Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
COLUMBIA CITY - Eugene Nowak avoided the possibility of life in prison or the death penalty by pleading guilty to felony murder in the death of Donald Sundheimer.
Nowak, 37, of Pierceton, appeared before Whitley Circuit Court Judge James Heuer Wednesday afternoon for a change of plea hearing. Nowak previously entered not guilty pleas in the murder and felony murder charges against him. In accepting the plea, the court agreed to dismiss the murder charge against Nowak and that no additional robbery charges will be filed against him.
Also, the plea agreement prevents the state from sentencing Nowak to life without parole or from seeking the death penalty against him.
Nowak was arrested Aug. 16 and charged with the murder of Sundheimer, 62, of Warsaw. Court and police documents indicate Sundheimer was beaten to death with a tire iron 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 visited several automatic teller machines in Kosciusko County before traveling toward Fort Wayne in separate cars, with Smith driving Sundheimer's car and Nowak following in Smith's car. At some point, Nowak motioned for Smith to pull over and a confrontation took place between the two men.
The motive in the case was determined to be robbery, and Nowak told Indiana State Police Detective Rocky Stotts during an interview at the time of his arrest that he took approximately $1,000 from Sundheimer. Stotts told the court that after clubbing Sundheimer with the tire iron and leaving him in the cornfield, Nowak said he took the money from Sundheimer's wallet, threw the wallet out along a county road and threw the tire iron near a dumpster behind a Warsaw shopping center.
Sundheimer's car was found abandoned along a Whitley County road the day after his disappearance and was impounded by police.
Smith previously pleaded guilty to assisting in a murder and was sentenced in November to eight years in prison.
Included in Nowak's plea was acknowledgement of his habitual felony offender status - stipulating to this enhances the sentence the court will hand down for the felony murder offense. To be a habitual felony offender, a defendant must have two prior unrelated felony convictions. The prosecution presented documents from Florida regarding convictions in 1984 for sale of marijuana and in 1997 for dealing in stolen property.
Sentencing is set for May 25, at which time Nowak could be ordered to serve a minimum of 60 years in prison or a maximum of 95 years in prison. The presumptive sentence for murder is 55 years, to which 10 years can be added or subtracted for aggravating or mitigating circumstances. The lesser time consists of a 45-year term, plus 30 years for the habitual felony offender enhancement. The 30-year term is nonsuspendable, but up to 15 years of the 45-year term could be suspended. The greater time includes the maximum sentence for murder of 65 years, plus the 30-year enhancement, with no suspensions considered.
Although Nowak admitted killing Sundheimer, he and his court-appointed attorney, Brad Voelz, did not stipulate as to the sentencing. That means Nowak will be at the mercy of the court on his sentencing day.
