Indianapolis, IN
Man found dead in tanning bed at Planet Fitness in Indianapolis 3 days after he walked into the gym
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An investigation is underway to determine what led to the death of a man whose body was found inside a tanning bed three days after he entered a Planet Fitness in Indianapolis.
Just before 8:30 a.m. on Monday, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department received a report of a body found at Planet Fitness.
The Marion County Coroner’s Office identified the man as 39-year-old Derek E. Sink.
According to police records obtained by 13News, Sink’s family last had contact with him on Friday, and they reported him missing on Sunday.
HUMAN REMAINS FOUND INSIDE FREEZER OF MICHIGAN TOWNHOME: ‘SMELL OF DEATH’
A man was found dead inside a Planet Fitness in Indianapolis. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Police could only confirm to Fox News Digital that they were investigating a death at the gym and did not elaborate on the details of the investigation.
A woman who was at Planet Fitness on Monday morning told 13News that she and other members noticed a foul smell in the building that got worse near the tanning rooms.
The woman also questioned how something like this could happen.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLNT | PLANET FITNESS INC. | 94.72 | -0.46 | -0.48% |
“The tanning bed has a door, I believe, but still, why are we not concerned that the tanning bed has been closed for three days, potentially?” Elizabeth Len asked.
IDENTITY OF ‘BADLY DECOMPOSED’ BODY FOUND IN OHIO CAR WASH RELEASED: REPORT
A 39-year-old man’s body was found in a tanning booth at an Indiana Planet Fitness, according to multiple reports. (Raymond Boyd/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Sink’s family told 13News that he struggled with drugs and a needle was reportedly found in the room with him, while his aunt told the news station he was wearing an ankle monitor that helped investigators determine he never left the gym.
REMAINS OF MICHIGAN WOMAN, 68, WHO DISAPPEARED DURING VACATION, FOUND IN STOMACH OF SHARK
The family of a man who was found dead days after he died at a Planet Fitness in Indianapolis has asked the company to enact stricter policies with an end-of-day checklist. (Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Planet Fitness released a statement to Fox News Digital confirming the death and shared their condolences.
“We were deeply saddened by the passing of one of our members, and the franchise owner is working with the local authorities in their investigation. At Planet Fitness, we have robust operational brand protocols in place, as the safety and well-being of our members is our top priority. We are working closely with our local franchisee to ensure they are upholding those brand protocols,” McCall Gosselin, chief corporate affairs officer at Planet Fitness, said in a statement.
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Sink’s family also told 13News that they hope to see stricter policies on cleaning and an end-of-day checklist from the staff to prevent this from happening to another family.
The circumstances of Sink’s death remain under investigation.
Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis councilman says ‘No Data Centers’ note was left at his home after someone opened fire
The home of a councilman in Indianapolis was shot at early Monday in what local police said was an “isolated, targeted incident.”
The incident came less than a week after the Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission voted 6 to 2 on April 1 to approve rezoning to allow the construction of a data center.
Ron Gibson, a Democrat who represents District 8 on the council, spoke out in support of the rezoning and the efforts to build the data center in his district.
“Earlier this morning, between approximately 12:45 a.m. and 12:50 a.m., just a few hours after Easter Sunday, an individual fired 13 rounds at the front door of my home and left a note on my doorstep that read, ‘No Data Centers,’” Gibson said in a Monday statement.
Councilman Ron Gibson
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said it was called to the home on Monday morning, and officers found evidence that gunshots had been fired at the house. Police said no injuries were reported.
“I understand that public service can bring strong opinions and disagreement, but violence is never the answer, especially when it puts families at risk,” Gibson said in his statement.
The Indianapolis-Marion County City-County Council did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
The data center is set to be built by Metrobloks, a data center developer based in Los Angeles. Following the vote last week, Gibson shared a statement on social media promoting the project.
“Metrobloks has the potential to bring significant investment, create jobs, and generate long-term tax revenue that supports infrastructure, housing, and essential services,” the statement said.
A data center boom is happening across the US, with companies pouring billions into building the infrastructure to keep up with demand in the era of AI. The data centers have faced increased opposition, with critics pointing to the high resource costs, from water to energy, and other issues like noise pollution, as detailed in a Business Insider investigation.
Indianapolis, IN
Recorder Rewind: NCAA Division III basketball championship (Photos)
Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis City-County Councilor says IMPD officer shoved him during protest
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis City-County Councilor says he was shoved by a police officer during a protest Saturday night.
In a post on Facebook, Jesse Brown — who represents council district 13 — indicated that a member of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department approached a group of protestors and began shoving and grabbing them.
“Tonight, an IMPD officer approached a group of protestors from behind/beside them, did not identify himself or issue verbal orders, but started grabbing and shoving people and cussing at them to move (we were stuck behind other people blocking the sidewalk),” Brown wrote on Facebook.
Brown added that he asked the officer for his badge number and told him he was a City-County Councilor.
“I told the IMPD officer who was shoving people that I wanted his badge number,” Brown wrote. “He refused to give it. I told him I was a City Councilor. He said that he didn’t care WHO I was and grabbed my arm to shove me as well.”
Brown finished his post by confirming that he filed a formal incident report on his encounter with the officer. He also offered some criticism for the officer in the final sentence of his post.
“Officers have a difficult job, but if this is how he treated two white male candidates / elected officials, I do not trust him to serve the public and de-escalate tense situations.”
Jackson Franklin, who is running for Indiana’s fifth district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, was also involved in the incident. He made a Facebook post with greater detail on the incident.
Franklin said he, Brown and others were protesting near Lucas Oil Stadium ahead of Saturday’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four games. Franklin said he and other protestors were at the Final Four “to demand the NCAA stop using the same airliners that ICE uses to break apart and deport families in this racist injustice system.”
A report from The Athletic that was syndicated by Yahoo Sports indicates that at least one airliner has contracts with the NCAA to transport student-athletes to tournaments and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport undocumented immigrants.
In his post, Franklin said the officer involved in the incident “shoved/assaulted many of the protestors, including Indianapolis City-council person Jesse Brown.” Franklin added that the officer did not provide any warnings before he began shoving protestors
“I thought initially it was going to be some MAGA person just walking past that was offended by our anti-ICE chants, but I turned around and noticed that he was wearing a uniform,” Franklin wrote in his Facebook post. “It was only then he gave his commands to continue to move and he immediately went to push around many others, using his uniform as an excuse to harass those he disagreed with politically.
“There was absolutely no need for violence and the protest organizers filed a complaint, but I have no hope of any action occurring because of this complaint. While the lone officer assaulted us, there were about 10-15 other officers looking around awkwardly unsure of what to do, not protecting our first amendment right while also probably realizing the officer was way out of line and should have just asked us nicely to keep the movement on the public sidewalk going quicker rather than using violence as the first and only answer.”
FOX59/CBS4 reached out to IMPD for a statement on Brown and Franklin’s comments. As of this article’s publication, the agency had not responded to those inquiries.
Brown has been at the center of multiple city-county council disputes over the last 14 months. In February 2025, Brown — whose district encompasses portions of downtown and the near east side of Indy — said the city-county council’s democratic caucus expelled him from their ranks.
Brown also introduced a motion to remove the council’s president and vice president in July.
As of this article’s publication, no additional information on the incident Brown, Franklin and others were involved in had been made available.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.
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