Judge offers no mercy to killers of former IU football player during 2020 riots
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The three people convicted of the murder of former Indiana University football standout Chris Beaty will essentially spend the rest of their lives in prison.
All three asked Judge Shatrese Flowers for mercy, but the judge didn’t offer much mercy.
Rhonda Cooper, Chris Beaty’s sister, said during the three men’s sentencing in Marion Superior Court 28, “You have taken someone special from this earth. Someone that would have said ‘hello’ to you, ‘What did you need?’ offered you condolences, anything. You have left the earth with the biggest hole.”
The grief of Beaty family cut through the courtroom.
Cooper saw the three people who murdered her brother sentenced to prison.
Beaty’s mother, who had been in the courtroom every day for the trial, died over the weekend. To say she died of a broken heart would be an understatement.
Cooper said, “I believe she is with my brother. She is with Christopher.”
Prosecutors say that Marcus Anderson fired the shot that killed Beaty. Anderson, Nakeyah Shields and Alijah Jones were convicted in May of robbing and murdering Beaty during the May 2020 riots in downtown Indianapolis.
Anderson and Jones each received 164 years. Each sentence included 60 years for Beaty’s murder and 13 years each on eight counts of robbery.
Anderson showed little emotion as the judge read his sentence.
Jones sat with hands cuffed and showed little emotion until he offered an apology to the Beaty family. “I do feel where you guys come from and I just want you to know that I’m sorry for your loss.”
Shields was sentenced to 108 years. Her sentence includes 52 years for murder and eight years each on seven counts of robbery.
Before Shields was sentenced, she told the court she is not a violent person. “But to the judge, to the families and to the prosecutor, I ask you please have mercy on me. May you all please take into consideration that this is my first time being incarcerated.”
All three convict’s say they will appeal the decision.
Beaty was murdered May 30, 2020, outside of his apartment building. He had been checking on neighbors when he was attacked. That night, Anderson, Jones and Shields attacked at least nine people in 15 minutes. The crimes were committed at the height of the chaos of the Indianapolis riots that followed the murder of George Floyd on May 26, 2020, in Minneapolis.
Anne Frangos of the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office said during the sentencing hearing, “These three individuals were the mayhem and the chaos that night. From the moment they went downtown and parked their vehicles, they did nothing but commit robberies for the next 15 minutes.”
One of the first people robbed that night was Kimberly Eggers. She told the court she had been downtown in support of the protests when she was attacked.
Eggers spoke to the convicts: “I hope seeing the heartbreak in Christopher Beaty’s mother’s face was a wake-up call to you. I hope you realize the damage you have done, including to yourself, your family, and to our society. I don’t want revenge and I don’t want hate to have another opportunity to win again, so I need you to know I forgive you.”
For Cooper, the sentences closed the book on the trial but didn’t replace the loss. “We lost out people-wise. Their children are losing. Their family is losing. Our family lost. So, there is never any justice; it is just a loss.”
This story has been updated to give the correct name of the judge.
