Police: Slain Girl Struck With Car Jack Handle

ANDERSON, Ind. -- A suspect in an Anderson girl's death told investigators he accidentally struck her in the head with a car jack handle at a park, police said Friday.

Police, however, said they believe 20-year-old Jesse L. Pitts intentionally struck 14-year-old Amanda Brinker with the handle at Edgewood Park on Thursday.

"Due to the type of injuries that she sustained and the (manner) of her death, it doesn't appear that it was anything close to an accident," Anderson police Detective Terry Sollars said Friday.

Pitts, who police said called 911 Thursday morning to report finding Brinker's body facedown in the White River at the park, was arrested Thursday afternoon in connection with her death.

Brinker, an Anderson High School student, called Pitts before she went to her bus stop Thursday morning, according to a probable cause affidavit. Pitts drove to the bus stop, where Brinker willingly entered his car, according to police.

They drove to the park, where they smoked marijuana, police said.

"Things went from bad to worse," Sollars told 6News' Jennifer Carmack. "He hasn't come across with the exact story, but he ended up hitting her in the back of the head with a car jack handle."

An initial interview with Pitts left investigators unsure as to how he found the body, but they eventually determined that Pitts had been with her at the park, according to the affidavit.

Pitts then told investigators a stranger had knocked Brinker to the ground, but he changed his story several times, according to the affidavit.

Eventually, he said he'd been swinging the car jack handle and accidentally struck Brinker in the head, police said.

Pitts said he "sort of threw" Brinker to the ground at the top of the riverbank, and that her body then rolled into the river as he fled, according to the affidavit.

Police said they searched Pitts' car and found a car jack handle to which hair was attached. Police said they also found a bloody shirt -- which they believe was his -- in his home.

An autopsy was scheduled for Friday, but results hadn't been released to the news media by 5 p.m.

Police said they don't know why Pitts struck Brinker. They said Pitts and Brinker knew each other for some time, but the extent of their relationship wasn't clear.

Pitts was being held Friday in the Madison County jail. Prosecutors have until Wednesday to file charges in the case.