LEBANON, Ind. — A Lebanon man facing a murder charge in his wife's death was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the case.
A Boone County jury convicted Andrew Wilhoite Thursday after about nine hours of deliberation, according our partners at the Lebanon Reporter.
(NOTE: The video in the player above is from a March 2022 story about Andrew Wilhoite's arrest.)
Wilhoite was charged with murder in the March 2022 death of his wife, Nikki Wilhoite, who was reported missing by coworkers on March 25, 2022, when she did not show up for work. Her body was found in a creek near her home the next day.
Andrew told police he struck his wife with a flower pot during an argument, then dumped her body in the creek. According to court documents, he initially lied to detectives about his wife's whereabouts when she was first reported missing.
Autopsy photos shown during the trial showed Nikki had three to five blunt-force injuries to her head. Forensic pathologists who testified – one for the defense, the other for the prosecution – agreed that Nikki was alive for as long as 10 minutes after the first blow from the flower pot. They also agreed the subsequent injuries could have come from being placed in the bed of Andrew's pickup truck or from a concrete bridge near where her body was found.
According to a friend, Nikki had just finished her last chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer before she was killed.
Though he was charged with murder, the jury had the option of finding Andrew guilty instead of voluntary manslaughter, if they thought the crime occurred because of "sudden heat," the Lebanon Reporter said.
Andrew will be sentenced on June 4. He faces 10 to 30 years in prison.