A change of plea hearing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Monday in Bartholomew Superior Court 1 for a man accused of raping and murdering his great aunt in her Waynesville home.
Bobby Neil Truitt II, 19, is accused of first sexually assaulting Sharon Lovins, 64, before killing her in late September of last year.
An autopsy revealed Lovins died from blunt force trauma to the head and asphyxia due to manual strangulation, Bartholomew County Coroner Clayton Nolting said.
Truitt, who had been staying at different addresses prior to his arrest, is charged with murder, rape as a Level 1 felony and auto theft as a Level 6 felony, online court records state. If found guilty on all charges, the defendant could face a prison term of over 100 years.
As of Friday, there was no indication that a plea bargain has been — or will be — extended to Truitt, according to Teresa Million, office manager for Superior Court 1 Judge James Worton.
However, it would not be unusual if such an agreement were introduced on Monday, she said. While Million confirmed the hearing was still scheduled as of Friday, court hearings can be delayed or changed at the last minute.
During an initial court hearing on Nov. 9, Truitt immediately inquired what a plea bargain would consist of. A few moments later, the defendant asked Worton whether he will be allowed to call a witness to testify about his mental state.
For more on this story, see Sunday’s Republic.
