After leading police on a multi-county pursuit, the suspect in a murder investigation shot and killed himself, according to Steve Irwin, with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Police suspected 41-year-old Jason Metcalfe of being involved in the murder of Timothy Vogel, 32, who was found shot to death inside a home on Schlitz Drive in Lake Lorelei.
Metcalfe's brother, Greg, said his brother was addicted to meth and heroine, and that he was never the same after he began using.
"He was a different person," said Greg. "And, you know, he spent some time in prison because of it."
Greg said Jason's addiction made him mentally unstable and violent, but the last time he heard from his brother, Jason was seeking help.
"I made him an offer to try to put the money together to get him into rehab," said Greg. "And he didn't return my call. And that was the last time I heard from him."
Jason Metcalfe shot Vogel and stole a 2016 Chevy pickup truck, police said, before leading them on a chase that stretched through several different counties. Once Metcalfe entered Clinton County, the Ohio State Highway Patrol deployed stop sticks near State Route 134 and Patch Road in Clark Township.
When Metcalfe's vehicle came to a stop after hitting the sticks, he got out of the car and displayed a weapon, according to the Clinton County Sheriff's Office. Shots were fired and he was rushed to a hospital, police said.
An autopsy conducted by the Montgomery County coroner's office ruled the gunshot wound that killed Jason Metcalfe was self-inflicted.
Greg Metcalfe shared news of the tragedy on Facebook and opened up about his brother's struggle with addiction, which he believes played a role in Jason's behavior that day. He said he hopes his brother's story will help others before it's too late.
The heroin made him mentally unstable, violent, angry and down the road of destruction," Greg wrote on Facebook. "Yesterday he shot and killed a young man in his own home with his daughter and grandson there, stole a truck and led the police on a high speed chase."
Greg said the news that his brother took another person's life broke his heart and said the drugs Jason was addicted to "poisoned his mind and body."
Deanna Vietze, Brown County Board of Mental Health and Addiction Services member, said addiction, particularly involving fentanyl and opioids, plays a part in decisions a person may make.
"Depending on the frequency and the potency of the drugs that they're using, you can definitely have brain chemistry changes," said Vietze. "In essence, you're frying your brain."
Greg Metcalfe said his brother's addiction was a disease that took over Jason and ended in tragedy, but he believes a discussion is the first step toward preventing something like this from happening again.
"Maybe we can do something to save one life, one family from going through what Timothy's family's going through," he said.
