An Indiana Woman Bailed Her Great-Nephew Out Of Jail. A Day Later, He Beat Her To Death With A Hammer.

A woman bailed her great-nephew out of jail. A day later, she was beaten to death with a hammer.

Why her teenage nephew decided to kill will likely remain a mystery forever.

An Indiana Judge sentenced Bobby Truitt II to a total of 67 years in prison for murdering his great-aunt, 64-year-old Sharon Lovins. He was convicted of murder and abuse of a corpse, according to Fox 59.

Truitt was initially charged with rape but pleaded to the abuse of a corpse charge instead.

In September, police in Bartholomew County found Lovins dead in a home in Waynesville, Indiana, according to Fox 59. Truitt, who was 19 years old at the time, was named as a person of interest and believed to be the last person to see her alive.

After the murder, Truitt stole the victim’s SUV and drove it to Indianapolis, according to Fox 59. He was later found panhandling and arrested.

Truitt read a statement during his sentencing but never gave a reason for killing his relative, according to The Republic.

“I wish I could take it all back,” Truitt said, according to The Republic. “It was inhuman what I did.”

Investigators said Lovins had bailed Truitt out of jail and let him stay with her for a while.

“She was trying to help him out, but within 24 hours, she was gone,” Bartholomew County Deputy Prosecutor Greg Long said, according to the report.

Defense attorneys tried to argue Truitt suffered from mental illness, a history of substance abuse and had a difficult childhood. But judge James Worton didn’t buy the argument, saying many have rough childhoods but don’t turn to murder.

“She was beaten to death with a hammer by someone whom she loved and cared for,” Worton said, according to The Republic. “We’ll probably never know why.”