Staff Reports
Bartholomew County Sheriff deputies said investigators apprehended Bobby Neil Truitt II, 19, in Indianapolis Tuesday night, arresting him for the murder of a Waynesville woman.
Truitt was located in Indianapolis and arrested by sheriff deputies, Columbus police officers and Indianapolis Metro police, said Sheriff Matt Myers. 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 being held on a 48-hour hold in a segregated portion of the jail away from the general population.
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Myers said investigators are continuing an investigation and will be then turning the case over to Bartholomew County Prosecutor Bill Nash.
On Tuesday night, Bartholomew County Coroner Clayton Nolting released the identity and cause of death of the victim following an autopsy.
The victim’s name is Sharon K. Lovins, 64, Nolting said. Cause of death is listed as blunt force trauma to the head and asphyxia due to manual strangulation, Nolting said Tuesday night.
Nolting said the manner of death is being ruled a homicide and toxicology tests are pending.
On Tuesday, Bartholomew County Sheriff deputies reached out to the public for tips in locating Truitt, believed to be the last person to see Lovins alive. He was identified as Lovins’ great nephew and was living at the victim’s home before her death, investigators were told by family members.
Bartholomew Sheriff Department Chief Deputy Maj. Chris Lane said the quick apprehension of Truitt was due to all the agencies working together on the case including Columbus police, Indiana State Police, Indianapolis police, the coroner’s office and others.
A check of criminal records shows Truitt is currently facing a charge of Level 6 felony sexual battery in a case filed in Johnson (County) Superior Court 3. Case records indicate he appeared at an initial hearing in the case on Sept. 24.
Arrest records show Truitt, who listed an address of 2258 Applegate Drive in Columbus, was arrested the week of Sept. 17 on the charge of sexual battery, with bond set at $300.
Indiana State Police and Bartholomew County Sheriff deputies, along with Bartholomew County Coroner Clayton Nolting, were at a home in the 2700 block of East South Street in Waynesville for most of the day and evening Monday. The address is on the corner of Wayne and South streets in the unincorporated town of Waynesville in southwest rural Bartholomew County, where an estimated couple hundred people live.
Bartholomew County Sheriff deputies were called to a one-story home at 6:28 a.m. on a “possible code,” according to a press release from the sheriff’s department.
When deputies arrived, they located the victim inside the home who they said had “suspicious” injuries.
Deputies secured the scene and notified the Bartholomew County Death Investigation Team, established to investigate potential homicides in the county.
Investigators were initially notified by a family member who had come to the house and found the victim, Myers said. There was no one else at the one-story blue home when the family member arrived, he said. The house has a “private property” sign posted on it and appeared to have a security camera attached to the garage.
A family member who was near the house Monday, who identified himself as the victim’s brother, said the family became suspicious when they were unable to reach the victim over the weekend and could not reach her all day Sunday. The brother was caring for the victim’s dog at the scene Monday, after the pet was found inside the victim’s house after he entered the home and found the body.
The brother said he had to have another family member let him in Monday morning because he did not have a key. Initially, the two family members thought the victim might have been at work since her vehicle wasn’t there, but noticed the lights were on inside the home, which seemed unusual to them, he said.
When they got inside the house, they noticed the bedroom light was on and when they checked that room, that’s when he found the body, the brother said.
Talking with neighbors, they learned nearby residents had not seen the vehicle at the house nearly all weekend.
The victim’s brother also said the victim had picked up a family member from the Johnson County Jail recently and brought that person back to her house to stay with her. This person has since been identified as Truitt.
Detectives determined Monday morning that an SUV was missing from the residence and issued an “all-points bulletin” to locate it, said Bartholomew County Sheriff Chief Deputy Maj. Chris Lane.
Indianapolis police found the vehicle in Indianapolis and detectives went there Monday afternoon to pick it up, while at the same time obtaining a search warrant for the vehicle, Lane said.
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Deputies are asking for assistance in locating Bobby Neil Truitt II, 19, who is the victim’s great nephew, who was believed to be living at the home with the victim before her death, investigators said.
Anyone having information about Truitt’s whereabouts is asked to call Detective Will Kinman at 812-565-5926.
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