The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed Anthony Wayne Carter's murder conviction and life imprisonment without parole sentence in a unanimous ruling issued Tuesday, rejecting his appeals on jury instruction and evidence sufficiency grounds.
In the case *Anthony Wayne Carter v. State of Indiana* (Ind. 2026), the state's highest court addressed two key challenges raised by Carter following his conviction for the April 2023 murder of his girlfriend Ashley Neville in Columbus, Indiana.
Carter argued that the trial court abused its discretion by declining to give a proposed jury instruction on reckless homicide as a lesser-included offense. He also challenged whether sufficient evidence supported the jury's finding of a statutory torture aggravator that enhanced his sentence to life without parole.
Justice Molter, writing for the court, found no error in either aspect of the case and affirmed the conviction and sentence. Chief Justice Rush and Justices Massa, Slaughter, and Goff joined the unanimous opinion.
The case stems from a domestic violence incident that occurred in the early morning hours of April 16, 2023, at Neville's residence in Columbus. According to court records, Carter and Neville had been arguing over Carter's accusations of infidelity, which Neville denied. The argument ended when Neville went to bed.
Around 3:00 a.m., Carter entered the bedroom with a loaded handgun and said, "Alright, bitch, wake up. It's time to tell the truth," according to state's evidence presented at trial. He then shot Neville once on the left side of her head.
When Neville survived the gunshot wound, Carter escalated his attack. He strangled her with his hands for approximately 30 seconds, but she continued to survive. Court records show that as Neville was "choking and snarling and gasping and gagging," Carter placed a plastic grocery bag over her head and secured it over her face with several strips of duct tape.
Finally, Carter put a hand over her mouth to "intentionally cut off her" breathing, according to the court opinion, which appeared to continue beyond the excerpt provided in the case documents.
The prosecution's case relied heavily on evidence of Carter's methodical and prolonged attack on Neville, which prosecutors argued constituted torture under Indiana's statutory aggravators. The torture aggravator carries enhanced penalties and was key to Carter's life without parole sentence rather than a lesser term.
Carter's defense team sought a jury instruction on reckless homicide, arguing that the evidence could support a lesser charge than murder. Reckless homicide typically involves causing death through reckless conduct rather than intentional killing. The trial court, presided over by Judge James D. Worton of Bartholomew Superior Court, declined to provide this instruction to the jury.
On appeal, Carter's attorneys argued this denial was an abuse of discretion that violated his right to have the jury consider all applicable charges supported by the evidence. However, the Indiana Supreme Court disagreed, finding that the trial court properly exercised its discretion in limiting the jury's options.
The second major issue on appeal concerned the torture aggravator. Carter challenged whether the state presented sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that torture occurred during the commission of the murder. Indiana law requires specific evidence of torture to enhance a murder conviction to life without parole.
The Supreme Court found that the evidence of Carter's prolonged attack - including the gunshot, manual strangulation, plastic bag suffocation, and final hand-over-mouth action - provided sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to conclude that torture occurred.
The case was argued before the Indiana Supreme Court on Dec. 9, 2025, with the decision issued Feb. 4, 2026. The original case number in Bartholomew Superior Court was 03D01-2304-MR-1927, while the Supreme Court case number was 25S-LW-50.
The ruling represents a significant affirmation of Indiana's approach to domestic violence murders involving torture aggravators. The unanimous decision suggests the court found Carter's challenges lacked merit and that the trial court properly handled both the jury instruction issue and the torture evidence.
For defendants facing similar charges, the decision reinforces that courts have broad discretion in limiting jury instructions to charges actually supported by the evidence. It also demonstrates that prosecutors can successfully prove torture aggravators through evidence of prolonged, methodical attacks involving multiple forms of violence.
The case highlights the severe consequences available under Indiana law for domestic violence murders, particularly when prosecutors can establish aggravating circumstances like torture. Carter will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole, reflecting the state's commitment to imposing the harshest available penalties for such crimes.
No further appeals appear available to Carter following this unanimous Supreme Court ruling affirming his conviction and sentence.