An Indiana man won a GOP town board primary election on Tuesday from jail despite being charge for his wife’s murder.
Andrew Wilhoite, 40, received 60 of the 276 total votes for Republicans for three positions on the Clinton Township Board, Boone County, according to Newsweek.
Wilhoite has been charged with murder in the death of his wife, Elizabeth “Nikki” Wilhoite, 41.
Nikki’s colleagues reported her missing on March 25 when she failed to arrive for work. Approximately 3 a.m the next day Indiana State Police (ISP) found her body in a nearby creek.
“During the course of a domestic dispute, [then] 39-year-old Andrew N. Wilhoite, Elizabeth’s husband, had allegedly struck her in the head with a blunt object causing her to lose consciousness,” ISP said in a statement, adding: “He then placed her into a vehicle and drove to a nearby creek where he dumped her body.”
Nikki had just completed her last round of chemotherapy, and had also filed for divorce from Wilhoite on March 17.
He initially lied to detectives before admitting that he hit her in the head with a flower pot during an argument and dumped her body over a bridge.
Wilhoite has been incarcerated in the Boone County Jail since March and is being held with no bond, according to Newsweek. His next court hearing is scheduled for May 27 and his jury trial is set to begin on August 29.
It is legal for people charged with a felony to run for local office in Indiana but they are ineligible if they are convicted, according to IndyStar.
“Under our legal system, every person is innocent until proven guilty,” Brad King, co-director of the Indiana Election Division said. “If a candidate is ultimately convicted, then depending upon the timing of that conviction, the person can be replaced on the ballot by the political party that has a vacancy.”
