Indy man pleads guilty in 2022 hit-and-run that killed his ex-girlfriend
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis man charged with killing his ex-girlfriend by hitting her with his vehicle has pleaded guilty more than two years after the crime.
Kyle Rigdon pleaded guilty Monday to one count of voluntary manslaughter in the death of 29-year-old Kayla Bowling. Charges of murder and stalking were dismissed as part of an agreement with prosecutors.
Bowling died on June 1, 2022, the same day she was hit by a vehicle while riding her bicycle on Rural Street near Hanna Avenue.
Bowling was able to recall a license plate number before she died. According to court documents, four out of the six characters she repeated matched the plate on Rigdon’s vehicle.
Her parents later told investigators that Rigdon had been stalking and harassing their daughter.
According to court documents, Bowling’s father said Rigdon showed up at their house with a butcher knife a few days before the fatal hit-and-run. He said he ran inside to get his gun, but when he returned, Rigdon was gone and his daughter’s tires had been slashed.
Investigators said they received a call from Rigdon’s boss on June 3, 2022. The man told police that Rigdon said “that he had hurt his girlfriend” and that Rigdon asked him to lie about what time he got to work on June 1.
Rigdon was arrested by officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and a SWAT team later that day.
A Marion County judge on Monday ordered to Rigdon to spend 30 years in prison; he will receive credit for more than 1,000 days of actual and earned time.
Sentencing documents show Rigdon was ordered to stay away from the Bowling family for the duration of his sentence. He was also ordered to undergo mental health and substance abuse evaluation and treatment.
