Suspect accused of fatally shooting karaoke singer at bar as victim broke out in duet with suspect’s ex
A man has been arrested after police say he shot dead a karaoke singer at an Ohio bar as the victim broke out in a duet with the suspect’s ex-wife.
Richard Lindgren, 59, was arrested in South Carolina after a nationwide warrant was issued for him in connection with the death of Benjamin Hawk, 42, the Licking County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook.
Shortly before midnight on Friday, police responded to a report of a shooting at Louie’s Corner House in Buckeye Lake, about a 35-minute drive east of Columbus.
Sheriff’s deputies found a man, later identified as Hawk, with a gunshot wound.
WBNS reported, citing court documents, Hawk and Lindgren’s ex-wife were singing karaoke on the bar’s outdoor patio when Lindgren came from behind Hawk and shot him in the back of the head with a small handgun.
Debbie Williamson, the bar owner, told The Columbus Dispatch the shooting was “very traumatizing,” and nothing like that had happened in the nearly 50 years the bar had been in her family.
Williamson said she was sitting outside when she heard what sounded like a firework. She said the karaoke singer “got like three words out” of his song before he was shot.
When she looked at the commotion, she said she saw a man running out of the gate of the beer garden as people chased him. She added neither the victim nor the suspect was a local or a bar regular.
Police announced Lindgren was taken into custody a day after the shooting. His car was stopped in Orangeburg, about nine hours south of Buckeye Lake, by a South Carolina State Trooper. The trooper also had help from Orangeburg County Sheriff’s deputies.
The Licking County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook Saturday detectives would be traveling to Orangeburg to continue the investigation.
Hawk’s brother, David, created a GoFundMe page for burial costs. He said Hawk was “murdered in cold blood,” and he leaves behind two young daughters.
Hawk said his brother was “loved by many and never met a stranger.”
“He always looked out for those around him and would give his very last to someone in need, even if it meant he had to go without,” the GoFundMe page read.
