Spencer man Jay White sentenced to 60 years in prison for murder of young mother

This year for Mother's Day, Elizabeth “Bizzy” Stevens' 3-year-old daughter hugged her mother's headstone.

“Because it's the only way she can hug her mother,” Julie Ferguson, Stevens' mother, said in emotional testimony in Owen Circuit Court during the determination of the sentence of the man convicted of Stevens' murder.

Ferguson flipped through a stack of photos as she spoke: Stevens' daughter at her grave, the last photo of Stevens and her daughter together, and a photo of Stevens lying in his casket. Just five months old when Stevens died, the little one, now 3, will have to rely on photos to remember her mother, Ferguson said.

A judge sentenced Jay White, 39, to 60 years in prison Wednesday for the murder of Stevens, a 26-year-old Spencer man. Judge Darcie Fawcett, the Monroe Circuit Court judge overseeing the case, also gave White a consecutive 360-day sentence for obstruction of justice. Sentences for murder range from 45 to 65 years in Indiana.

White was convicted of murder and obstruction of justice by a jury on April 24, nearly three years after Stevens' death on September 14, 2021. Testimony from Tyler Byers, White's friend who drove the truck Dodge Ram where Stevens was shot, was critical to the prosecution's case. He told the jury that White fired an AR-15 at Stevens' head and left his body on a rural road in Owen County.

White's defense attorney argued that Stevens shot himself in the head, an argument supported by experts who testified that the trajectory of the bullet made it unlikely that White fired the shot. White's attorney also pointed to Stevens' missing wig, which had been left in an unsealed evidence bag, as well as police body camera footage that was recorded.

Ferguson's father, James Wood, owns a trucking company and said he has worked in the White family's logging business for 30 years. He remembers seeing White and his brother running around the yard when they were kids.

Turning to White, Wood called the man evil for killing his youngest granddaughter.

“There will always be an empty chair at our table this Christmas and New Year thanks to you,” he said.

Several members of White's family spoke out to defend White's character. His mother, Janet Lucas, said he loved both of her children. White's wife, Amber, said White supported her while she pursued her nursing degree. His family described him as “loyal to a fault.”

During Ferguson's testimony, she recommended the maximum sentence, saying she saw White laugh and smile throughout the trial.

“He’s not a remorseful person,” she said.

White declined to make a statement in court, while her attorney said she plans to appeal the decision. As people fled, White's mother left the courtroom crying.

Contact Marissa Meador at [email protected].

This article originally appeared in the Herald-Times: Judge sentences Jay White to 60 years in prison for Owen County murder.