COLUMBUS, Ind. — Bartholomew County Prosecutor Bill Nash said prosecutors are seeking an additional 72 hours to file formal charges against Bobby N. Truitt II, 19, who was arrested Tuesday night for the murder of a Waynesville woman.
Truitt was located in Indianapolis and arrested by sheriff’s deputies, Columbus police officers and Indianapolis Metro police, Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers said. The teen was found on the street with a group of homeless individuals, and had been panhandling on Indianapolis streets, Myers said.
Truitt was arrested on preliminary charges of Level 1 felony murder, Level 1 felony rape and auto theft, Myers said. After being booked into the Bartholomew County jail, he was placed on a 48-hour hold in a segregated portion of the jail away from the general population.
The victim was identified as Sharon K. Lovins, 64, who was found dead in her home in the 2700 block of East South Street in Waynesville early Monday morning by a relative, investigators said. Lovins is believed to be Truitt’s great aunt, according to relatives.
Lovins’ death has been ruled a homicide, with cause of death listed as blunt force trauma to the head and asphyxid due to manual strangulation, said Bartholomew County Coroner Clayton Nolting. Toxicology tests are pending in the case.
For more on this story, see Friday’s Republic.
