Indiana man accused of shooting, dismembering father he believed had been 'turned into a robot'

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A southern Indiana man is accused of shooting and killing his father, and dismembering his body.

Shawn Hays, 53 of Mitchell, Indiana, was arrested last week in Lawrence County, just north of Paoli.

Deputies with the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office responded to a request for a welfare check on Hays' father, Rodney Hays, 73, on Tuesday, Dec. 20. The caller requesting the check told police Hays said he shot his father because he believed he'd been turned into a robot.

When the deputies arrived to the home, Hays was leaving in a pickup truck. A probable cause affidavit states Hays refused to leave the truck. That's when deputies noticed a shotgun on the seat next to him. A deputy had to distract Hays in order for another deputy to grab the gun. Hays was handcuffed after a struggle.

Officers then found Hays' father, who had been shot in the head and chest, dead in the front of the home.

Police said Hays admitted to the crime. According to the affidavit, following his arrest he allegedly told investigators that the dead individual was not his father, but a "robot that looks like a human."

Hays is charged with murder, abuse of a corpse and domestic battery. He's being held at the Lawrence County Jail in Bedford. He was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.