State police used forensic examination of spent bullets to identify a US military member and an Indiana native as a murder suspect

Owen County, Indiana – The process by which Indiana State Police located and detained a murder suspect in Owen County, North Carolina, has been made public in new court documents.

Kenron Laing, 24, is charged with shooting and killing Gildardo Garcia Salina in 2022, according to court filings earlier this month. Prior to the incident, Laing is said to have driven from Fishers to Salina’s home in Cloverdale.

Salina stole Laing’s suitcase from a Fishers motel, which is why police think Laing killed her. According to court documents, Salina worked as a member of the motel’s grounds crew while Laing was a guest.

A member of the grounds department discovered the package in some bushes. Salina eventually came into possession of the bag.

Salina informed his family that he had discovered drugs, a scale, smoking equipment, and an iPhone in the suitcase, as stated in an affidavit for probable cause. Salina also informed his relatives that he had thrown out the narcotics because they would do harm to others.

Salina took the bag home with him, telling his family that he planned to return to the motel where he had been working with the bag and the iPhone inside. But Salina was never able to return the bag to the motel.

Police interviewed employees of the motel as part of their investigation. Police were informed by those employees that Laing had told them he had misplaced an iPhone on the premises.

Laing was given a key by the staff to return to the room where he had been staying. Later, he questioned staff members about the motel’s gardening company. He then reported to the motel personnel that his misplaced phone seemed to be pinging at the headquarters of a landscaping company.

Police were given security footage taken on the day of the incident by the motel’s management team. A man who looked like Laing was seen on camera looking around the spot where a landscaping vehicle had been parked.

Additionally, according to police, the video showed Laing constantly staring down at his phone as though he were tracking something. Following his search, Laing left the parking area in a black Mitsubishi Galant.

According to one of Salina’s relatives who spoke to police, she saw a car with its lights on prior to the shooting. Police were informed by the family member that she believed the vehicle might have been “staking out the residence.” The automobile appeared to be a “boxier” version of a Toyota Camry, according to a bystander who said they also saw it close to Salina’s Cloverdale home.

When a man finally attempted to enter Salina’s home, Salina snatched up a shotgun and put it over his chest horizontally to prevent the man from entering.

According to court documents, Salina finally pushed the man outside, and the two got into a brawl. There were gunshots at one point during the altercation.

As the shooter was leaving the scene, one of Salina’s relatives attempted to return fire. That same family member discovered Salina lying on the ground with numerous gunshot wounds after firing the shots.

After that, police and medical personnel showed up and attempted to save Salina’s life. However, their attempts proved fruitless, and Salina was declared dead at the site.

Police discovered two iPhones at the crime site, including the one Salina had discovered in the motel bag, according to court filings. Near the shooting area, on the grass, was the other iPhone.
Police identified both phones as belonging to Laing, a Crown Point native, following a records check. The GPS data from the phone they discovered in the grass was also examined by investigators.

The device had traveled from the landscaping company to Salina’s Cloverdale home, according to information obtained from the phone. On November 2, 2022, the shooting occurred at approximately 8:25 p.m., and at 8:41 p.m., the phone was remotely erased.

Prior to the incident in Owen County, Laing was in the car with someone, according to surveillance footage investigators examined at the motel. The person was recognized by the police as Kennisha, Laing’s sister.

After obtaining location data from Kennisha’s phone, police concluded that it had traveled from the Owen County crime scene to the Chicago region. Indiana State Police received word that Kennisha had been charged with murder in the Cook County Jail in Illinois more than a year after the incident.

According to ISP, Kennisha locked herself in a hotel room after shooting and killing a 16-year-old girl. Later, Kennisha admitted to authorities that she used her brother Kenron Laing’s firearm during the incident.

Two expended bullets found during the inquiry were sent to ISP by the organization looking into the shooting in which Kennisha was involved. The bullets taken from Salina’s body in 2022 were then contrasted with those.

According to court documents, weapons experts verified that the bullets found at the locations in Chicago and Owen County were probably shot from the same pistol.

Police planned to visit Fort Liberty, a military installation in North Carolina where Laing had been employed as an enlisted soldier, following the guns analysts’ reports. ISP then contacted Fort Liberty’s military authority.

Laing was detained by special agents at the installation as they awaited the arrival of ISP detectives. Laing asked for an attorney when ISP tried to contact him.

On Wednesday, Laing was taken to the Owen County Jail from the Cumberland County Jail in North Carolina. The jury trial for Laing’s case is currently scheduled for August 11, 2025.

Laing is being charged with one count of murder. In Indiana, the maximum punishment for murder can be life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death sentence.