Lawrenceburg, IN — A man originally charged with murder in the shooting death of his nephew in Aurora has instead been sentenced to 10 years in prison on a Voluntary Manslaughter charge after the investigation into the shooting turned up new information.
65-year-old Robert Marksberry was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter in connection with the killing of his nephew, 19-year-old Nicholas Woodruff.
The teen was killed after an argument with Marksberry at a home in Aurora on May 28, 2020. Marksberry was visiting his half-brother at Woodruff’s home in Aurora on the night of the shooting.
While sitting in his truck and preparing to leave, Woodruff approached the truck, jumped in the bed, and was sorting through items in the truck bed.
According to Dearborn-Ohio County Prosecutor Lynn Deddens, Marksberry was apparently concerned that Woodruff might take something from the truck bed and warned him to get away, but Woodruff became aggressive and hit Marksberry in the face at least one time and possibly twice.
Marksberry then shot Woodruff once in the chest with a .32 caliber handgun and fled the scene in the truck.
Marksberry was arrested a few hours later in Switzerland County. He was initially charged with Murder but investigators later determined that Voluntary Manslaughter was the proper charge. The investigation also turned up evidence that Woodruff bought and used methamphetamine right before the incident.
“The killing of another human being is a horrible act, and certainly tragic when it involves such a young victim,” Deddens said. “However, the circumstances of the shooting, particularly the evidence showing that the victim approached Marksberry and struck him in the face, once maybe twice immediately before the shooting, indicated that Marksberry fired the fatal shot while under the influence of a sudden heat of passion. Our statutes say that this act constitutes Voluntary Manslaughter, not Murder.”
Marksberry was sentenced on June 15 in Dearborn Circuit Court by Judge James D. Humphrey.
