Mac Lewis gets 100-year sentence in killing of 'Lizzie' Bennett Lewis
Nov. 2—CLARK COUNTY — "I have to ask the judge, should an 11-year-old have to see their mom murdered in their home and have a gun pointed at them?"
Powerful words were spoken in Clark Circuit Court 1 on Thursday morning when a Sellersburg man convicted of murder was sentenced to 100 years with the Indiana Department of Correction by Judge Nick Karaffa.
A Clark County jury last month convicted Mac Lewis, 48, of murdering his wife, Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Bennett Lewis, 32.
Lewis was also convicted of attempted murder for shooting at Bennett Lewis' now 13-year-old daughter and several counts of criminal recklessness for other shots police said were fired inside the home they all shared last April.
It was the daughter, Tinsley Mullen, who posed the above question during a powerful victim-impact statement.
Her 15-year-old sister, Mckenna Mullen, and their grandfather, former Indiana State Superintendent of Education Tony Bennett, also spoke.
Bennett is Bennett Lewis' father.
Although Mac Lewis did not take the stand during his trial, he did address the court Thursday morning, repeatedly saying that Bennett Lewis' death was an "accident."
"Everyone thinks I'm a monster, but I'm not," Lewis said. "It was an accident. I didn't point a gun and shoot at you. You can lie and say I shot my wife multiple times (but) the gun went off."
Lewis' aunt, Patricia Slaughter, and his ex-mother in-law from a previous marriage, LaVon Casey, spoke in his defense on Thursday.
Slaughter said she loves Bennett Lewis and her family and she supports her nephew. She said Lewis had a rough time as a child.
"There's no winners...there's not a winner in this," Tony Bennett said following the hearing. "I think you heard that from Mac's aunt, my heart goes out to her. She spoke from the heart and said exactly what she needed to say, which is she needs to support her family. Just as we need to support ours. But I do want to say justice was done today."
Bennett said Lewis had the opportunity to take responsibility for his actions, but chose not to.
Thursday's sentencing hearing is tied to events police said took place in April 2022, when Bennett Lewis was found dead in her home in a Sellersburg subdivision.
Her daughter Tinsley called 911 shortly after her mother was shot and told them her stepdad just killed her mom.
"She's dead," Tinsley said repeatedly to a 911 operator who stayed on the phone with her until police arrived.
Clark County Prosecutor Jeremy Mull, along with deputy prosecutor Krista Willike, represented Indiana in the case.
Lewis was represented by attorneys Mitchele Harlan and Kayse Machan.
The trial started at the end of September and lasted several days, with certain days of testimony cut short so Lewis could receive medical treatment for kidney failure.
Both parties agreed that Bennett Lewis asked Lewis for a divorce the night she died.
A medical examiner testified that Bennett Lewis was shot multiple times, which the prosecution argued was intentional.
The defense team maintained the shooting happened after the pair struggled over the gun that Lewis threatened to use to commit suicide.
Bennett Lewis was a nurse, and Mull said she was getting ready to give Lewis dialysis at their home before she died.
Mull also said Bennett Lewis was working to see if she could donate a kidney to Lewis.
Her family received a large show of support from family and friends during the trial and at the sentencing hearing.
Mckenna Mullen said some of her favorite memories with her mom included taking drives with Tinsley in tow.
"Me and my mom and Tinsley, we like to go get food at 11 o'clock at night, we'd always jam to music," Mckenna said. "...I think that's something we enjoyed a lot. We were able to spend time, we weren't at home worried about things, that's all that really mattered."
