ANDERSON — An Anderson man was sentenced to 75 years in prison for the 2024 murder of his wife.
Madison Circuit Court Division 4 Judge David Happe sentenced Jeremy Hinson, 49, Tuesday to 55 years for the shooting death of his wife, Michela, and 20 years for a firearm enhancement, with all years to be served.
“You were in a long-term relationship,” Happe said prior to the sentencing. “She trusted you.”
Hinson said he wanted to appeal his conviction by a jury earlier this year.
Hinson made no statement to the court before sentencing.
“You have no idea how many lives you have destroyed,” Michela’s mother, Deena Robertson, said. “You get to walk around — even if it is in prison. She never will again.
“Our lives will never be the same,” she continued. “I hope you think about what you did to her every day.”
Cousin Melody Hendricks said Michela loved her family.
“You pulled the trigger,” she said. “You choose to end her life.”
The state’s case was presented by deputy prosecutors Grainne Kao and Tyler Pirairo.
Hinson was charged in connection with the June 26, 2024, shooting death of his wife, Michela, 47, in the Forestville Cemetery in Summitville.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Hinson was transported to Community Hospital Anderson for a possible overdose after his wife’s body was discovered.
Madison County Sheriff’s Department deputy Doug Beltz observed what appeared to be blood splatters on Hinson’s body at the hospital.
Beltz observed dried red specks on Hinson’s forehead, eyelid, arms, hands and ankles.
After obtaining a search warrant for Hinson’s vehicle, Beltz recovered six shell casings, five in the vehicle and one on the ground. He observed five bullet entry points in the back cushion of the driver’s seat where Michela Hinson was sitting.
Officers found a 9-mm handgun with one round in the chamber and three in a magazine. A second magazine contained 11 rounds of ammunition.
An autopsy performed by Dr. Kent Harshbager showed Michela Hinson suffered seven gunshot wounds to her torso and upper right arm.
According to the autopsy, the six wounds to the torso indicated a near-contact range of fire.
On June 26, a 911 caller reported that a vehicle with a man and woman inside was parked at the back of Forestville Cemetery in Summitville, according to a sheriff’s department press release. The caller had knocked on the vehicle’s window but neither occupant responded.
Deputies were dispatched and found Michela Hinson dead in the driver’s seat, according to the release.
Jeremy Hinson was seated in the passenger seat. After he stepped out of the passenger-side door, deputies found a semi-automatic handgun in his waistband, according to the affidavit.