Mike Wolanin | The Republic Murder suspect Patrick Even David Doyle is escorted by members of the Bartholomew County Sheriffճ Department from the Bartholomew County Courthouse after a hearing in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021.
COLUMBUS, Ind. — Jury selection is set to begin Monday morning in the trial of a local man accused of murdering his live-in girlfriend last summer.
Patrick E. Doyle, 39, is accused in the death of Heather Ann Steuver, 37, whose body was found in a shallow grave on the property of Nugent Sand and Gravel Co., located off Old Indianapolis Road.
It was during a scheduled change of plea hearing on March 21 that Doyle’s public defender, Don Edwards, informed the court that his client wanted a jury trial. While the trial was originally scheduled for April, a number of hearings were held that concerned, among other things, whether the jury should be asked to determine if Doyle is a habitual offender.
On July 8, Judge Kelly Benjamin asked her staff to have a jury pool called in Monday. While a total of 70 jurors were asked to come in, about 10 have already been excused, according to court personnel.
The defendant was originally questioned by police late last summer after being arrested for possession of child pornography. At that time, Doyle told investigators that he discovered blood on himself and saw injuries to Steuver’s face as she was in bed next to him on Aug. 22, 2021, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in the case.
Steuver
The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office had taken a missing person’s report on Aug. 26, 2021 for Steuver.
It was 18 days after her death that Doyle told investigators where the body was buried, court documents state. He directed them to a sand and gravel company where he once worked. Police said Doyle buried her in a shallow grave covered with sand and rocks before throwing a pillowcase with the victim’s belongings into a nearby lake.
Bartholomew County Coroner Clayton Nolting ruled the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, and determined the manner as homicide.
A murder conviction in Indiana carries the potential penalty of 45 to 65 years in prison. A habitual offender conviction could add between six to 20 years any sentence.
