PORTSMOUTH — The Newport County Grand Jury earlier this month returned an indictment charging Jacob Morrill, 25, of Portsmouth with one count of first-degree murder stemming from death of Xue Feng Wu of Tiverton back in May.

The grand jury on Aug. 4 also indicted him on one count of driving a vehicle without the consent of the owner/lessee, and one count of fraudulent use of a credit card totaling more than $100.

Morrill had been renting a two-bedroom home at 1722 West Main Road from Wu, who was 50 at the time of his death, place said.

At about 4:32 p.m. on May 22, Tiverton Police contacted Portsmouth Police after getting a request from a family member to check on the wellbeing of Wu, who had left his Tiverton home to check on the rental property earlier that day and hadn’t been heard from since, police said.

After an investigation, police alleged that the two men got into a confrontation inside a garage on the property, during which Wu was struck in the head and killed by Morrill with a small handheld axe. Morrill then moved the body to a wooded area in the rear of the property, police said.

Court records indicated there was a rental dispute between the two men, and an eviction hearing had been scheduled for the day of the alleged murder.

Morrill is scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday, Aug. 24, in Newport County Superior Court.

An indictment is merely an allegation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.