Affidavit: Gibson Co. husband allegedly admitted to killing wife, disposing of body

EVANSVILLE — Court records disclosed new details about the arrest of a Gibson County, Indiana man − 42-year-old Daniel Flaherty − who was charged with felony murder for the killing of his wife one day after he reported her missing to police.

The Gibson County Sheriff's Office identified Flaherty's wife as 36-year-old Kayla Flaherty. In a brief news release, Sheriff Bruce Vanoven said the couple resided in rural Patoka, Indiana. According to court records, Daniel Flaherty made an initial appearance in Gibson County Superior Court on Monday.

Daniel Flaherty's arrest affidavit, which is a two-page document comprised of fewer than 15 paragraphs, outlines what investigators believe happened. In it, Gibson County Sheriff's Office Detective Sgt. Roger Ballard wrote that Daniel Flaherty reported his wife missing on Thursday, telling deputies that Kayla had left to visit her parents' house in Vincennes around 1:30 a.m. but never arrived.

After Daniel Flaherty provided investigators with the route his wife would typically take to Vincennes, law enforcement and volunteers searched the area but found nothing, according to Ballard. Kayla's employer, Good Samaritan Hospital, told detectives that they had texted her to say she did not need to come into work on Thursday but received no response, the affidavit states.

Investigators quickly turned their focus to Daniel Flaherty and his potential involvement in his wife's disappearance when they learned that she had recently filed for divorce, according to Ballard. Though Daniel Flaherty had not yet been formally served with divorce papers, he reportedly admitted to detectives that he and his wife had discussed the separation just before she left their Patoka home for Vincennes.

Later, according to the police, Daniel Flaherty would admit that his wife never left their home, and that he had killed her.

Detectives reviewed license-plate reading cameras, credit card transactions and cell phone location data as part of their search for Kayla. The location data, obtained via an emergency request to Verizon, showed that Kayla's cellphone repeatedly contacted a cell tower in Gibson County between 12:22 a.m. and 5:36 a.m. on Thursday, around the time Daniel Flaherty is reported to have said she should have been traveling to Vincennes.

"This data shows that the cellular telephone of Kayla Flaherty was within Gibson County and steadily hitting the same tower, which shows little indication that Kayla Flaherty drove toward Vincennes prior to her disappearance," Ballard wrote in the affidavit.

The cell tower in question was located less than seven miles from the Flahertys' home, according to the sheriff's office. Detectives made an attempt to recover location tracking data from Toyota, the manufacturer of Kayla's vehicle, though the company reportedly said it was unable to activate the 2019 Highlander's tracking feature.

On Friday, a Gibson County Sheriff's Office detective and an Indiana State Police sergeant interviewed Daniel Flaherty. During that interview, Daniel Flaherty allegedly made a startling admission: That he had killed his wife and set her body in the Toyota SUV before setting the vehicle alight.

"During this audio and video recorded interview, Daniel Flaherty was advised of his Miranda rights and admitted to hitting Kayla Flaherty multiple times with a hammer in the living room of the residence," his arrest affidavit states. After transporting Kayla Flaherty's body to the Highlander SUV, Daniel Flaherty allegedly told detectives that he rigged the vehicle "to drive into the Wabash River" and that he "set fire to the 2019 Highlander along with the body of Kayla Flaherty."

When investigators traveled to a location in Knox County where Danial Flaherty allegedly said they would find the remains, they reported locating a burned-out -- but still recognizable -- Toyota SUV.

"I could see human remains inside the vehicle," Ballard wrote in the affidavit.

Detectives from the Gibson County Sheriff's Office, Indiana State Police, Vincennes Police Department and other agencies worked "nearly around the clock" to investigate the case, Vanoven wrote in a brief news release on Monday.

"At this time, the Gibson County Sheriff’s Office will not make any further statements," the release continues. "In critical times such as this, we need to weigh multiple things as we proceed further with the investigation … We need to allow Ms. Flaherty’s family adequate time to be notified and to grieve."

Vanoven added that the Gibson County Sheriff's Office would be collaborating with the prosecutor's office to ensure Daniel Flaherty is tried "to the fullest extent" of the law.

Daniel Flaherty appeared in Gibson County Superior Court on Monday morning via video link, according to a court docket entry. He pleaded not guilty and requested a public defender. A judge ordered that Daniel Flaherty be held in the Gibson County Jail without bond, pending an Oct. 16 hearing.

Houston Harwood can be contacted at houston.harwood@courierpress.com.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Affidavit: Gibson Co. husband allegedly admitted to killing wife, disposing of body