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Plea deal gives Britt 245 years in prison
The 11-year saga of one of Northwest Indiana's most prolific serial killers drew to a close Friday as Eugene Victor Britt pleaded guilty but mentally ill to three 1995 rape-murders and one rape.
Britt, 48, of Gary, also admitted to three other rape-murders.
His plea agreement calls for him to be sentenced to 245 years in prison, to be served after he completes his life without parole plus 100-year term for the 1995 strangulation of Sarah Paulsen, 8, of Portage.
"If I accept your plea, Mr. Britt, you will spend what I believe to be the rest of your life in prison. Do you understand?" Lake Superior Court Judge Salvador Vasquez said.
"Yes, sir," Britt responded. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. Nov. 3.
Just mi
nutes into Friday's hearing, Britt clutched his chest and began shaking. Vasquez summoned medics from the jail, but Britt told the judge he was OK and the hearing continued.
The only time Britt spoke out of turn was when he said, "I'm sorry, man, I'm sorry," as Deputy Prosecutor John Burke described how Britt raped and strangled Maxine Walker, 41, of Gary, who disappeared May 2, 1995, and whose skeletal remains were found Dec. 2, 1995, in a field west of Martin Luther King Drive.
In addition to Walker's murder, Britt also pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of 14-year-old Nakita Moore of Gary and Tonya Dunlap, 23, of Knox. He also pleaded guilty to the May 9, 1995, rape of a 13-year-old girl.
Britt also admitted he raped and strangled Betty Askew, 50, Michelle Burns, 27, and Debra McHenry, 41, all of Gary, but he didn't plead guilty to those crimes.
Britt was prepared to plead guilty to six murders and one rape and accept six life terms without pa
role in February. But Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter said no plea agreement had been authorized, and both sides continued preparing for trial.
Last week, Vasquez ruled Britt was mentally retarded and ineligible for the death penalty, which Carter sought. Vasquez also ruled out a sentence of life without parole.
Carter declined comment Friday through his spokeswoman, Diane Poulton, who said Carter would talk after Britt's sentencing hearing.
Walker's brother, Isaac Walker, said he wasn't satisfied with the plea agreement. "It's not right. He killed all those people. We've still got to take care of him for the rest of his life."
After Britt was charged in November 1995 with the Aug. 22, 1995, strangulation death of Sarah Paulsen, he asked to speak with investigators about several unsolved Gary homicides. Burke said Britt told police he never knew the names of the people he raped and killed, and police didn't even know of two of the cases to wh
ich Britt confessed.
In each case, Britt approached the women or girls, grabbed them by their necks and began choking them, and then sexually assaulted them. He also had sex with some of the victims after he killed them.
Moore, one of his youngest victims, pleaded for her life after Britt abducted her as she was walked east on 15th Avenue toward Broadway on June 16, 1995.
"She looked so innocent and begged for her life," Burke said, reading from Britt's confession. "She said she wouldn't tell anybody anything."
But Britt dragged the girl, who planned to attend Horace Mann High School that fall, into a weedy lot. Eight days later police found her badly decomposed body in the 2000 block of West 15th Avenue. Britt tossed her clothing on the roof of a nearby abandoned building, and her mother identified her through the ring found on her pinkie finger, Burke said.
Britt was scheduled for trial for Moore's rape and murder beginning Tuesday.
Dunlap's mother had dropped
her daughter off at Lake Station City Court on July 18, 1995. Britt told police he was riding his bicycle home from his job at the Portage Hardee's when he saw Dunlap walking near U.S. 20 and Lake Street in the Miller section of Gary. She flagged him down and told him she was having problems with her boyfriend.
Britt offered to walk with her, and Dunlap said she needed something to smoke, referring to marijuana. Britt said he had some with him, and he lured her behind a former dental lab at 6800 Melton Road, picked her up, threw her into some weeds and put his hands around her throat to quiet her.
He carried her by the neck deeper into a nearby wooded area, choked her and raped her three times. Her body was identified nearly four months later by a rose tattoo on her left wrist.
Walker, who lived with her mother in the 500 block of Vermont Street, had spent the night at her brother's home in the 1900 block of Tennessee Street. The next morning, May 2, 1995, she was walking home to her
mother's house when, Britt told police, he saw her as she walked north on Martin Luther King Drive, north of the main Gary post office.
Britt cut her off at 8th Avenue and asked her where she was going, Walker told him she was on her way to vote in the primary election.
Britt told police he grabbed Walker by the neck, forced her into a weedy area west of King Drive, then dragged her by the neck into the woods to the west, strangled her, raped her and left her body in a field.
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DOC Number 963641
First Name EUGENE
Last Name BRITT
Date of Birth 11/00/1957
Gender Male
Race Black
Indiana Department of Correction Offender Search
The 11-year saga of one of Northwest Indiana's most prolific serial killers drew to a close Friday as Eugene Victor Britt pleaded guilty but mentally ill to three 1995 rape-murders and one rape.
