Man gets more than 100 years for killing aunt
Elwood man stole his aunt's credit cards and pawned her wedding ring
An Elwood man was sentenced to more than 100 years in prison for killing his aunt after he stole her credit cards and pawned her wedding ring.
A jury in August convicted Donald Burns, 51, of murder and five other felonies in connection with the death of Dorothy Heard, a 74-year-old Noblesville woman who was found dead near the Mississinewa River in Grant County in February 2012.
Grant Circuit Judge Mark Spitzer ordered Burns to serve 103 years for convictions on charges of murder, theft, forgery, receiving stolen property and being a habitual offender.
Burns is a twice-convicted child molester.
Prosecutors said Burns killed his aunt after he purchased almost $400 in merchandise with her credit card, including a gold chain for his wife.
Heard's daughter reported the woman missing in June 2011, but the woman's body wasn't found until the next year, when a fisherman found her driver's license in the river.
The daughter told police her mother left a note the day she disappeared that said she was visiting a grave site with Burns.
An autopsy determined Heard suffered a blow to the head that fractured her jaw.
Call Star reporter Madeline Buckley at (317) 444-6083. Follow her on Twitter: @Mabuckley88.