An Indiana man has been sentenced to 75 years in prison for the murder of his wife, whom he shot at close range inside their SUV in a cemetery and then sat with her bloody body.
In August, Jeremy Hinson, 49, of Anderson, was convicted of the 2024 murder of his wife, Michela Hinson, 47, according to a statement from the Madison County Prosecutor.
On Tuesday, Sept. 23, Judge David Happe sentenced Hinson to 55 years in prison for murder and an additional 20 years for a felony firearm enhancement, the Madison County Prosecutor’s Office reported. He will serve the sentences consecutively.
The horrifying crime unfolded on June 26, 2024, when police responded to a report of a “suspicious vehicle” in Forrestville Cemetery in Elmwood, north of Indianapolis, WTHR reports.
A witness called 911 after seeing an unresponsive man and woman inside a 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee and attempted to get their attention by knocking on the window, police said.
Officers discovered Michela dead in the driver’s seat. Jeremy, initially unresponsive in the front passenger seat, had blood on his forehead, eyes, arms, hands, and legs, court documents show, WTHR reports.
When officers knocked on the window, Jeremy unlocked the SUV and exited. During a pat-down, police found a gun in a holster and a magazine in his pocket. Shell casings were also found on the floor of the SUV.
Michela had been shot seven times in the chest and abdomen at close range, and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to an autopsy, WIBC reports.
Jeremy was transported to a local hospital for observation for a potential overdose, the court documents state.
After the murder, a family member visited Jeremy in jail, and video evidence captured him confessing to killing Michela, WTHR reports.
“I feel most bad for the boys,” he said in the court documents. He added, “Obviously, I wasn’t thinking right. I don’t know what happened to make me do that, but tell them I love them.”
Michela, a mother of two, worked as a bus driver for Anderson Schools and the City of Anderson Transit System, according to her obituary.
Hinson has been transferred to a state correctional facility to serve his sentence.
