Suspect indicted for killing a man found dead in car on I-71
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) - A Columbus man was indicted Friday on two counts of murder and one count of tampering with evidence, according to court records.
Michael V. Thilat, 29, was charged with murder May 19 for allegedly shooting and killing Anthony Luney, a 56-year-old found dead May 14 in his Mini Cooper on 1-71 north near Morse Road, according to records from the Franklin County Municipal Court. Thilat is scheduled for arraignment on Tuesday.
Columbus police responded to reports of a Mini Cooper traveling northbound at approximately 60 mph, “bouncing off of the center median wall,” court records state.
The vehicle stopped at I-71 northbound, south of State Route 161, where police found Luney slumped over the steering wheel. The Franklin County Coroner’s Office pronounced Luney dead at the scene from a gunshot wound to the torso.
Officers arrested Thilat for unrelated felony warrants, and while detectives questioned the 29-year-old, he reportedly admitted to shooting Luney at the 3300 block of Maize Road during a drug deal.