Britt, 48, of Gary, also admitted to three other rape-murders.
His plea agreement calls for him to be sentenced to 245 years in prison, to be served after he completes his life without parole plus 100-year term for the 1995 strangulation of Sarah Paulsen, 8, of Portage.
"If I accept your plea, Mr. Britt, you will spend what I believe to be the rest of your life in prison. Do you understand?" Lake Superior Court Judge Salvador Vasquez said.
"Yes, sir," Britt responded. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. Nov. 3.
Just mi
nutes into Friday's hearing, Britt clutched his chest and began shaking. Vasquez summoned medics from the jail, but Britt told the judge he was OK and the hearing continued.
The only time Britt spoke out of turn was when he said, "I'm sorry, man, I'm sorry," as Deputy Prosecutor John Burke described how Britt raped and strangled Maxine Walker, 41, of Gary, who disappeared May 2, 1995, and whose skeletal remains were found Dec. 2, 1995, in a field west of Martin Luther King Drive.
In addition to Walker's murder, Britt also pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of 14-year-old Nakita Moore of Gary and Tonya Dunlap, 23, of Knox. He also pleaded guilty to the May 9, 1995, rape of a 13-year-old girl.
Britt also admitted he raped and strangled Betty Askew, 50, Michelle Burns, 27, and Debra McHenry, 41, all of Gary, but he didn't plead guilty to those crimes.
Britt was prepared to plead guilty to six murders and one rape and accept six life terms without pa
role in February. But Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter said no plea agreement had been authorized, and both sides continued preparing for trial.
Last week, Vasquez ruled Britt was mentally retarded and ineligible for the death penalty, which Carter sought. Vasquez also ruled out a sentence of life without parole.
Carter declined comment Friday through his spokeswoman, Diane Poulton, who said Carter would talk after Britt's sentencing hearing.
Walker's brother, Isaac Walker, said he wasn't satisfied with the plea agreement. "It's not right. He killed all those people. We've still got to take care of him for the rest of his life."
After Britt was charged in November 1995 with the Aug. 22, 1995, strangulation death of Sarah Paulsen, he asked to speak with investigators about several unsolved Gary homicides. Burke said Britt told police he never knew the names of the people he raped and killed, and police didn't even know of two of the cases to wh
ich Britt confessed.
In each case, Britt approached the women or girls, grabbed them by their necks and began choking them, and then sexually assaulted them. He also had sex with some of the victims after he killed them.
Moore, one of his youngest victims, pleaded for her life after Britt abducted her as she was walked east on 15th Avenue toward Broadway on June 16, 1995.
"She looked so innocent and begged for her life," Burke said, reading from Britt's confession. "She said she wouldn't tell anybody anything."
But Britt dragged the girl, who planned to attend Horace Mann High School that fall, into a weedy lot. Eight days later police found her badly decomposed body in the 2000 block of West 15th Avenue. Britt tossed her clothing on the roof of a nearby abandoned building, and her mother identified her through the ring found on her pinkie finger, Burke said.
Britt was scheduled for trial for Moore's rape and murder beginning Tuesday.
Dunlap's mother had dropped
her daughter off at Lake Station City Court on July 18, 1995. Britt told police he was riding his bicycle home from his job at the Portage Hardee's when he saw Dunlap walking near U.S. 20 and Lake Street in the Miller section of Gary. She flagged him down and told him she was having problems with her boyfriend.
Britt offered to walk with her, and Dunlap said she needed something to smoke, referring to marijuana. Britt said he had some with him, and he lured her behind a former dental lab at 6800 Melton Road, picked her up, threw her into some weeds and put his hands around her throat to quiet her.
He carried her by the neck deeper into a nearby wooded area, choked her and raped her three times. Her body was identified nearly four months later by a rose tattoo on her left wrist.
Walker, who lived with her mother in the 500 block of Vermont Street, had spent the night at her brother's home in the 1900 block of Tennessee Street. The next morning, May 2, 1995, she was walking home to her
mother's house when, Britt told police, he saw her as she walked north on Martin Luther King Drive, north of the main Gary post office.
Britt cut her off at 8th Avenue and asked her where she was going, Walker told him she was on her way to vote in the primary election.
Britt told police he grabbed Walker by the neck, forced her into a weedy area west of King Drive, then dragged her by the neck into the woods to the west, strangled her, raped her and left her body in a field.
----
DOC Number 963641
First Name EUGENE
Last Name BRITT
Date of Birth 11/00/1957
Gender Male
Race Black
https://www.in.gov › apps › indcorrection › ofs › ofs?previous_page=1&detail=963641
Indiana Incarcerated Database Search - IN.gov
DOC Number 963641: First Name : EUGENE: Middle Name: R: Last Name: BRITT: Suffix: Date of Birth: 11/1957: Gender: Male: Race: Black: Facility/Location: New Castle Correctional Facility: Earliest Possible Release Date * * Incarcerated individuals scheduled for release on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday
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