8/4/2021- 4:40 p.m.
Zachariah Konkle, 32,– A Jackson County, Indiana carnival worker is now facing murder after the man he allegedly strangled and beaten died this weekend. He was originally arrested and charged with strangulation on July 28 after allegedly handcuffing his colleague Michael Steele and saying ‘go to sleep, b***h’.
Konkle told police he was talking to his friend about the situation around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday when Steele allegedly approached him and punched him in the side of the head. A parent told Konkle that someone was making fun of a child with special needs, and Konkle told the family that “he would solve the problem,” according to court documents.
Konkle allegedly dragged Steele to the ground with a headlock until he went limp and then hit him on the back of the head five to six times, a witness told police.
His supervisor told police she was unaware that he was a registered sex offender.
According to multiple media outlets, the police discovered that Konkle was a sex offender and should not have worked at the fair to begin with.
Steele later died in hospital on July 31, and the charge was upgraded to murder on Tuesday.
