How was John Hallett arrested? Suspect charged six years after allegedly strangling roommate in Indiana

48-year-old John Hallett was arrested on Thursday in connection to his roommate's death in 2017 in Indiana. Hallett allegedly killed the victim, Paul Gonzales, and kept his body in the basement of their house for about two months.

He reportedly dismembered his roommate's body and then placed the remains in trash bags, which he scattered all over the city. The same was confirmed by the Michigan City police.

Police began investigating the case in August 2022, after Det. Lt. Anna Painter suspected that a murder had taken place in the house in Indiana. This was when a cadaver dog was brought to the house and the suspect was arrested after Paul Gonzales' remains were found in the basement.

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John Hallett was arrested after cadaver dogs found his roommate's remains in his basement in Indiana

On Thursday, August 24, authorities arrested John Hallett, linking him to the alleged murder of his roommate in 2017 in Indiana. Hallett reportedly accused Gonzales of stealing his mail and ended up hitting him from the back with a crutch. The suspect then allegedly kept the dead body in the bedroom for a few days, before shifting it to the basement. He kept his remains there for 56 days before he dismembered his body.

Det. Lt. Anna Painter wrote in an affidavit:

"John then moved Paul’s body into a bedroom for a few days but then moved him into the basement where he was kept for 56 days."

Painter added:

"John then used a hacksaw to cut up Paul’s body and place the parts into trash bags where he then disposed of them in the city residential trash cans."

The investigation began in August 2022, after a cadaver dog discovered the presence of human remains in the basement of the Indiana home. An arrest warrant in Hallett's name was then issued on August 8, 2023, and police discovered that he was in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was then charged with murder and abuse of a corpse.

Finally, on Thursday, John Hallett was taken into custody and booked into the Middlesex Jail & House of Correction. He is currently awaiting extradition to Indiana.

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Residents near the house were concerned after the case came to light

The suspect allegedly dismembered his roommate's body. (Image via @peterobi4eva/Twitter)

Neighbors expressed shock and concern after the case came to light and Alex Majetich, who lives near the Indiana house told the New York Post:

"I just assumed they were, like, shooting a movie or something because this stuff doesn’t happen around here."

Another resident named Lindsay Garito said:

"There was a commotion out front of the building that’s across the street and a man walking out in handcuffs, which caught my eye as unusual. He looked about as normal as they come, he was calm, he just walked out of his building in a large group. Just thinking of living that close to someone that’s taken another human’s life is definitely unsettling."

An investigation revealed that both John Hallett and Paul Gonzales were homeless and were placed in the Indiana house in 2015, by a local non-profit organization. Cambridge Police and officers with the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section and U.S. Marshals took the suspect into custody after they learned that he was in Cambridge.