One of the suspects in the 2015 killing of a pastor's wife in Indianapolis was sentenced to a 29-year imprisonment.
In 2017, Jalen E. Watson pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary and one count of robbery for slaying Amanda Blackburn. On March 12 this year, Marion Superior Court Judge Grant Hawkins sentenced Watson to 29 years for the robbery charge and 20 combined years for his charges on burglary. The sentences will be served concurrently.
Hawkins' order noted that sentence reduction will be considered on the account of Watson's cooperation with prosecutors and good behavior in prison.
As part of the plea deal, Watson will have to cooperate in the prosecutions of two other suspects in Amanda's killing, Larry Taylor Jr. and Diano Gordon. In addition, seven of his other charges were dismissed, including auto theft and murder, the Indianapolis Star wrote.
The charges for Taylor and Gordon are still pending.
Gordon is expected to enter a guilty plea and is set for a hearing on June 8. Taylor, on the other hand, is scheduled for a pretrial hearing on June 4.
On Nov. 10, 2015, the 12-week pregnant Amanda was shot and killed in her home in Indianapolis.
Taylor, Watson and Gordon broke into the residence through an unlocked front door. Taylor hit Amanda with his gun and stayed in the house, while Watson and Gordon drove off to withdraw money from an ATM using her card. He eventually inflicted three gunshot wounds on her.
Her husband, Davey Blackburn, reportedly arrived at 7:30 A.M. from his gym workout but was kept on the phone in the driveway until 8:20 A.M. When he entered the house, he found his wife naked on the floor, bleeding. The couple's toddler, Weston, then 15-month old, was unharmed in his crib upstairs.
Before her assault, the three suspects already robbed two other houses earlier that morning, stealing an iPhone, laptops, TV and wallet.
Amanda died two days later in the hospital, along with her unborn daughter, Everette Grace.
According to The Christian Post, Amanda penned an entry in her journal hours before she was shot, referencing some lines from the song "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" by Helen H. Lemmel.
"Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim. In the light of his glory and grace," she wrote of the lyrics.
"What an amazing Sunday yesterday that filled my heart to see so many people in your church. Learning, growing, meeting you and taking next steps. Thank you for letting me get to see all of this [with] my own eyes. I love you Lord. Glory and praise to you," she further said in the journal.
In a statement released by their church after the killing, Amanda was honored as someone who loves and serves everyone.
"Amanda made it her life's calling to love and serve everyone she knew. Even more, she has made it her life's mission to see as many people as possible come to know Jesus as their personal Savior. In her death and legacy, we truly believe that even more people will come to a saving faith in Christ," the statement said.
Davey was an assistant pastor at NewSpring Church in South Carolina before they moved to Indianapolis in 2012 and founded Resonate Church.
He remarried in 2017. Resonate Church closed down in January 2019.
