April 4.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, a database that collects information about shootings across the U.S., 45 people have been shot dead in Ohio this month.
In 2020, there were 1,004 homicide deaths registered in Ohio, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This represented a 9.1 death rate for every 100,000 people in the state.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Miami County detectives on 937-440-2965. Anonymous tips can be left on the sheriff's office website miamicountyohio.gov/sheriff.
Newsweek has contacted the Miami County Sheriff's Office via email for comment.
Update 03/30/23, 11:30 a.m. ET: This article was updated to add a new photo and more information.
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