An Indiana Man Lit His Curtains on Fire. Then, He Killed His Girlfriend After She Tried to Move Out.

An Indiana man is headed to prison after a jury recently convicted him of killing his girlfriend.

Following a weeklong trial, Dalton Simmonds, 29, was found guilty of fatally shooting Christy Newman, WAVE reported.

According to investigators, on March 14, 2022, Newman was at her neighbor’s home in Jefferson County when the defendant lit on fire curtains at the nearby house he shared with her.

Newman headed back to the house to gather her stuff so she could move out after the neighbor determined the fire had been extinguished and Simmonds was no longer there.

As soon as Newman arrived at the residence, however, Simmonds returned and the pair got into an argument.

The neighbor reported hearing gunfire and first responders found Newman dead from a gunshot wound, police said. A puppy at the scene was also found suffering a skull injury.

Investigators were able to use DNA to link Simmonds to the murder weapon.

He was charged and convicted of multiple accounts, including murder, possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, obstruction of justice, and animal cruelty.

He is scheduled to be sentenced next month.