Prosecutors say Samantha Mayhew faces an involuntary manslaughter charge after a fight near a fire pit left Kiersten Moore dead.

SPENCER, Ind. — A gathering around a backyard bonfire in Owen County turned deadly just after midnight Feb. 28 when a fight between two women ended with Kiersten Moore dead and Samantha Mayhew charged with involuntary manslaughter, according to court records and local reporting.

The case has drawn attention because investigators say the confrontation may have started over a question about why Moore did not have custody of her child, then spiraled into a struggle near a rock pile and fire pit. Prosecutors have filed a Level 5 felony charge against Mayhew, 33, who was being held in the Owen County Security Center on a $30,000 bond. The investigation remained active as of early March, and local officials said some key findings, including the final cause of death, were still pending.

Deputies were called at about 12:32 a.m. to a property on Private Road 525 West in northwestern Owen County after dispatchers reported a physical fight and said one person was no longer breathing. The first officer arriving at the scene did not find the victim first. Instead, according to the probable cause account cited by local outlets, he encountered Mayhew walking along the road with blood on her face and clothing and a large cut on her cheek. She allegedly asked to be left alone, then told the officer that people were “trying to get her for that girl not breathing” and urged him to go help. At the residence, the officer found the property owner performing CPR on Moore near a rock pile and fire pit while other responders rushed in with an AED.

The witness accounts give the sharpest picture of how the confrontation formed. Investigators were told the evening had been calm until Taylor Mayhew, Samantha Mayhew’s brother and Moore’s boyfriend, briefly stepped away. A witness said Moore had been sitting quietly when Samantha Mayhew began pressing her about the custody of her child. The argument then became physical. Witnesses told investigators Mayhew grabbed Moore by the hoodie and tackled or pulled her backward toward a rock pile. Some witnesses also said Mayhew appeared to place Moore in a chokehold, though public court reporting has not offered a final medical finding linking a specific act to Moore’s death. Taylor Mayhew later told deputies he came back to find his sister on top of Moore and slammed into her to pull her off.

That intervention appears to explain at least part of the blood and facial injuries seen on Mayhew when deputies found her. Witnesses told investigators someone other than Moore may have caused those injuries while trying to break up the fight. Deputies also noted signs that Mayhew was intoxicated, including the smell of alcohol, slurred speech and unsteady balance, according to local reports that cited the affidavit. One witness described her as heavily impaired by alcohol and other substances. Moore, by contrast, was described by witnesses as calm before the argument turned violent, and one local report said she had smoked marijuana earlier in the evening but had not been drinking. Officers said Moore did not show obvious visible injuries even after she stopped breathing, a detail that adds uncertainty to the still-pending medical picture.

Mayhew’s own reported remarks became an important part of the early case record. According to the affidavit excerpts published by multiple outlets, she allegedly said “I did this” at one point and later also said, “I promise I didn’t do this.” She also reportedly told officers, “the b— started it” and “I don’t know, she came at me.” The statements could become central if the case goes to trial because they point in different directions at once, with some sounding like an admission and others like a claim of self-defense or confusion. So far, prosecutors have charged involuntary manslaughter rather than murder, suggesting the state’s current theory is an unlawful killing without proof of an intentional murder charge at this stage.

Authorities took Mayhew for medical treatment before booking her into jail. Court dates were scheduled for a pretrial conference on April 16, a final pretrial conference on July 10 and a jury trial on Aug. 18, according to The Owen News. The sheriff’s office also pushed back publicly against rumor and online speculation, saying in a March 3 social media statement that it had not yet released a press statement or announced a cause of death because that finding had not been determined. That caution leaves a key question unanswered: whether Moore died from the fall, a chokehold, another part of the struggle or some combination of events that began with a question beside a backyard fire.

Author note: Last updated March 31, 2026.