Coroner rules Lake Monroe drowning was homicide

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) - They say laughter is good for the soul. And Matthew Hosier had the skill to crack folks up. Even in his death.

To keep from crying, his sisters, Emily and Jess Hosier, laughed Tuesday afternoon as they remembered happier days with their brother. Hosier died Saturday – on his 29th birthday.

Pictures snapped hours before his death show the father of three smiling with his closest friends. But something changed.

Investigators with the Department of Natural Resources said there was an altercation at the Fourwinds boat rental dock involving Hosier and Dillon Barrett. At some point during the altercation, Hosier entered the water and never came up.

Now, the Monroe County coroner has ruled his death a homicide. Barrett faces a preliminary charge of involuntary manslaughter. He and two other friends were arrested.

But Hosier’s family said it was an accident and no one is at fault.

“Everybody wants to blame somebody that doesn’t understand ... it is a lot easier to blame somebody,” Jess Hosier said.

And video captured on a cell phone shows Hosier playing in the lake.

Both sisters admit their brother partied hard and had little sleep the night before he drowned.

“He was tired. (It was) a freak accident,” Jess Hosier said. “God seen how fun he was, and he wanted him.”

A flag flies at half staff at Hosier’s childhood home in Perkinsville, near Anderson. There’s a garden shaped like a circle in the front yard of the home. Turns out, a swimming pool was once in the same spot.

“He loved the water. He loved fishing. He loved to swim,” Emily Hoosier said.

Jess Hosier said she has many memorable childhood moments.

“We used to go from side to side racing and playing tag,” Jess Hosier said, adding they would have contests to see who could hold their breath for the longest under water. “Matt would always win!”

Indeed, it was a big surprise when family of the 29-year-old learned their brother drowned.

But Jess Hosier said there’s comfort knowing “he went out doing what he loved, you know, having fun with his friends.

But in addition to Barrett’s charges, police said Rian Lemons and Justin Austin have been preliminarily charged with public intoxication and disorderly conduct.

And while Hosier’s family doesn’t want anyone charged, that decision is up to the prosecutor.

The 29-year-old leaves behind three young children: Areonna, Matius and Matson

Visitation for Hosier is from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Dunnichay Funeral Home in Frankton. The funeral is set for 1 p.m. Thursday at Dunnichay.