COLUMBUS, Ind. — A local teenager accused of killing his great aunt at her home will have his first court date late this week.
An initial hearing for Bobby Neil Truitt II, 19, is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. Friday before Bartholomew Superior Court 1 Judge James Worton. He’s charged with the Sept. 27 death of Sharon Lovins, 64, who was killed by blunt force trauma to the head and asphyxia due to manual strangulation, according to a coroner’s report.
Instead of appearing live in the courtroom, Truitt is expected to participate in the hearing from the county jail through video conferencing, a court official said.
On Monday, Truitt was formally charged with murder, a Level 1 felony, rape as a Level 1 felony and auto theft as a Level 6 felony. If convicted on all counts, he could be sentenced to more than 107 years in prison.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
