A deteriorating relationship spiraled into physical fights before a Hammond man killed his cousin he lived with in their basement, charges allege.
Juan Mares, 28, was charged Friday with murder in the April 15 death of Matthew Sadowski. Mares turned himself in at the Hammond Police station on Thursday. He is being held without bond.
Hammond Police responded just before 12:30 p.m. April 16 to the 6500 block of Arkansas Avenue for a call of an assault with a firearm, Det. James Onohan wrote.
“He is downstairs,” a distraught woman, Mares’ relative, told police.
Officers saw a small blood trail leading to the basement stairs. Rifle shells were on the stairs.
They found Sadowski, 42, lying on his back near a dried pool of blood, documents state. A blue AR-15 style weapon — a ghost gun without a “legitimate” serial number — was on a nearby bed. It appeared to be jammed.
Mares’ relative said she last messaged Sadowski the day before, just before 5 p.m. A neighbor told her they heard “loud banging noises” like a “sludge hammer” sometime from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. April 15.
The woman said she drove past Sadowski’s home after Sadowski’s relative called saying he didn’t show up for work. The back door was left open. She found him in the basement.
Sadowski’s face was “severely” disfigured. He was shot a dozen times at “close range” in the face and his head. Officers recovered 25 .223-caliber bullet casings from the basement — all from the same weapon.
Mare’s identification card was found near the gun.
Sadowski’s relative told police he last spoke to him on April 15. According to him, Sadowski was losing patience with Mares for allegedly shorting him on rent and other food stamp “issues,” the affidavit states.
The men got into a physical fight on April 13 that left Mares with a black eye, the man said. When Mares went to work at the Ford Plant on his first three days, he was fired, charges state — adding to their souring relationship.
Sadowski got a gun a few days before. Mares took pictures with it and posted it on social media. It is not clear if it is the alleged murder weapon. The witness said that Mares couldn’t have “physically” overpowered Sadowski.
During the investigation, police had relatives call Mares while they recorded on a bodycam.
Mares told a relative on the first call that Sadowski “beat me to a pulp,” leaving him with a black eye on April 13, charges state. His face was “all red.”
The relative asked when it happened.
“I mean, we were fighting yesterday, too,” Mares said.
Sadowski was “abusive,” Mares said, and was “trying to put his hands on me.”
On the second call, Mares told a relative that Sadowski called him a “bum,” adding to his resentment.
They got into a fight on the day of the shooting.
“Yeah, bro, I just don’t want to talk about it,” Mares said, later adding, “I did it, because I’m tired of people calling me dumb.”
Did you really do it, the relative asked.
“I didn’t think it was this serious,” Mares said. “I’m imagining the rest of my life that nobody is gonna come visit me.”
He said he took an Uber after the shooting.
“I made a mistake,” he added.
Mares turned himself into the Hammond Police station at 6 p.m. April 16.
When investigators tried to talk to him, he asked for a lawyer. He had signs of a healing black eye and other scratches.
