Raphael V. Carter Jr., 62, was found dead in his Indianapolis apartment on November 26, 2023. Officers discovered him in a pool of blood next to his wheelchair with two gunshot wounds to the head. He served as an assistant pastor and Sunday school superintendent at Serenity the Prince of Peace Church of God In Christ and had previously had a leg amputated because of diabetes.

The initial 911 call came from his son, 39-year-old Raphael Carter III, who told police he had discovered his father’s body. Investigators say the son’s story changed during questioning and that he confessed to shooting his father around midnight, hours before calling authorities. Carter III told police he later went to a casino with his husband, a claim supported by ATM receipts, and said he hid the .38 caliber revolver that belonged to his husband in a bush near a church; officers did not recover the firearm. Court documents say Carter III had earlier told his husband the elder Carter had died in a hospital, a statement prosecutors say points to premeditation. He was held in the Marion County Jail without bond pending formal charges.

What can readers add about the family or about Serenity the Prince of Peace Church of God In Christ that might shed light on the estrangement and recent attempts at reconciliation?