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UPDATE: Burned body identified, cause of death was blunt force injuries with fists and hammer

The victim has been identified in the car fire that happened on Friday morning.

Grant County Coroner Stephen Dorsey said the victim is 26-year-old Jeremy Overla of Hartford City.

Dorsey conducted an autopsy on Sunday, stating that the cause of death was blunt force injuries to the head. The death has been ruled a homicide.

The suspect is 47-year-old Donald Lamley, of Hartford City. According to Dorsey’s news release, Lamley reported to the police that he hid in the back seat of Overla’s Dodge pick-up truck and waiting for him to enter the vehicle.

Shortly after, Lamley began striking Overla several times to the head with a fist and hammer, the release said. Lamley reported that he drove the victim’s vehicle to Grant County to dispose of Overla’s body and evidence by setting the truck on fire.

The Grant County Sheriff’s Department received a call on Friday at around 10 a.m. about a vehicle fire in a field near C.R. 1125 S. on Wheeling Pike. When the Matthews Fire Department arrived they discovered a body “burned beyond recognition,” according to Capt. Ed Beaty.

As the investigation progressed information was received in reference to a subject seen in the area. He was described as a white male, mid to late 40’s in age, heavy build, gray in color medium length beard, with grayish in color hair with a receding hairline, wearing a gray t-shirt and blue jeans.

The following morning information was received that referenced a missing person report taken by the Hartford City Police Department. The subject reported missing was known to drive a vehicle similar to the vehicle in this case. With the assistance of the Indiana State Police, the vehicle identification number of the burnt vehicle was recovered and matched the vehicle owned by the subject of the missing person report.

This information leads to the development of a suspect, 47-year-old Don Lamley of Blackford County. He also matched the description of the subject observed in the area as earlier reported.

Lamley was located and brought in for an interview. During the interview Lamley implicated himself in the Homicide of the missing person and that the Homicide took place in Blackford County with the attempt to hide the crime and destroy evidence in Grant County, according to Beaty.

The case was being investigated now with the Blackford County Sheriff’s Office and the Blackford County Prosecutors Office. The investigation has now been turned over to these agencies for the filing of charges. Lamley is now in the custody of the Blackford County Sheriff’s Office.

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