INDIANAPOLIS — A lawyer for a former Colts player says he is being illegally held in Indiana’s Cass County Jail.
Daniel T. Muir faces charges of obstruction of justice and domestic battery after his missing son was found at his Logansport home. His wife, Kristin Muir, was arrested on charges of obstruction of justice.
Kristin and Daniel Muir are facing charges of obstruction of justice. (Cass County Sheriff’s Office)
14-year-old Bryson Muir was released to the care of the Cass County Department of Child Services.
Daniel and Kristin were both denied bond, with Daniel cited as a flight risk, according to a Cass County judge.
The judge also issued a no-contact order between the parents and their son.
On July 8, Daniel’s lawyer filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, stating that his detention is unlawful.
The lawyer said that denying Daniel bail was “unconstitutional under both state and federal law.”
He is calling on the judge to set a hearing to set bail and allow for Daniel’s release.
Allegations of Abuse
The son of the former Colts player was missing for two weeks. A Silver Alert was issued for the teen who was last seen leaving his Grandma’s Cheryl Wright’s house in Ohio.
According to court documents, Wright noticed the teen had a black eye as a result of a punishment from his father. The teen’s uncle recorded a phone call with Daniel, asking why the teen was in trouble.
Daniel made allegations of inappropriate behavior by the teen and told the uncle he “whooped his ass like a grown ass man,” according to court documents.
A probable cause affidavit states Daniel provided Indiana State Police with a video of the teen in an undisclosed wooded area. In the video, the teen can be seen saying, “My father did not punch me in the eye.”
According to court documents, Daniel told investigators the teen was punched by an “unknown individual,” and that’s when they decided to take him to his grandmother’s house for a few days. However, they brought him back to Indiana after Wright was “making decisions Kristin Muir did not agree with.”
On their way home from picking the teen up from his grandmother’s house, Kristin and Daniel were pulled over by police, but the 14-year-old was missing from the vehicle, police say. However, the mother and father’s stories regarding the traffic stop were inconsistent when police separately interviewed each.
Bryson Muir (Indiana State Police via Scripps News Indianapolis)
According to the probable cause affidavit, Daniel admitted he took the teen to another location because DCS was looking for him, and he wanted to protect his family. He would not tell the police the location.
On Friday, June 28, Daniel and Kristin agreed to meet with Indiana State Police investigators but later backed out.
Straightway Truth Ministries
Indiana State Police searched the property in Cass County owned by Servant Leader’s Foundation, a religious group based out of Tennessee. A sign saying “Welcome to Straitway Indiana Goshen” sits on that property.
The parents’ jury trial is scheduled for Nov. 4.
This story was originally published by Scripps News Indianapolis, an E.W. Scripps Company.
