Defense lawyers sought a mental health evaluation after prosecutors accused a 23-year-old of killing two relatives in Greenville.
NEW ALBANY, Ind. — A 23-year-old man accused of fatally shooting his father and stepfather inside a Floyd County home made his first court appearance Friday, where his attorney asked for a mental health evaluation as investigators continued sorting through a violent family confrontation.
The hearing marked the first public shift from the crime scene to the courtroom in a case that has shaken Greenville and the surrounding southern Indiana communities. Easton Goode is accused in the deaths of Kelly Goode, 55, and Bradley Butler, 53, and now faces two murder charges and two criminal recklessness charges tied to the shooting and the danger posed to others inside the house.
Deputies were called to a residence in the 6700 block of Georgetown-Greenville Road shortly before 6 a.m. Thursday after a report of a shooting. When officers arrived, authorities said, they found two men dead inside the home and took Easton Goode into custody. By Friday, more detail had emerged through a probable cause affidavit that described the moments leading up to the gunfire. According to that filing, Goode’s mother told investigators she found her son shortly before 5 a.m. drunk and vomiting in a bedroom. She said he later became violent with Butler, her husband, and wrestled with him before going into a bathroom. She then called Kelly Goode, the defendant’s father, hoping he could take his son away and help him sober up. Instead, investigators say, the visit ended in gunfire when Easton Goode emerged from the bedroom with a gun and shot both men.
The courtroom hearing added another layer to the case by putting Goode’s condition at issue almost immediately. Defense attorney Evan Bardach told the judge he wanted his client evaluated. “I am not a doctor. Obviously, there were some clear injuries on him. But I would just like to have him fully evaluated, and then we’ll go from there on everything,” Bardach said. Public accounts from the hearing described Goode in handcuffs as he passed family members on his way into court. The request did not resolve any questions about competency, sanity or a possible future defense, and the public record so far does not show detailed medical findings. What it did do was signal that the defense may push early for information about Goode’s mental state and physical condition in the hours after the shootings. Those issues can become important in serious felony cases, even while prosecutors focus first on witness statements, physical evidence and the sequence of events inside the home.
The affidavit also sketches a scene that investigators are likely to revisit in detail as the case proceeds. It says Goode’s mother and a family friend were present when shots were fired. The filing notes that Goode’s mother had a bullet hole in her shirt, though she was not reported shot, a fact that appears central to the criminal recklessness allegations. Investigators also wrote that there was a gun in the bedroom but that it had been placed in a safe, leaving unanswered questions about which weapon was used and how Goode obtained it. The affidavit says deputies eventually used a flash-bang after verbal commands failed and then took him into custody around 5:55 a.m. Missing from the public record are basic points that often shape early understanding of a homicide case: whether anyone else called 911 from inside the house, whether deputies had prior contact with the family, whether toxicology testing was planned, and whether prosecutors believe the shootings were spontaneous or preceded by threats.
For residents in Greenville, the case has stood out because of both the family relationship and the setting. The home sits in a quiet part of Floyd County where neighbors said violence of this kind is rare. Earlier reports from local outlets quoted a nearby resident who said he had lived in the area for more than four decades and could not remember a similar crime there. That sense of disbelief has framed local reaction since Thursday morning, especially after authorities identified the dead men as Butler and Kelly Goode, relatives of the man now charged in their killings. The case has also drawn attention because it unfolded across a tight family circle inside a home before dawn, with the defendant’s mother and a friend close enough to witness at least part of the encounter. Those details make the investigation not only a criminal matter but a tragedy that has immediately rippled through relatives and neighbors.
What comes next is more procedural, but no less important. Prosecutors must continue building the case around witness testimony, forensic evidence and the statements attributed to Goode in the affidavit. Defense lawyers are likely to press for medical and mental health information while the court sets future hearings and deadlines. Public reports said Goode was scheduled to return to court Monday, giving both sides an early chance to address custody, scheduling and any pending requests tied to his condition. No public trial date has been announced, and the record available so far does not show a plea or any broader statement from prosecutors about motive. Until those steps unfold, the case remains in its opening phase, with the affidavit and first hearing serving as the clearest public account of why Easton Goode is now charged with killing two men from his own family.
As of Saturday, the charges remained pending, the defendant remained jailed and the next key development was the court hearing expected Monday in Floyd County.
Author note: Last updated March 8, 2026.