Boone County man sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing his wife

INDIANAPOLIS (WIBC) – A man convicted of killing his wife in Boone County was sentenced to prison this week.

On Tuesday, a judge sentenced 43-year-old Andrew Wilhoite to 30 years in the Indiana Department of Correction for the death of Elizabeth “Nikki” Wilhoite. He’s also been given credit for 801 days already served. That means he still has more than 27 years left on his sentence.

In April, a jury convicted Wilhoite of voluntary manslaughter. He was initially charged with murder, but the jury couldn’t come to a unanimous decision on that, but they did agree that he acted under “sudden heat.” That’s what led to the voluntary manslaughter verdict.

Police say Wilhoite killed his wife in March 2022, about a week after she filed for divorce because she learned that Andrew had an affair. That’s what investigators believe started the argument between them.

Wilhoite claimed Nikki had hit him and he threw her out the front door of their home. He also said she “charged at him” which prompted him to hit her in the face with a heavy cement flowerpot.

Investigators say Andrew told them that he put her in a truck and dumped her body in a creek.

The autopsy showed that Nikki had died from blunt force trauma to the head. She also had cancer and was finishing chemotherapy treatments before she died.

Wilhoite was also one of three Republican candidates who advanced in a 2022 primary for a township board position before he withdrew from the race. He got 60 of the 276 total votes for Republicans for three positions on the Clinton Township Board. The race had only three candidates.