A late-night argument at the Lincoln Housing Complex in New Castle ended with the death of 25-year-old Demon Marktez Higgins. On March 15, 2016, Higgins was involved in a verbal dispute with another man that escalated when that man, identified as 46-year-old corrections officer Joseph Cohen, produced a firearm and shot Higgins in the chest. Emergency responders arrived on West Lincoln Avenue around 11:30 p.m., but Higgins was pronounced dead outside the apartment complex.

After the shooting the suspect fled; officers searched the area and located Cohen hiding in a nearby wooded area about 90 minutes later. A gun was recovered at the time of his apprehension. Cohen was taken to the Lawrence County Jail and charged with criminal homicide and aggravated assault in connection with Higgins’s death.

If anyone witnessed the disturbance at the Lincoln Housing Complex that night or has information about what happened, please share tips for investigators.