On August 26, 2025, Officers of the Fort Wayne Police Department responded to the 1300 block of Vance Avenue in reference to a domestic incident.
Fort Wayne Police Department incident report:
Date: September 11, 2025
Location: 1300 block of Vance Avenue, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Time: 1851 hours
Suspect Arrested: Shayla E. Mathews, 38 years of age.
Preliminary Charges:
- Battery resulting in moderate bodily injury, Level 6 Felony
- Intimidation, Class A Misdemeanor
- Neglect of a Dependent, Level 6 Felony
- Neglect of a Dependent, Level 6 Felony
- Neglect of a Dependent, Level 6 Felony
Suspect Arrested: Robert J. Egly, 52 years of age.
Preliminary Charges:
- Neglect of a Dependent, Level 6 Felony
- Battery resulting in moderate bodily injury, Level 6 Felony
Details/Summary:
On August 26th, 2025 Officers of the Fort Wayne Police Department responded to the 1300 block of Vance Avenue reference a domestic incident. Upon arrival, Officers gathered information that a 15-year-old female juvenile may be the victim of child abuse. Detective Michelle Brown of the Crimes Against Persons (CAPS) unit was assigned the investigation. During the investigation, Detective Brown learned that the suspects in this case were Robert J. Egly and Shayla E. Mathews. Mathews is the victim’s biological mother. Both Egly and Mathews forced the 15-year-old victim to do excessive exercise for several hours daily as punishment. This punishment has occurred over a long period of time. In addition, the victim reported that she was only permitted to eat a small amount of food once every day. On August 26th, 2025, Egly struck the victim repeatedly, causing visible injuries to her body. The victim was seen at Parkview Hospital and treated on this date. The Department of Child Services was also contacted.
On September 11th, 2025, Both Egly and Mathews were taken into custody reference the felony charges listed below. The Fort Wayne Police Department thanks the staff and personnel of Parkview Hospital, the Department of Child Services, and the Dr. Bill Lewis Center for Children for their assistance in this investigation.
All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
All information is preliminary and subject to change during the course of the investigation.
Investigators are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact the Fort Wayne Police Department at 427-1201, Crime Stoppers at 436-7867, or use the free “P3 Tips” app.
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