(Boone County, IN)-Indiana State Police investigators have arrested a Boone County man following an investigation into the circumstances following the disappearance of his wife.
Yesterday at approximately 6:30 p.m. State Police investigators began to investigate the events surrounding the disappearance of 41-year-old Elizabeth N. Wilhoite of rural Lebanon after being requested by the Boone County Sheriff who cited a potential conflict of interest. Boone County investigators had originally taken a missing person’s report earlier in the day and had taken to social media asking for the public’s assistance in locating her.
During the course of the investigation, detectives were able to determine that during the course of a domestic dispute, 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. He then placed her into a vehicle and drove to a nearby creek where he dumped her body.
Mrs. Wilhoite’s body was located at approximately 3:00 a.m. today partially submerged in approximately three feet of water, and she was later pronounced dead by the Boone County Coroner. An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause and manner of her death. As a result of the cooperative effort between the State Police, Boone County Sheriff’s Office and the Boone County Prosecutor’s Office, Mr. Wilhoite was taken into custody and incarcerated in the Boone County Jail on the following preliminary charge:
- Murder, Level 1 Felony
The Boone County Sheriff’s Office has also issued a release which can be viewed below:
March 26, 2022
On Friday, March 25, 2022 at 9:48am, the Boone County Sheriff’s Office began investigating a missing person case. Upon receiving the initial call from a complainant stating that their co-worker, Nikki Wilhoite, did not report to work, deputies responded to the house to conduct a welfare check. The missing person was identified as Elizabeth “Nikki” Wilhoite, a 41-year-old white female from rural Lebanon. An exhaustive search of the area with K-9 bloodhounds and deputies continued for several hours and we were not able to locate Nikki. The investigation eventually evolved into a possible homicide investigation. At that time Sheriff Nielsen contacted the Indiana State Police to ask them to be the lead agency with the Sheriff’s Office assisting them.
Sheriff Nielsen stated “When our investigators realized this could be a possible homicide investigation, we wanted to do discuss the best way to move forward with the investigation since the mother of Andrew Wilhoite is a County Councilwoman, another county elected official. To avoid any conflict of interest, it was decided to contact the Indiana State Police and ask them to lead the investigation and we would assist them. This is another prime example of working with our law enforcement partners to solve a horrendous crime. I cannot be prouder of our Investigations team, Crime Scene Investigations team, the entire Sheriff’s Office staff, the Boone County Prosecutor’s Office and the Indiana State Police Investigators. Please keep all families and first responders in your thoughts and prayers.”
The investigation continued into the evening and eventually Andrew Wilhoite, 39 years old, Nikki’s husband, was arrested for murder by the Indiana State Police and Nikki Wilhoite’s body was found in a creek within a few miles of the Wilhoite residence.
This remains an on-going investigation and there is no further information to release at this time.
All persons named in this release are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law. Charges mentioned are merely accusations and actual charges will be determined by the Boone County Prosecutor’s Office.
