Auburn man arrested for fatal stabbing | The star

Indiana State Police said the investigation is still ongoing and the murder charge is preliminary at this time.

Blake Boese, 17, of Auburn, was identified as the victim.

At approximately 1:50 p.m. Thursday afternoon, DeKalb County Sheriff's Office Communications received a 911 call reporting a possible stabbing incident in the 1100 block of Irene Street, located on the west side of Auburn, Indiana State Police said in a news release.

Auburn police officers arrived on scene for the first time. Officers immediately located an unconscious 17-year-old man – later identified as Boese – lying in the yard of 1108 Irene Street. He was suffering from what appeared to be a possible stab wound, police said.

Auburn officers, along with Auburn Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel, began providing life-saving medical treatment, but their attempts were unsuccessful. The teen was pronounced dead at the scene by the DeKalb County Coroner's Office.

It was reported earlier Thursday afternoon that investigators had brought in a 19-year-old person of interest for questioning. After further investigation, detectives developed more detailed information that led to identifying Herzog as the suspect allegedly responsible for Boese's death.

In an earlier news release, police said investigators believed it was an isolated incident between two men.

At the request of the DeKalb County Prosecutor, Fort Wayne Post detectives were asked to lead the investigation. These detectives are assisted by an ISP Crime Scene Investigator, the Auburn Police Department, the DeKalb County Coroner's Office and the DeKalb District Attorney's Office.

Boese's identity was released after notification to the family.

The coroner has scheduled an autopsy Friday at the Northeast Indiana Forensic Center in Fort Wayne.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed Friday by FSI Detective Clint Hetrick, officers were dispatched to 1108 Irene St. after a young man, later identified as Boese, was found bleeding from a Apparent stab wound to upper left chest, asking for help.

Residents there told officers that Boese said, “I've been stabbed” and both observed the stabbing, the affidavit states.

During an interview with ISP Detective Dave Poe, one of the residents said she thought at the time the wound would be fatal based on the location and amount of blood loss, the report said. affidavit.

She also reported seeing a young man wearing a beige shirt and basketball shorts at the foot of the stairs leading to her trailer. She told Poe she was concerned that the individual would continue to pursue Boese in his trailer and that she was concerned for his safety, according to the affidavit.

She told police she saw the young adult male wearing a tan/camouflage shirt with a knife in his hand and also a blue zipper bag in his hand. She said she saw the man rummaging with the bag and she believed he placed the knife used to stab Boese in the bag. She told police the man ran southwest, away from the location, according to the affidavit.

She said Boese “fell a little bit” in his trailer because he collapsed and she tried to apply pressure to the wound with a blanket. She told police she tried to talk to Boese to keep him conscious while she put pressure on the wound. She said Boese gave her his name, his age and that he had been stabbed in the chest, and when she asked him who stabbed him, he gave the name of a person according to the affidavit .

Auburn Police Officer Cameron Manning was the first to respond to the scene and he immediately began attempting to provide medical aid to Boese. Other first responders attempted to provide medical aid, but he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, the affidavit states.

Eyewitnesses at the scene of the assault said a red Jeep was seen leaving the scene and a man in camouflage and a younger man were seen leaving, according to the affidavit.

Officers began searching for the person Boese named. Initial reports at the scene indicated the suspect was wearing a camouflage shirt, the affidavit states.

Officers went to the 1900 block of Maple Street, where the person Boese identified lives. Auburn Police Detective Justin James observed a man outside the residence who matched the description of the individual. He confirmed the man was the person Boese named and took him into custody, the affidavit states.

James was unable to locate any weapons at that time. James and other officers secured the residence and were on scene when they arrested the person's mother and secured the residence by calling her brother, Coltin Herzog, and their juvenile younger sister, according to the affidavit.

A red Jeep was found at the residence with a personalized license plate H3RZ0G. The vehicle was later described as belonging to Herzog, but it was occasionally driven by his brother, the affidavit states.

An eyewitness and his mother also came forward to the police. The eyewitness told police he was walking with Boese when a red Jeep stopped. He said Boese approached the Jeep as if he knew the driver and began talking to him. He said Boese told him the suspect had a knife and they needed to run, according to the affidavit.

The eyewitness was presented with a photo array that included a photo of the person named by Boese. The eyewitness identified the person as the “brother of the man who came at us with a knife,” the affidavit states.

A new photo set was generated to include a photo of Herzog. The eyewitness identified Herzog as the person who stabbed Boese, according to the affidavit. The eyewitness told police a 16-year-old juvenile was also in the car, according to the affidavit.

Detective Hetrick said he and Detective Poe interviewed Boese's named person, who told him he went to work at McDonald's around 9 a.m. He told police he drove Herzog's red Jeep to work, worked his shift and finished work around 1:30 p.m., according to the affidavit.

Police spoke with McDonalds management and determined the individual left work at 1:21 p.m.

The individual said he went straight home, put his car keys on the counter, went to bed and didn't wake up until an hour later, when police arrived at his residence. He denied any involvement in the incident, according to the affidavit.

While at the scene on Irene Street, police were approached by a man who indicated he believed he found the murder weapon in a trash can at his residence in the 300 block of West 7th Street.

The man told police his son knew an individual and told him the individual told him someone had just been stabbed and that he had to hide something in his trash, according to the affidavit . The man stated that the individual arrived at his residence and kicked him off his property. The man said the individual appeared to be crying and upset that someone had been stabbed in the shoulder.

The man said he went to check his trash can after observing all the police activity and found a blue bag soaked in blood. The man said he found a folding knife in the bag, according to the affidavit.

Police obtained search warrants for the residences on Irene and Maple streets. Police observed several drops of a red substance on the floor of the Maple Street laundry room.

“There was also a tiny drop of red substance collected on the laundry lid. In the soaking wet washing machine was a camouflage shirt. This was a shirt that matched the description of the murder suspect,” the affidavit states.

“It should be noted that at the time Coltin Herzog was arrested at the residence, he was wearing dark basketball shorts and was shirtless,” the affidavit states.

On Friday, Judge Monte Brown ruled that the affidavit demonstrated sufficient probable cause.

In August 2022, Brown sentenced Herzog to six years of incarceration, with two years suspended, for his role in the break-in and shooting of an Auburn juvenile in her Castle Court apartment in March 2021.

Herzog had pleaded guilty to an amended charge of burglary, a Level 4 felony, as part of a plea agreement filed in DeKalb Superior Court II. The plea agreement left sentencing open to the court. Herzog received credit for time served.

The charge was originally filed as a more serious count of burglary resulting in serious bodily injury, a Level 1 felony. Also under the plea agreement, a charge of attempted murder , a Level 1 felony, was dismissed.

Herzog admitted that on March 20, 2021, he was with a co-defendant who hatched a plan to enter apartments to which he had entry codes and asked Herzog to accompany him as his driver.