Prosecutors in Indiana are seeking to put a 33-year-old man behind bars for the remainder of his life for killing his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend, abducting and fatally shooting the 39-year-old man before stripping off his clothes and attempting to evade law enforcement by hiding in the woods.

The Dearborn County Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday formally filed a “Notice of Intent to Seek Life Imprisonment” in the case against Brent Wellman, who is charged with the murder of 39-year-old Dennis W. Adams Jr., court records show.

According to a news release from prosecutors, Adams had just recently begun dating Wellman’s ex-girlfriend, who shares a child with Wellman, before he was fatally attacked in the early morning hours of Aug. 14. Several days earlier, prosecutors said, Wellman called his ex-girlfriend asking if he could keep some things at her home because he had just been kicked out of his friend’s house and didn’t have anywhere to stay. It was not immediately clear if he left anything at her home.

On Aug. 13, Wellman allegedly called the girlfriend and asked if he could come to the house to wish their child a happy birthday. The child’s mother said it would not be a good idea, because Wellman got off of work too late that evening. Instead, the mother suggested that Wellman pick up their child from a relative in the morning and take the kid to school. It was not immediately clear if Wellman agreed to those terms.

The evening of Aug. 13, Adams was staying the night at the home of Wellman’s ex-girlfriend when they “heard a noise” that the ex-girlfriend “compared to someone breaking into her residence,” per the release. The couple went outside to check, but “did not see anyone and believed it was the air conditioner.” Adams left the home for work at about 4:45 a.m. on Aug. 14.

Less than an hour after Adams left, someone called 911 to report hearing gunshots and seeing a vehicle stopped in the 11000 block of U.S. Route 50.

“The caller reported that he observed a blue vehicle, stopped in the high-speed lane of east bound US 50,” the release states. “The caller stated that he stopped and when he approached the vehicle, he observed that the driver’s door was open, observed blood on the pants and face of the male occupant in the driver’s seat and another male in the backseat crawling to the front seat via the center console. The 911 callers advised that he left the scene and believes that the vehicle traveled down Texas Gas Road.”

A deputy with the Dearborn County Sheriff’s Department located the vehicle and attempted to speak to the driver, described as a “white, male adult with a dark beard” who “avoided eye contact,” before the suspect sped away. The suspect matched the description of Wellman, police said.

The vehicle, which authorities soon learned was registered to Adams, crashed a short distance away.

Authorities were canvassing the areas when an officer located a shoe just off of Route 50. A short distance away, officers located Adams’ body. He had suffered at least one gunshot wound to his upper back.

Officers searching the area of the crashed vehicle soon found Wellman in a nearby creek. He was said to be “dressed in his underwear” and “had redness” all over his body.

Wellman, who is also facing charges of resisting law enforcement and using a firearm in the commission of a crime, is currently being held without bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 2 for a pre-trial hearing. Jury selection for his trial is slated to begin on Jan. 20, 2026, records show.