By Jessica Kerman and Shawn McGrath
ANDERSON — After a two-and-a-half-hour standoff with police, an Anderson man surrendered and was arrested for shooting his wife to death Wednesday.
At 12:39 p.m., Anderson police were called to a southeast side neighborhood by residents who heard gunshots. On arrival, police found Cynthia Achenbach, 24, lying on the driveway of 2024 Charles St., where her husband Michael A. Achenbach, 34, lived.
Achenbach reportedly shot his wife outside the home and then holed up inside while negotiators talked to him.
As soon as an ambulance arrived, Cynthia Achenbach was taken to Saint John’s Medical Center. Joel Sandefur, public information officer for Anderson Police Department, said she was presumed dead at the scene.
Michael Achenbach’s mother and brother were at the house at the time, along with the couple’s two young children, one an infant. The family members took the children away from the neighborhood at about 2 p.m. The children’s ages weren’t available late Wednesday.
Twenty officers from APD, along with officers from the Anderson Fire Department and the Madison County Sheriff’s Department, responded to the scene, closing off Charles Street from Scatterfield Road to Mac Drive during the incident.
Some neighbors were evacuated from the area.
Morgan Shepard, 19, who lives across the street from the Achenbach house, said he was sleeping when the incident happened.
“I woke up to banging on the back door,” he said. “I go and open the back door, and this guy with pajamas and a safety vest was there.”
Shepard was told to leave his house because he could be endangered, he said.
Neighbors said the couple moved into the neighborhood less than a year ago, but neighbors watching the action said they didn’t know the couple.
Detective Steve Napier, one of the department's hostage negotiators, kept up a dialogue with Achenbach until the suspect surrendered and was taken into handcuffs at about 3 p.m.
“(Napier) did a fabulous job in brokering a peaceful surrender,” Sandefur said.
The long standoff attracted neighbors and shoppers at area stores to watch the action.
Achenbach was booked into the Madison County Jail at about 10 p.m. Wednesday on suspicion of killing his wife. He was being held without bond and could make an initial court appearance as early as Thursday.
Michael Achenbach had a history of violence, according to police records.
On Feb. 8, he was arrested outside Mounds Mall for criminal confinement, a Class B felony; battery by means of a deadly weapon, a Class C felony; and domestic battery, a Class A misdemeanor. The charges stemmed from an alleged fight to get Cynthia’s cell phone in the mall parking lot, according to a probable cause affidavit. Cynthia suffered a minor cut to her wrist or forearm after Michael pulled out a folding knife during the encounter.
“Throughout the incident, Cynthia said she was in fear that she was going to be killed,” according to the affidavit written by Officer Trent Chamberlin. “Cynthia went on to say that Michael has been suicidal in the past and she was fearful that he was going to kill her and himself.”
Cynthia Achenbach filed for a protective order through Madison County courts Feb. 12, but it was dismissed after she failed to attend a hearing March 5, according to court documents.
Michael Achenbach was ordered to sign a no-contact order as a condition of bonding out of jail when he was arrested in February. A no-contact order remains in effect until the criminal case is resolved. As part of the conditions of the order, he was not permitted to have any firearms.
Madison Superior Court 3 Judge Thomas Newman issued a pair of search warrants for the Charles Street residence and three vehicles parked near the home.
“Neighbors heard gunshots (and) the police were called,” Detective Mark Cole testified during a probable cause hearing to obtain a search warrant for the house. “The female that lives there, Cynthia Achenbach, was found dead right in front of the house with a couple of gunshot wounds.”
While Cole said Achenbach lives at the home, she listed her address as being in the 400 block of Cross Street when she filed for the protective order.
While no motive for the slaying was released Wednesday, Deputy Prosecutor Pat Ragains hinted at a possible reason for the killing during a search warrant hearing.
“There was some indication that this may have had something to do with some items that he was seeking to retrieve from her?” Ragains asked. “There were some images that were captured on videocassettes, DVDs or CD-ROMs.”
Late Wednesday, Ragains declined to comment on the hearing.
Cole obtained the search warrant for the vehicles so detectives could search for the weapon used in the slaying, which had not yet been recovered. They also believed Cynthia’s purse was in one of the vehicles.
Madison County Deputy Coroner Marian Dunnichay said a preliminary examination determined Cynthia Achenbach died from a pair of gunshot wounds. She was shot twice from behind, hit in the back and head. Dunnichay said an autopsy would be performed at Ball Memorial Hospital Thursday to formally determine the manner and cause of death.
Dunnichay said the autopsy would also determine the distance between Cynthia and the shooter. She declined to say what type of firearm was used in the slaying.
“I’m not going to release the weapon used until I hear back from the pathologist,” Dunnichay said.
