a man in Indiana charged with the murder of his wife won the primary elections of his municipal board and, unless convicted, might serve from prison.
Andrew Wilhoite, 40, received 60 of the 276 total Republican votes for three seats on the Clinton Township Board, according to Boone County election results from the May 3 election, media outlets like NBC News explained. No candidate ran in the Democratic primary for all three seats.
In this way, he secured a place in the November elections.
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The problem is that Wilhoite is accused of kill his wife Elizabeth “Nikki” Wilhoite, 41, last March and having her body dumped in a creek. He was being held in the Boone County Jail without bond.
According to the State Police Indiana, Andrew hit his wife on the head with a blunt object – a flower pot – leaving her unconscious. He then put her in a vehicle and drove to a stream a few kilometers from her house and dumped her body there.
Authorities located the woman’s body on March 26 partially submerged in a meter of water.
Court records indicate that Nikki Wilhoite filed for divorce on March 17. The couple had been married for 12 years. In March, Andrew posted on Facebook that she was battling cancer and had completed chemotherapy treatments.
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Although he initially lied, Andrew ended up confessing to hitting his wife and throwing her into the creek.
Brad King, co-director of the Election Division Indiana bipartisan, told the local Kokomo Tribune newspaper that Wilhoite’s arrest does not prevent him from appearing on the ballot in November. “Under our system, you are innocent until proven guilty,” he said. “But if a person is convicted of a felony, then he is no longer eligible to run and is ineligible to hold office.”
Wilhoite’s trial is scheduled to begin on August 29, but if he has not been found guilty by the November election, he might serve if he wins. Boone County Republican Chairwoman, Debbie Ottinger, hope it doesn’t come to that, noted the Kokomo Tribune. “Our hope is that he asks to be taken off the ballot and we can just replace him,” she said, “but I don’t know if anyone has talked to him regarding that.” Candidates have until July 15 to remove their names from the ballot.
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Brad King, co-director of the Indiana Division of Elections, told the Indianapolis Star, explained that if Wilhoit has not been convicted or withdrawn by the election, he might “technically do his jail duty.” No law, he stressed, prohibits an incarcerated person from “exercising the duties of his office.”
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