Eaton
A Greenwood man has been convicted for fatally shooting a 30-year-old woman and then dumping her body in the White River in Indianapolis.
Riki James Eaton, 34, was found guilty of murder Wednesday by Marion County Superior 21 Judge James B. Osborn. Eaton was charged in August 2021 with the 2017 murder of 30-year-old Jenny Boltinghouse in Indianapolis.
Prosecutors say Eaton shot Boltinghouse multiple times in the head and forearm in February 2017. Boltinghouse’s body was found by a man who was fishing in the White River near the 2900 block of S. Harding St. in Indianapolis, according to court documents.
Police first learned of Eaton’s potential involvement in the murder in July 2019, when one of his relatives told police Eaton had said three different times he killed Boltinghouse, court documents say.
Eaton suspected that Boltinghouse, his cousin, was stealing from his garage, so he shot her, court documents show.
No major breakthroughs came in the case until May 2021, when a witness who initially denied knowledge of the killing or misled investigators contacted the Greenwood Police Department saying they had knowledge of the killing. The witness told Greenwood Police Eaton had killed Boltinghouse, according to court documents.
Greenwood Police contacted IMPD, and IMPD detectives talked to several witnesses they had previously interviewed who had denied knowledge of the killing or misled investigators. The witnesses would later identify Eaton as the killer, court documents said.
Witnesses said Eaton had threatened to harm them or their families if they told police about Boltinghouse’s death, prosecutors say. Eaton allegedly forced witnesses to help him dispose of the body, according to court documents.
When Indianapolis detectives interviewed Eaton earlier this month, he denied having any knowledge of Boltinghouse’s death and said he had not seen her for a few weeks before her death. Phone records show Eaton was near the location where Boltinghouse’s body was found, and the location and timing were consistent with what witnesses told police, court documents said.
Eaton also has a criminal history in Johnson County. In May 2021, he was charged with resisting law enforcement and criminal trespass, both misdemeanors. This case is still pending and a warrant has been issued as he is still in Marion County’s custody, according to online court records.
As for the murder case in Marion County, an open sentencing is set for 2 p.m. May 4.
