“A senseless and tragic loss of life”: Sweet sentenced as a habitual offender to 40 years in prison for negligence leading to the death of his daughter

A Bartholomew County man who admitted responsibility for the death of his 2-year-old daughter after his truck went into a river was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years in prison to be served in the Indiana Department of Corrections.

Jeremy Sweet, 41, of 1415 N. County Road 850E, entered into a plea agreement that allowed him to plead guilty to neglect of a dependent resulting in death as a Level 1 felony. Judge James Worton of Bartholomew 1 Superior Court ordered Sweet to serve 30 years in prison for the offense.

Worton also gave Sweet an additional 10 years for repeat offenses and ordered the two sentences to be served consecutively. While Sweet admitted in court that he was a drug addict, Worton said the defendant was not eligible for prison treatment programs due to the nature of his offenses.

In exchange for guilty pleas, Bartholomew County Prosecutor Lindsey Holden-Kay's office agreed to drop charges in two cases including possession of methamphetamine, unlawful possession of a syringe and unlawful possession of a firearm by a violent and serious offender.

The increase in repeat offenders stems from being charged in 11 drug-related cases, mostly involving methamphetamine, since 2001, court officials said. Sweet broke the terms of his probation several times, Worton said.

While answering Holden-Kay's questions, Sweet kept his emotions in check until he had to admit in court that he was responsible for the death of his daughter, Emma Sweet, over Thanksgiving weekend 2021.

That's when his voice started to crack.

“There’s nothing I can say to change what happened,” Sweet said through tears. “But I swear to God on everything I love that I am truly sorry.”

“This is a series of decisions that have had catastrophic consequences,” Worton said after Sweet’s sentencing. “This is a senseless and tragic loss of life.”

On November 25, 2021, the father and daughter were reported missing by Linsey Sweet, now ex-wife of Jeremy and mother of Emma. An investigation revealed that Jeremy was last seen with Emma on November 24, 2021 at approximately 3:30 p.m. in his black 2017 Ford F150.

Four duck hunters discovered Sweet's pickup truck partially submerged in the East Fork White River, southwest of Columbus, around 6 a.m. on Nov. 26. That's according to a probable cause affidavit written by Bartholomew County Sheriff's Office Detective Terrance Holderness, as well as testimony given Tuesday by sheriff's Detective Kevin Abner.

As one hunter called 911, the others saw Jeremy Sweet asleep in the backseat of his truck, Holderness wrote. The hunters were able to get the semi-conscious Sweet out of the vehicle and help him reach shore.

When Deputy Sgt. Andrew Whipker spoke to Sweet, he first asked where his daughter was. Initially, the defendant responded that he had dropped her off at Casey's. But minutes later, Sweet admitted his daughter was with him when the truck left an embankment 15 to 20 feet into the river and landed about 30 feet from the shore, Abner testified.

Sweet told Abner that he unbuckled Emma from her car seat and took her to the roof of the vehicle with him, the detective testified. But when he fell into the river, he accidentally dragged his daughter into the water, Abner said.

The river was 3 to 5 feet deep where the van came to rest, the affidavit states.

After arriving at Columbus Regional Hospital, Sweet provided more details to Detective Will Kinman of the Sheriff's Office. Sweet claimed he got lost on a dirt road and his truck got stuck. He stated that as he was swinging the F150 to move the truck, it went over the embankment.

Once his daughter got back into the truck, Sweet said he took off the girl's coat because it was wet, according to the affidavit. After the child began crying for her mother, Sweet said he placed her alone on the roof to avoid pulling her into the river again, according to probable cause affidavits.

Sweet said the next thing he knew he woke up and Emma was gone, Holderness wrote. Investigators found one of the windshield wipers raised on the truck “like someone had grabbed onto it,” former Sheriff Matt Myers said during the 2021 search for the girl.

On the stand Tuesday, Abner said he found it hard to believe Sweet got lost because the truck was equipped with a working GPS system and the van had to travel a mile and a half of dirt and gravel before to cross the embankment. .

Other interviews conducted by investigators indicate Sweet was with two friends at the Horseshoe Casino in Shelbyville all night before returning to Barthlomew County on Thanksgiving Day. Abner said Sweet admitted to taking methamphetamine and smoking marijuana before traveling to Shelbyville.

When they returned from the casino, Sweet came to pick Emma up because the girl's mother had to go to work. He and the toddler spent time at the friend's house before taking him to work at 3:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Based on timelines provided by witnesses, investigators believe the truck went over the embankment around 4:15 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Holderness wrote.

The search for the missing toddler continued until Emma's body was found at 11am on Sunday 28 November. She was about 2 ½ miles downstream from the truck, stuck in a debris-filled area in the river. An autopsy indicated the little girl died of hypothermia and asphyxia, according to the coroner's report.

“This was so avoidable,” Holden-Kay said after the sentencing. “I think it is likely that at age 40, Mr. Sweet will spend, if not the rest of his days, at least the majority of his days in prison. I think this is appropriate in the circumstances that resulted in the death of a beautiful, young girl.