INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man has been convicted of a 2017 murder on the southwest side.
Riki Eaton was found guilty Wednesday for the 2017 shooting death of Jenny Boltinghouse following a three-day trial.
According to court documents, on Feb. 13, 2017, IMPD officers responded to the 2900 block of South Harding Street after a fisherman witnessed a body in the White River. The coroner identified the body as Boltinghouse's and said she suffered three gunshot wounds to the head and one to the right arm.
The initial investigation revealed that Boltinghouse had been accused of pawning items from a storage unit that allegedly belonged to her ex-boyfriend. However, during the 2017 investigation, this did not reveal any significant leads.
Two years later, in July 2019, IMPD received new information from a witness while investigating an unrelated incident. The individual told police that Eaton told her "on multiple occasions" that he had shot and killed Boltinghouse.
In May 2021, investigators received a report from a different jurisdiction where an individual told officers that Eaton had killed the individual's cousin, Boltinghouse, and placed her body in the river.
Court documents show that shortly after the May 2021 report, "several" other witnesses came forward with information linking Eaton to the crime. The witnesses told police that Eaton killed Boltinghouse because he believed she was going to tell police about his involvement in other crimes and that Boltinghouse may have stolen some of Eaton's personal items.
Eaton then threatened to kill individuals with any knowledge of the crime if they ever told police, according to court documents.
Cell phone data showed that Eaton turned off his phone near the White River on the date and time of the murder.
Sentencing has been scheduled for May 3.