An 87-year-old Maryland man was later indicted on murder and firearm charges after authorities found his roommate dead inside their shared home.

FREDERICK, Md. — A visit to a Frederick-area church became the crucial link between an alleged confession and a homicide investigation after an 87-year-old man told a pastor that he had killed his roommate, according to police and court records. Authorities soon found 63-year-old Michael Roy Bushnell dead inside the home he shared with Irwin Joseph Dickstein, who was arrested and later indicted.

The case began as a report passed from a church to law enforcement, rather than with a 911 call from the Franklin Street residence. Authorities say Dickstein went to Frederick Christian Fellowship on Sept. 20 and disclosed that he had killed someone. The pastor notified authorities, and investigators were given information pointing them to the home Dickstein shared with Bushnell. Frederick police said the disclosure ultimately led officers to the residence and to Bushnell. Dickstein, who was 87 at the time, was taken into custody without incident. The allegations against him have not been proven in court.

The pastor’s call was not the only account investigators received that morning. Court records reported by local news outlets say the man who drove Dickstein to the church also spoke with authorities. The driver said Dickstein had indicated that he needed to talk with a pastor and allegedly acknowledged killing his roommate. Investigators were also told that Dickstein had placed a case in the driver’s vehicle. Police later obtained a search warrant and recovered a handgun from the case. The weapon became one of several pieces of evidence described publicly as investigators reconstructed what had happened before Dickstein arrived at the church.

When Frederick police went to the unit block of Franklin Street for a welfare check, the residence was unsecured, the department said. Officers entered and found Bushnell dead inside. Police initially released few details about the condition of the scene, saying the investigation was active. Later accounts based on charging papers said Bushnell was found in an upstairs bathroom. WBAL-TV, citing those documents, reported that investigators alleged Bushnell had been shot multiple times while in the bathroom. Authorities have not publicly released a full forensic account of the shooting, and the public reports reviewed for this story do not establish that the recovered handgun has been conclusively matched to the fatal shots.

Investigators also obtained information about a dispute between the roommates before the shooting. According to court records described by FOX 5 and Law&Crime, a neighbor said Bushnell had been working on an electrical outlet and had shut off power at the house. That apparently angered Dickstein, according to the witness account. The neighbor told investigators that the men had been arguing and that several loud bangs were heard at about 5:30 a.m. Sept. 20. That account offered detectives a possible sequence leading up to the shooting, but prosecutors would still have to prove at trial what happened and whether the dispute was connected to the killing.

The church visit occurred several hours after those reported sounds. Court accounts say the pastor contacted authorities at about 10:30 a.m. after Dickstein allegedly said he had killed someone. Deputies with the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office became involved and then notified the Frederick Police Department. Police said Dickstein had reportedly told a witness that he shot his roommate and gave the location where the incident had occurred. That information allowed officers to conduct the welfare check. Investigators later located Dickstein away from the Franklin Street home and arrested him without a confrontation.

Authorities said Dickstein also spoke with detectives after he was taken into custody. Reports based on the charging affidavit say he allegedly identified Bushnell as the man he had killed and confirmed that Bushnell was at the Franklin Street address. Dickstein then declined to continue answering questions without an attorney, according to those reports. His decision to stop the interview is a constitutional right and does not itself indicate guilt. The alleged statements, the account from the driver, the neighbor’s description of the earlier argument and the firearm recovered from the vehicle formed separate strands of the early investigation.

Police initially charged Dickstein with first- and second-degree murder. He was taken to the Frederick County Adult Detention Center and was held without bail. Frederick police described the case as an isolated incident and said there was no continuing threat to the public. The department identified Bushnell as a Frederick resident and said detectives were continuing to investigate. At that stage, police did not publicly outline a detailed theory of premeditation or release a complete timeline of the men’s movements inside the house.

The case later moved from the initial charging stage to Circuit Court proceedings. In early October, a Frederick County grand jury indicted Dickstein on first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony or crime of violence, according to WFMD. The indictment represented a significant procedural development because the case was no longer proceeding only on the original District Court charging documents. Public reporting about the indictment did not establish Dickstein’s guilt; an indictment means grand jurors found sufficient basis for the criminal accusations to proceed in court.

Dickstein’s ability to participate in the court process also became an issue soon after his arrest. His defense sought a competency evaluation, and he was ordered to undergo an inpatient examination, according to reports about the case. A competency hearing was scheduled for Oct. 13. Competency addresses whether a defendant is able to understand the proceedings and assist in a defense; it is separate from whether the defendant committed the alleged crimes. Reliable public reports reviewed for this article do not confirm the result of that scheduled hearing, so no conclusion about his competency can be stated based on the available record.

The unusual path by which the case reached investigators remains central to the public account. Police were not initially called to the house because a neighbor reported discovering Bushnell or because officers responded to a shooting in progress. Instead, authorities say the investigation accelerated after Dickstein left the residence, went to a church and made statements that prompted a pastor to contact law enforcement. The driver then supplied another account, and police moved from the church report to the Franklin Street home and the vehicle where the handgun was found. Those successive contacts gave investigators a rapid series of leads before Dickstein was arrested.

Still unresolved publicly are several details that could become important as the prosecution develops. Authorities have not released a complete forensic analysis of the firearm, a full autopsy account, or a public reconstruction of the shooting beyond what has appeared in charging documents and news reports. The available records also do not show whether prosecutors intend to rely on additional physical evidence or other witnesses. The reported argument over an electrical repair gives the case context, but it does not by itself establish motive or the elements required for first-degree murder. Those questions remain for the judicial process.

The next phase of the case will depend on what the court determines about Dickstein’s ability to proceed and how prosecutors present the evidence collected after the church disclosure. The public record reviewed through Nov. 8 does not establish the outcome of the competency hearing that had been scheduled for Oct. 13. Until that question and the criminal charges are resolved in court, Dickstein remains accused — not convicted — of killing Bushnell.

Author note: Last updated November 8, 2026.