INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man has been sentenced for the murder of a woman in 2017 on the city's southwest side.
Riki Eaton was sentenced to 66 years for the 2017 shooting death of Jenny Boltinghouse. He also pleaded guilty to the habitual offender sentence enhancement.
“Today’s announcement was made possible by the diligent work of our prosecutors and law enforcement, who spent years seeking justice for Jenny,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a statement. “We are grateful to have secured such a significant sentence in the wake of an incredibly senseless crime.”
Eaton was found guilty April 3 following a three-day trial.
According to court documents, on Feb. 13, 2017, IMPD officers responded to the 2900 block of South Harding Street after a fisherman witnessed a body in the White River. The coroner identified the body as Boltinghouse's and said she suffered three gunshot wounds to the head and one to the right arm.
The initial investigation revealed that Boltinghouse had been accused of pawning items from a storage unit that allegedly belonged to her ex-boyfriend. However, during the 2017 investigation, this did not reveal any significant leads.
Two years later, in July 2019, IMPD received new information from a witness while investigating an unrelated incident. The individual told police that Eaton told her "on multiple occasions" that he had shot and killed Boltinghouse.
In May 2021, investigators received a report from a different jurisdiction where an individual told officers that Eaton had killed the individual's cousin, Boltinghouse, and placed her body in the river.
Court documents show that shortly after the May 2021 report, "several" other witnesses came forward with information linking Eaton to the crime. The witnesses told police that Eaton killed Boltinghouse because he believed she was going to tell police about his involvement in other crimes and that Boltinghouse may have stolen some of Eaton's personal items.
Eaton then threatened to kill people with any knowledge of the crime if they ever told police, according to court documents.
Cellphone data showed that Eaton turned off his phone near the White River on the date and time of the murder.