Spencer man Jay White sentenced to 60 years for young mother’s murder

On Mother’s Day this year, Elizabeth “Bizzy” Stevens’ 3-year-old daughter hugged her mother’s gravestone.

“Because that’s the only way she can give her mom a hug,” Julie Ferguson, Stevens’ mother, said during an emotional testimony at the Owen Circuit Court sentencing for the man convicted of murdering Stevens. 

Ferguson flipped through a stack of photos as she spoke — Stevens’ daughter at her gravesite, the last photo of Stevens and her daughter together, and a photo of Stevens lying in her casket. Only five months old when Stevens died, the now-3-year-old will have to rely on photos to remember her mother, Ferguson said.  

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

White was found guilty of murder and obstruction of justice by a jury April 24, nearly three years after Stevens was killed Sept. 14, 2021. The testimony of Tyler Byers, White’s friend who was driving the Dodge Ram truck where Stevens was shot, was critical to the prosecution’s case. He told the jury White had fired an AR-15 at Stevens’ head and left her body on a rural Owen County road.

White’s defense attorney argued Stevens had shot herself in the head, an argument supported by experts who testified the bullet’s trajectory made it unlikely White had 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 taped over. 

Ferguson’s father, James Wood, has a trucking business and said he has worked with White’s family’s logging business for 30 years. He recalled seeing White and his brother run around the yard when they were kids. 

Turning to face White, Wood called the man evil for taking the life of his youngest granddaughter.

“There’s always gonna be an empty chair at our table for Christmas and New Year's thanks to you,” he said. 

Several members of White’s family took the stand to defend White’s character. His mother, Janet Lucas, said he loves his two kids. White’s wife, Amber, said White had supported her while she pursued nursing school. Family described him as “loyal to a fault.”

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

“That’s not a remorseful individual,” she said. 

White declined to make a statement to the court, while his lawyer said she planned to appeal the decision. As people filtered out, White’s mother left the courtroom crying.

Reach Marissa Meador at MMeador@gannett.com.