COLUMBUS — A Columbus man will spend three decades behind bars after being sentenced for attempting to murder his ex-wife during a violent ambush that triggered a neighborhood SWAT standoff.
Brent J. Clayburn, 60, was sentenced in Bartholomew Circuit Court to a total of 35 years. Judge Kelly Benjamin ordered 30 of those years to be executed in the Indiana Department of Corrections, with the remaining five years suspended to probation.
The sentencing follows a multi-day jury trial in April, where Clayburn was found guilty of attempted murder, a Level 1 felony, and criminal confinement, a Level 3 felony. The court ordered his 12-year sentence for the confinement charge to be served concurrently with the attempted murder conviction.
The charges stem from a late-night assault on September 15, 2024, in the 2900 block of Silver Fox Drive. According to a probable cause affidavit, Clayburn arrived at his ex-wife’s home around 10:30 p.m. and rang the doorbell.
When the woman opened the door and let him inside, Clayburn immediately punched her in the face. Court documents reveal he then told her, “One of us is going to die tonight.”
The victim attempted to flee the residence by slipping underneath the home’s automated overhead garage door. However, Clayburn pursued her, grabbing her by the hair and dragging her back inside the house.
The woman’s screams caught the attention of a male neighbor, who stepped outside to investigate the commotion. Seeing the neighbor, the victim managed to break free from Clayburn’s grasp and ran toward him for protection.
As the two rushed to safety, Clayburn pulled a handgun and fired multiple shots directly in their direction. The neighbor shouted at Clayburn to stop, but Clayburn continued firing before the pair successfully barricaded themselves inside the neighbor’s home. The victim was later treated at Columbus Regional Hospital for minor injuries sustained during the initial physical struggle.
When Columbus Police Department officers arrived at the scene, Clayburn retreated inside his ex-wife’s house and refused to come out.
Law enforcement, alongside the Columbus Police Department SWAT team and the Crisis Negotiations Team, established a perimeter around the home. Following a tense two-hour standoff, hostage negotiators convinced Clayburn to exit the house, and he was taken into custody without further incident.
A subsequent search of the property by detectives uncovered an extensive cache of weapons belonging to Clayburn, including:
- Three handguns
- One collapsible .22-caliber rifle
- Two extended ammunition magazines
- A backpack packed with multiple boxes of spare ammunition
Crime scene technicians recovered eight spent bullet casings on the property. Investigators noted that seven distinct bullet holes were found riddled across the neighbor’s garage door, where the two victims had fled for cover.
According to online court records, Clayburn and his ex-wife were officially granted a divorce in January 2024, roughly eight months before the shooting. However, the two had remained embroiled in an ongoing, highly contentious legal battle regarding financial matters and property division leading up to the violent confrontation.
The case was prosecuted by Bartholomew County Prosecutor Lindsey Holden, Chief Deputy Prosecutor Kim Sexton-Yeager, and Deputy Prosecutor Mat Taylor, following a comprehensive investigation led by Columbus Police Detective Casey Kendrick.
