Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
COLUMBIA CITY - Citing the vicious nature of the attack on Donald Sundheimer as an aggravating factor, Whitley Circuit Court Judge James Heuer sentenced Eugene Nowak Friday to 85 years in prison.
Nowak, 37, of Pierceton, pleaded guilty last month to murdering Sundheimer, 62, of Warsaw. A transcript that was admitted into evidence Friday of an interview with Nowak by an Indiana State Police detective included the phrase, "I enjoyed it," when Nowak was asked what he remembered about killing Sundheimer, according to Whitley County Deputy Prosecutor Matt Rentschler.
Nowak was arrested Aug. 16 and charged with murder. Court and police documents indicate Sundheimer was beaten to death with a tire iron, his hands duct-taped to his head and his body left in a Whitley County cornfield. Sundheimer was reported missing July 28 and was last seen alive July 23 at a bar in Warsaw with Nowak and his girlfriend/co-defendant, Stephanie Smith of Pierceton.
The three were en route to Fort Wayne in two cars in search of illegal drugs when Nowak, who was in the car behind one driven by Smith and in which Sundheimer was an occupant, motioned for Smith to pull over along a Whitley County road. An argument ensued and then escalated to a physical confrontation that ended with Sundheimer's death.
Nowak then robbed Sundheimer of about $1,000 garnered from visits to several automatic teller machines in Kosciusko County before heading to Fort Wayne.
Smith is serving an eight-year prison term after pleading guilty to assisting in a murder.
Nowak offered his apology to Sundheimer's family during Friday's hearing: "I do feel bad for the Sundheimer family and I wish I could change what happened, but I can't."
Sundheimer's son, Michael Sundheimer, spoke on behalf of his family regarding the losses they have suffered as a result of Donald Sundheimer's death and his feelings as to what Nowak's punishment should be.
Michael Sundheimer told the court that he was living in Turkey when he learned his father was missing and that he rushed to Warsaw to await news of his father's whereabouts. He said it was difficult to know that his father was missing, but that it was harder to learn that "he lay in a cornfield rotting for three weeks." He called the death of Donald Sundheimer a "cold-blooded, premeditated, brutal murder," and said he didn't think Nowak could be rehabilitated.
"He needs to be punished," Michael Sundheimer said of Nowak. "He needs to be locked away. ... We feel justice will be served if he spends the rest of his life in jail."
Donald Sundheimer's brother and another son also were present for the sentencing, but chose not to speak.
While Nowak's court-appointed attorney, Brad Voelz of Warsaw, argued for the judge to impose the minimum sentence (60 years) on Nowak, Rentschler asked Heuer to hand down the maximum term (95 years). Heuer opted for the presumptive term of 55 years for the murder charge, plus a 30-year term for Nowak's admission of being a habitual felony offender - Nowak has three prior felony convictions, as well as 10 misdemeanor convictions against him - and Heuer considered Nowak's criminal history as another aggravating factor in this case.
Before sentencing Nowak, Heuer pointed out that the Sundheimer family was openly weeping in the courtroom.
"I hope you have heard, as I have heard, the sobbing of Mr. Sundheimer's family throughout this hearing," Heuer said. "I hope you remember those sobs for the rest of your life."
Although Nowak showed remorse for his actions by apologizing in court, Heuer said it is unacceptable that a presentence investigation memorandum included information that the victim of Nowak's crime and Nowak's deceased father were partially to blame for Sundheimer's death.
"Nothing your father ever did, nothing Mr. Sundheimer ever did" can be a reason for Sundheimer's murder, Heuer said. It was pointed out as a mitigating factor, however, that Nowak was introduced to alcohol at an early age by his father, with consumption beginning at age 11 or 12 and abuse beginning at about age 15. An aggravating circumstance, though, was the fact that Nowak failed to address his "serious drug and alcohol problem" and even had probation revoked in two cases because of his continued substance abuse.
Rentschler told the court he believed Nowak used his alcohol and drug abuse as an excuse for his actions and that he feigned intoxication when he was first interviewed by police about this crime.
"Mr. Nowak is a man who never got the message," Rentschler said, "and he eventually committed the ultimate crime. ... This is a man who never learned his lesson."
Voelz contended that Nowak's consumption of alcohol and use of "crank" (a form of cocaine) on the night of Sundheimer's murder affected Nowak's "normally pleasant and affable personality." He said "the actions on July 23 were unexpected and uncharacteristic of Eugene Nowak," a man Voelz said is consistently concerned with protecting his family and friends from harm.
