Muncie man who tortured, killed ex-girlfriend sentenced to 62 years
MUNCIE, Ind. — A Muncie man who tortured and killed his ex-girlfriend — who was also the mother of his 2-year-old daughter — was sentenced Friday to 62 years in prison.
Christopher Eugene Allison, 37, had pleaded guilty to murder and neglect of a dependent in the November 2020 slaying of 27-year-old Mary A. Grubb.
The slaying took place in Allison's home in the 2000 block of East 25th Street, where Grubb had taken their daughter for a visit with her father. The victim's body was later found in the bed of a pickup truck near the Water Bowl, 6811 N. Old Indiana 3, where deputy prosecutors Louis Denney and Doug Mawhorr said Allison had intended to burn and bury the remains.
The prosecutors and Delaware Circuit Court 5 Judge Thomas Cannon Jr. all noted the suffering Grubb endured before her death, with Allison choking her with a belt. He twice allowed her to regain consciousness during the attack, they said, so she could hear him read aloud text messages she had exchanged with a new boyfriend.
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The slaying took place "within hearing" distance of the couple's young daughter, Cannon said.
The judge — who imposed a 60-year sentence for the murder conviction, with two years added for the neglect charge — called Allison's actions those of a "callous, sadistic killer."
Cannon said he did not believe the Muncie man had exhibited true remorse. When asked by a probation officer to describe his crime, the judge noted, Allison responded, "S--t happens."
The deputy prosecutors both recommended a maximum sentence of 67 years and six months.
Denney called it "one of the ultimate domestic violence cases," with Allison committing "an act of ultimate control."
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Mawhorr said Allison believed "if he could not have Mary, no one could have her."
"It's all about him," Mawhorr said, adding that the defendant had "effectively made (his daughter) an orphan."
Defense attorney Zaki Ali asked the judge to consider that his client had taken responsibility by entering guilty pleas. Under the terms of a plea bargain, for other charges — strangulation, attempted murder, obstruction of justice and intimidation — were dismissed.
Allison said he wanted to "apologize for all the harm I've caused everybody."
When he began to discuss how much he loved the slaying victim, one member of a group of friends and family members of Grubb had heard enough.
That man profanely and loudly told Allison to "shut up," then left the courtroom before security officers reached his side.
The victim's older sister also testified, and called Allison an "evil, narcissistic sociopath."
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Allison waived the right to appeal his sentence.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Muncie man gets 62 years for ex-girlfriend's slaying
