Indianapolis woman killed in shooting, ex-husband faces murder charge

Patricia Wieber was found with gunshot wounds on the near east side of Indianapolis, and the case quickly widened from a neighborhood emergency into a murder investigation centered on her ex-husband. Officers responded about 8:15 p.m. on May 28 to the 30 block of North Rural Street near East Washington Street, where the 65-year-old was taken to Methodist Hospital in very critical condition and pronounced dead at 9:08 p.m.

The Marion County Coroner’s Office later identified the victim as Patricia Wieber. Detectives then identified the suspect as 75-year-old Ronald Cross of Spencer, and court documents describe him as Wieber’s ex-husband. Investigators have said the preliminary picture points to a disturbance among family members and that Wieber was targeted.

The trail did not end at the shooting scene. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department investigators said they used technology to track a possible suspect vehicle to the 7500 block of Bullock Court near West Southport Road and Railroad Road. Officers then saw two people leave in a second vehicle before the pursuit continued south and west through the city.

That pursuit ended near West Morris Street and South Harding Street, close to Interstate 70, where police said Cross fired at officers and at least three officers fired back. Cross was struck at least once, taken to a hospital in stable condition, and police said no officers or uninvolved civilians were injured. Authorities also said there was no ongoing public safety threat after the confrontation ended.

Court documents add a troubling layer to the case. Cross allegedly told police he had tried to die by suicide in the vehicle, but the gun did not work. He also allegedly answered yes when asked whether he had been trying to provoke officers into shooting him. Cross told police Wieber had taken money from him and said he went to recover it. He also claimed Wieber was reaching into her purse when he shot her.

Cross now faces charges including murder, two counts of resisting law enforcement, pointing a firearm, and unlawful carrying of a handgun. Police said they recovered two handguns from the scene, and anyone with information or surveillance video has been asked to contact IMPD Detective Jose Torres. A vigil was held for Wieber, where the loss was summed up in the words, “She was my rock,” as the case moved from a fatal street shooting to a murder charge built from the final moments of a relationship that had already broken apart.