Husband beat his wife to death with a hammer after she filed for divorce

Indiana man admitted to setting fire to SUV with body of wife inside, according to police

Daniel Flaherty is accused of murdering his wife Kayla (Gibson County Sheriff’s Office)

An Indiana man is charged with murder for allegedly beating his wife to death with a hammer then trying to disguise the incident as a disappearance and car crash.

Daniel Keith Flaherty, 42, appeared in Gibson Superior Court on Monday, where he entered a not guilty plea.

Flaherty was arrested Friday, a day after he reported that his wife Kayla Flaherty, 36, was missing.

The 42-year-old intitally told police Flaherty left the couple’s home in the town of Patoka on October 3 to head to her mother’s house.

Kayla’s mother told police her daughter did not show up that Thursday morning, and police found no evidence along the route Flaherty suggested his wife took that she had actually made the journey, according to a probable cause statement obtained by Law and Crime. Kayla also did not appear for a Thursday shift at the hospital where she worked.

Flaherty later told police that before his wife left, “They were having a discussion about their relationship,” according to the probable cause statement.

The body of Kayla Flaherty, 36, was found on Friday near the Wabash River (Gibson County Sheriff’s Office)

Eventually, the 42-year-old told investigators he “struck his wife multiple times with a hammer in their living room on Thursday morning,” per the court documents.

Kayla Flaherty’s body was discovered near the Wabash River the following day.

The same day police found the body, they learned Kayla had filed for divorce from Daniel Flaherty.

Daniel Keith Flaherty, 42, of Patoka, Indiana, is charged with murder (Gibson County Sheriff’s Office)

“Daniel Flaherty admitted that he rigged the vehicle to drive into the Wabash River and set fire to the 2019 Highlander along with the body of Kayla Flaherty,” the documents continue. “Daniel Flaherty further identified the location of the site via a map, and pointed out a location in far southwest Knox County, Indiana.”

Police said a search of the vehicle revealed Kayla’s cell phone and identifying documents.

In a statement, Sheriff Bruce Vanoven praised local and state police who “worked nearly around the clock to bring Mr. Flaherty to justice.”

A status hearing in the case is scheduled for October 16.