David Ison, suspect in five fatal Ind. shootings, pleads not guilty to murder

(CBS/WISH/AP) BROOKVILLE, Ind. - A man charged with the fatal shootings of a rural Indiana family and their neighbor in an apparent dispute over the price of oxycodone pills pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

David Ison, 46, pleaded not guilty in Franklin Circuit Court to five counts of murder. 

An assistant prosecutor says the state might pursue the death penalty in the case, according to CBS affiliate WISH.

Ison was charged Friday in the Sept. 25 slayings of Roy Napier, 50; his estranged wife, Angela, 47; their children, Melissa Napier, 23, and Jacob Napier, 18; and Henry Smith, 43, a neighbor who was found beaten and shot near the Napiers' mobile home in rural Laurel, about 50 miles southeast of Indianapolis.

Autopsies showed the Napiers all had been shot in the head and Smith had a gunshot wound to the chest. Smith and Angela Napier also showed signs of blunt force trauma to the head.

A 4-year-old girl escaped unharmed and was found by passersby who alerted police.

Court documents show the incident was a drug deal gone awry. This was due to the fact that Ison wasn't getting the number of oxycodone pills he wanted from Roy Napier and paying $2 more per pill, reports WISH.

Police say they found a .380-caliber handgun like the one they believe was used in the killings during a search of Ison's car. They also found another one during the search of his home. Melissa Napier's cellphone, a pair of tennis shoes that matched the bloody footprints found at the crime scene and a bloodstained T-shirt also were also found at the home, police said.

Ison, who was being held on $5 million bond for an unrelated charge of attempted robbery, has a lengthy criminal record that includes armed robbery, burglary, forgery and counterfeiting.

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