A Greenwood man will spend more than 60 years in prison for the fatal shooting of his brother’s fiancée over three years ago.
Randy A. Sutt was sentenced Thursday morning to 62 years in prison on charges of murder and criminal recklessness with a firearm, a Level 5 felony, by Johnson County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Roesener. The 47-year-old was charged after he fatally shot his brother’s 55-year-old fiancée, Cecelia Babcock, in the head at point-blank range at their residence in Greenwood, and shot at a responding officer on April 13, 2020. He pled guilty in September, and his sentence was left to be determined by the court.
Roesener sentenced Sutt to 58 years for the murder and four years for criminal recklessness. The charges will be served consecutively at an Indiana Department of Correction facility. Sutt was also given a 1,329-day jail credit for the time he already served.
Sutt’s attorney, Dorie Maryan of Bargersville-based Maryan Law, declined to comment following the sentencing hearing. Johnson County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Brandon Robinson, who prosecuted the case, said in a written statement that prosecutors accomplished their mission of making sure Sutt “remains in prison for life.”
Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner agreed.
“This sentence sends a clear message to would-be murderers — you kill one of our citizens, you die in prison,” Hamner said in a written statement.
Three years ago, Sutt told Greenwood police he shot Babcock, whom he lived with at home in the 400 block of Legacy Boulevard because he was “tired of her.” Sutt said he asked Babcock, whom he had known for about seven years, and his brother for a Klonopin, a Schedule IV controlled substance, but they told him no, according to court documents.
The situation made Stutt “very upset,” according to court documents. He texted his brother that he was going to shoot Babcock, retrieved a handgun from a safe in his first-floor bedroom and shot Babcock in a second-floor bathroom, court documents said.
Sutt left the bathroom, went back downstairs and called 911. He told dispatchers he shot someone, according to court documents.
When police arrived, Sutt came out of the house armed with the gun. An officer saw Sutt and told him to drop the gun. Sutt fired at the officer, but missed, hitting a fence right behind the officer about a foot off the ground. The officer returned fire, also missing, according to court documents. While taking cover, the officer fell and was dragged to safety, court documents said.
Sutt went back inside.
Officers made their way around the house to where Sutt was standing when he fired at them. As they approached, an officer yelled “look out” to another officer with his back to a window. The officer turned, saw Sutt standing in the window with a gun and fired multiple rounds into the window, according to court documents. Police body camera footage confirms officers’ accounts of what happened, court documents said.
No one was injured in either shootout. A police negotiator later convinced Stutt to disarm and surrender, Greenwood police said.
When police later asked Sutt if he remembered where he shot Babcock, Sutt told them in or near her head. When police asked him why he shot her, Sutt said “to kill her,” court documents said.
The courtroom on Thursday was filled with family members of Babcock and Sutt — including Babcock’s fiancé, Sutt’s brother.
Victoria Line, Babcock’s only child, described her mother as a helper, fighter and bright light in the world. Their world has not been the same since her mother’s death, she told the court.
“My world was torn apart in an instant,” Line said.
She said Sutt should spend the rest of his life in prison.
“Our world will never be the same again,” she said.
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Brandon Robinson played a video of Sutt’s interview with detectives for Judge Roesener. At one point in the video, Sutt said “I hope she’s dead,” referring to Babcock. He later described how he believed that he would go to jail and prison for what he did.
Babcock’s family members were teary-eyed as they heard the audio of the interview.
Maryan, Sutt’s attorney, acknowledged that his conduct was egregious and that it had divided families. She later argued he should receive a minimum sentence for the murder charge and a suspended sentence for the criminal recklessness charge, although it was tough to argue for that in light of the situation, she said.
Sutt did not speak to the victim’s family during the hearing, but through his attorney, he apologized for his actions. She said he wished he could have brought himself to apologize.
Maryan said Sutt suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and has documented injuries. He also has a history of drug use, and his attorney later said that he should have gotten his substance abuse issues handled before 2022. She also brought up how in his three years in custody, he has never been a problem for jail or court staff.
Sutt also accepted responsibility for his actions in the interview, though Maryan did not appreciate the way he did it, she said.
Prosecutors argued he said it callously, a sentiment Judge Roesener agreed with.
“It was a callous way to admit a crime,” Roesener said.
Prosecutors argued that Sutt should receive the maximum sentence for both charges and that they be served consecutively. Robinson brought up the drug abuse, saying it should be a factor that increases Sutt’s sentence. His abuse of drugs is a crime and should be prosecuted, he said.
The shooting was fueled by Sutt’s hatred of Babcock, Robinson said. He later described her death as an execution-style murder, calling Sutt a “cold-blooded killer.”
“He executed her in cold blood,” Robinson said.
The standoff following the shooting was also discussed, as Robinson reminded Judge Roesener that Sutt had also fired at a Greenwood Police Officer. That officer was in court on Thursday and gave a written victim impact statement that Roesener silently read. The officer is still dealing with trauma from the shooting, Roesener later remarked.
Roesener ultimately agreed more with Robinson’s argument. Sutt “cornered” Babcock in a bathroom with a gun, and she likely knew what was coming, Roesener said.
“It doesn’t get much worse than that,” he said.
Rosener also acknowledged the pain the murder has left everyone involved, saying there was “wreckage behind this act.”
