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Last updated on Monday, July 30, 2018
(WASHINGTON CO.) - Washington County Circuit Court Judge Larry Medlock entered a not guilty plea in behalf of 34-year-old Michael Joseph Sanders of Little York.
Sanders is charged with the murder of Skylar Naugle and is being held without bond in the Washington County Detention Center.
Both Sanders' and Naugle's families were in the courtroom.
Sanders refused to answer any questions in the death of Naugle, who died from a shotgun wound to the head.
Sanders was appointed a public defender and will appear in court for a pretrial conference on August 30th at 9 a.m. An tentative trial date was set for December 4th at 8:30 a.m.
Sanders was arrested after police went to his home at 7707 East New Cut Road in Little York to ask him about the disappearance of Skyler Naugle.
Naugle had been reported missing on Saturday, July 21 by family members and was last seen on Monday, July 16th in the early morning hours in Little York at Sander's home.
Indiana State Police Detective Matt Busick testified during the initial hearing saying that Sanders was nervous and walking around when officers were at his home. He also told police three different stories about Naugle.
Police then obtained a search warrant for Sander's home.
Busick testified police located a body about 50-100 feet behind the house in a wooded area in a shallow ravine.
He testified the waist and legs were tied with a rope and the body was in a shallow grave with about 18 inches of dirt on top.
An autopsy completed on Wednesday, ruled that Naugle had died from a gunshot wound to the head.
Although there has been no official confirmation of the body's identity, Busick testified the body was identified by tattoos found on the chest, arm and ankle. Those tattoos, matched pictures of Naugle's tattoos.
Sanders was linked to the murder after police found plastic shotgun wadding around where the head was positioned in the body bag, which matched similar plastic shotgun wadding found near a burn barrel behind Sanders' home.
Investigators also were able to visually see a drag trail from behind the house to the grave site in the woods.
Busick testified the property owner, Richard Morgan (Sanders's step-father) came to the home after hearing that Sanders had been seen carrying and shooting his .20 gauge sawed off shotgun.
Morgan told police he entered the home, took the shotgun apart, wrapped it in a jacket and hid it in the basement. Police recovered that shotgun. Police also removed a spade and bucket from the home that were both covered in dirt similar to the dirt where the body was found.
Sanders was arrested on July 26th after Washington County Sheriff's Department received a report of a stolen car from near Sanders' home. The caller believed Sanders had stolen their gold 2007 Ford Focus. The report was broadcast to other agencies and police gathered near Little York to begin their search for Sanders and the vehicle.
The vehicle was stopped in Austin by the Austin City Police. He was arrested and transported to the Washington County Detention Center.
At the time of his arrest, Sanders was on probation after he pleaded guilty to a sexual battery charge on January 25th.
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