COLUMBUS, Ind. — A south-central Indiana man has been sentenced to 67 years in prison for the brutal 2020 slaying of his great aunt, who authorities said had bailed him out of jail a day before her death.
Bartholomew Superior Court Judge James Worton sentenced Bobby N. Truitt II, 20, on Tuesday, saying he refused to accept Truitt's rough childhood as a mitigating factor in his sentence for killing 64-year-old Sharon Lovins, The (Columbus) Republic reported.
"She was beaten to death with a hammer by someone whom she loved and cared for," Worton said. "We'll probably never know why."
Truitt pleaded guilty in March to one count of murder and one count of abuse of a corpse in Lovins' slaying as part of a plea deal. He had originally been arrested on charges of murder, rape and auto theft.
The judge sentenced Truitt to the maximum 65 years for murder and two additional years for abuse.
According to court documents, Truitt killed Lovins in her home on Sept. 27, 2020, one day after she had bailed him out of the Johnson County Jail, where he was being held on sexual battery charges. She also offered to let him stay with her at her home in Waynesville, a small Bartholomew County community about 45 miles south of Indianapolis.
After killing his aunt, Truitt stole her SUV and drove to Indianapolis, where he reportedly inquired about buying a bus ticket to New York. He was arrested while panhandling with a group of homeless people in Indianapolis.
Bartholomew County Deputy Prosecutor Greg Long called Truitt "the poster child of someone who ought to be locked up for a very long time."
